Repairing drywall - Need advice

[Azrael256]

So, mom's shower was leaking, and it rotted out the drywall on the other side.  I have repaired the shower with some Silicone II, but I'm unsure as to how to deal with the wall.  I was able to poke my finger straight through the drywall on the other side, so there's a pretty good hole there.  It's an elongated shape, coming up maybe 4" from the baseboard (which is undamaged), and running about 10" along it.

I'm thinking that I'll just pop off the baseboard, cut out a square foot or so of drywall, and replace it with a fresh square.  My taping skills are a little rusty, but paint hides many, many sins.  My big concern is how to repair the texturing.  Obviously new drywall doesn't come textured, and I have no real texturing skills beyond sand.

Oh, and you should've seen the caulk in that shower.  I seriously wonder if it was painter's caulk, because it peeled up in great, porous strips.  Didn't even need a screwdriver to get it out.  I just cut it with my fingernail, and pulled it out.  It came out in 6" strips of spongy goop.  Yech!

Any advice you guys have would be greatly appreciated.

[Guest]

Don't count on paint hiding a bad tape job. Just take your time and you should be fine on such a small spot.

As far as texturing, it depends on what type..if its knockdown type, most home improvement places sell repair cans/sets of things to fix them up. If its paint texture, you can find sponges, etc. in the same area of the store..if you take a picture of the texture, someone there should be able to help you match it up with.

Since my home repair skills are right up there with my domestic goddess skills, I find a strategically placed potted plant helpful in situations like this.

[Azrael256]

Ah, yes, a potted plant...  actually, I think mom wanted to put a couch there.  This could work!

The last thing I taped was a hole in the garage wall where it really just didn't matter.  This one is going to take some work.  *sigh*

I think the texture is some kind of plaster stuff, but I'm not sure.  I peeled off a good chunk of it intact when the drywall gave way, so I'll take it with me to home depot when I'm ready to do this.  Let this be a lesson to everybody.  Caulk up your shower BEFORE it rots a hole in the wall.

[InfidelSerf]

I recently learned a new trick... take pieces of tissue paper and hand crumple them up.. then spread them out over the area you want some texture and paint over them sticking them to the wall.  It looked good when I saw it done but I haven't had a chance to try it yet.

[DJJ]

I came across some drywall repair patches at Home Depot with texture already applied. They're adhesive backed. They're intended to bridge over a hole, but in your case, just cover the repair piece with them. They're about 4x6" for the large size, and they had 1 each of fine and coarse texture in each package. They were about 2 or 3 bucks.

You might want to consider using green board (water resistant) instead of gypsum, just in case.

[Harold Tuttle]

sounds like you may have mold remediation project.

The insides of damp walls can become a very expensive issue involving
environmental doods with air samplers poking holes about the structure.

http://www.epa.gov/mold/

[Azrael256]

Yeah, mold was a VERY large concern when I first found it.  That's the main reason I tore into the wall so quickly to look at it.  Fortunately, however, I was unable to find any indication of growth.  There was some discoloration around the hole itself, but everything inside the wall looked clean.

Actually, thinking about it, it's a tiny leak.  Most of mom's bedroom sits on another slab on top of the foundation, including the shower.  If there had been a significant leak, it would have eaten that wall up right away, as the slab slopes ever so slightly toward that wall.  It also hasn't been there too long.  I remember that wall looking just fine when I went off to school after spring break, and I just noticed the damage two weeks ago.  I don't know how long it takes drywall to degrade, but I suspect that it hasn't been leaking very long.  Of course, I stopped all showering activity in that bathroom immediately after I noticed it, and it was bone dry when I got home last week.

I will, however, keep your advice in mind.  I have fixed up the leak problem, so anything growing in there shouldn't get any bigger, and there's no reason why I can't do a little scrubbing followed by a bit of bleach and water treatment.

Edited to add:

On further inspection, this time with a good flashlight, I still see no mold, and the hole is good and dry.  

I'm wondering if I can just patch it.  The wall isn't actually hollow right behind the hole.  It is right up against the slab of the raised floor in mom's room.  It isn't more than an inch deep.  For a moment, I considered going to the garage for the bondo.  I have seen it used in household applications, but I'm wondering if that mud stuff might be better.  I don't mind a little shrinkage when it hardens, as I can always go back in for another coat, and I suppose I can build it in layers with adhesive fiberglass tape.  maybe strip it down to the wallboard for an inch or so around the hole, dam it with tape, and fill behind it.  Do that in layers until it's sealed, and then slap on a texture patch with some paint?  It sounds like a decent idea, and it's a whole lot easier than cutting out drywall.  I want to fix it permanently, and I want to do it right.  Does filling it in sound like an acceptable way to fix it?

[Harold Tuttle]

patching plaster is marvelous stuff
and a 1 pound bag is 4 bucks

for a backer, liquid nail a piece of lathe to the back side of the hole
and hold it in place with a screw through a lathe on the frontside till it sets up

[Sergeant Bob]

Check out this drywall patching tutorial.

http://www.easy2.com/cm/easy/diy_ht_index.asp?page_id=35693893

[roo_ster]

The Home Depot moe reapair book has two methods.  Avoid the one where you scrape the gypsum off the back of a bt of drywall & use the resulting kluge as a patch.

My Usual Repair:
1. Buy a bit of sheetrock the same thickness as your wall's sheetrock.

2.  Measure hole.  Increase the measurements a bit & cut out a rectangular piece with straight edges that will cover the hole from your new sheetrock.

3. Use that new rectangular piece as a template.  Draw around it over your hole.  Cut along lines with drywall-appropriate saw.  Err on being too small rather than too large.

4. Dry-fit new piece of sheet rock.  If it is too small, use a utility knife on the opening in the wall to make your final fit nice & tight.

5. Use 1x2 or some handy scrap as backing.  Cut to a bit oversize & screw into place with drywall or deck screws.  Use pilot holes.

6. Place new piece of drywall in opening & screw into place.

7. Mud the seams using wide spackling/putty knife  & let dry

8. Sand the seams & mud again.

9. Sand the seams.  If it is still not smooth, try some light spackling, which will generally do the trick.

10. Apply texture.  In my case, the "orange peel" type in a spray can & let dry.

11.  Prime it, paint it, & roll on.

**********

Small patches or difficult (cieling around fixture openings) can often be repaired with plaster of paris & light spackling.