Happy wonderful Friday friend! :)
Yesterday was a pretty cool day... I had a water feature install to do all the way down at the 51 and Bell Rd... Desert Financial is doing a renovation and I've been asked to help :)
Prior to my real estate life I would often take just Bell Rd into work. A few weeks ago I wrote about how wonderful it is to just soak up the sun on the morning drive and how I miss that.
Well... yesterday the universe answered and gave me just what I wanted. Maybe after about 10 minutes I put on sunglasses, but none the less, it was spectacular. :)
Over the years friends and family have come to know that I am quite handy around the house. As our new homeowner clients, now friends, get into their home and start living they often reach out and ask me... "hey, how do I fix this??"...
Yesterday while I was out working on the water feature I had to do some simple drywall demo / repair to install the hose lines.. in the throes of it I thought.. damn!.. this would be quite helpful for some people...
So I figured I'd quickly show you how to make a simple drywall repair that will empower you and save you money. :)
Many years ago when I saw this done for the first time I was like... holy cow?! that's how they do that?.. that's easy :) After reading this I hope you feel the same.
NOTE: this has nothing to do with texturing the repair... that's an art form I have no way of teaching... especially since I kinda suck at that part and is why I only make German Chocolate cakes (Chas's fav) because the frosting is supposed to look like hell!.. hahah... sorry.. I digress. :)
The time consuming part, the money saving part, is knowing how to fix the hole. :)
First!
BE CAUTIOUS OF WHERE YOU ARE CUTTING... There's plumbing and electrical back there, so haphazardly sawing away can be be a huge, huge regret...
You could really hurt yourself cutting into a live electrical wire... or cut cut through plumbing and start a massive leak.. embarrassingly so.. this is my experience talking as I've done it before. :)
That being said, DO NOT use "drywall knives"... they're a reckless approach to cutting drywall.... way, way more horsepower than needed... so... patiently use a razor blade... it'll be slower, but safer because you're forced to take your time.
Smaller = better...
Since the razor blade is 1" long, decreases the likelihood of hitting something behind the wall.
and yes... I have like 15 tape measures! haha #1
Once you've drawn your lines, patiently score through the drywall slowly... once a small trench is made, add more pressure and pass with more pressure until it plops out.
#2 You'll take small cut pieces of wood that are about 4" longer than the width of the opening.. BTW.. Home Depot sells scrap wood for close to nothing... I like their "common board".. flat, pine wood, 3/4" thick stuff. It works very well... depending on the size of hole, a curve or bend in the wood isn't going to affect what you're doing.
#3 Slide the wood into the opening, behind the cut out (2" left and 2" right of the cutout) and screw through the existing drywall to the wood.
#4 Now! screw dat'bitch on there :) NOTE: make sure the screws depress into the drywall.. "countersink" When you texture over the screws the putty will fill in the holes and you'll be none the wiser.... not doing so, it makes a bugger in the putty, it will always be noticeable and is irritating to fix.
Now you have successfully repaired the hole and are ready to hire a pro! this is where I stop btw ;) However, should you feel like a total badass for fixing the hole yourself, Home depot sells the putty to repair the cut lines. If there is no texture on your wall and is perfectly smooth, it's called a "skim coat"... and there are different degrees of "skimming". If it has a texture and is in an older home (AZ home that is 90's ish and older) it's likely "orange peal"... there are larger and smaller kinds of orange peal.. which HD sells this stuff in a pressurized can, so look at what one works best. If it's a newer home, late 90's~ today, it's likely not orange peal and is called "skip trowel" or "knock down"... super hard to replicate unless you're an artist. As mentioned earlier, most times I just suggest someone hire a pro to do the texture because it can make or break the repair.. They're likely to cut you a break on the cost having done the drywall repair yourself.. but be sure to ask them first. :) Either way, I hope the simple steps above make you feel more comfortable in taking care of your home. :) Now.. enough blabbering! Here's what makes Friday's so cool!... Like looking into a window of where you'd rather be... you can hear the waves cutting across the sandy beach with a tick, tick, clack sound. I just love the little trees growing out of the bolder in the background... "Life finds a way" hahah :)
Thank you for your time :) I hope you found this information helpful. If I left any detail out on the repair, or you have a suggestion of another home repair, please let me know as I'd be happy to help further. :)
Should you or someone you know need help finding a house to call a home, or a seller needing help understanding the market...or hell, a friend who needs guidance on a household repair or something... Chas and I are just a call away. :) This is a safe place and we're grateful to help:)
Avin has his first football game tomorrow, so we're kind of jacked about that!
Have a joyful weekend!