Saturday, January 31, 2015

Patching Holes and Installing Lights

Holes in walls just happen.
Maybe a little roughhousing was going on and somebody's shoulder just happend to go through the wall (ah, childhood memories...) Anything from a nail-sized hole to a baseball-sized hole can be patched up pretty easily. 

First of all, the size of the hole matters.
Can you stick your finger through it?
- If no, then you can just fill it with spackle. (Here's an easy, short video if you haven't done it before.) You may need multiple coats to fully fill a hole. Just apply in a thin layer, wait an hour, sand lightly, and re-apply.

- If it is bigger than your finger BUT smaller than a quarter, then you will just need a little bit of this mesh tape (see right). It is sticky on one side, so just tape over the hole and apply the spackle like you would before. Remember: thin, multiple layers work best. Try to "feather" it out, getting a thinner layer at the edges so there is a smooth transition where the spackling starts.

- If your hole is bigger than a quarter AND smaller than a baseball, you will need a "drywall patch." There are a couple of different types, but the best by far is the thin metal plate with the same sticky mesh tape over it. All you have to do is make sure your wall is clean, trim to desired size, stick it on, and spackle like you would before. (It does take 4-5 thin coats, but the results are impressive.)

- Is it larger than  baseball? You can still repair a larger hole yourself, it just takes quite a bit more time and technique. I haven't tried this particular method, but you can check it out here. 

Once covered with spackle, always sand smooth so there is a seamless transition to the wall.

Alright, want to see all this in action? Check it out:

Remember those uuuuugly light fixtures above the master sink? Yeah, those exposed round light bulb ones that belong above a stage makeup mirror. I had a vision of our perfect bath, and it did NOT include those lights.

So out they came! The problem? The wires were coming out of big holes near the center of the mirror, and I needed them farther to the sides for each of my two fixtures.







 So I made holes in the right spots, and fished the wires though to where I needed them.
This left holes. BIG holes.



Bring out the big wall patches! Here's what I used:




I cleaned the walls then applied the patches. See the metal screens below?










 Then spackle a thin coat over it.










Let dry, sand and spackle again.










Four or five layers later... It is nice and smooth!












 Then we prime over it before painting:










Then we finally paint...










Then install the new lights.









What a difference it makes. I think we updated the bathroom by 20 years!

Before:                                                     After!


















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