# is this hole fixable with hot mud?



## amakarevic (Apr 12, 2007)

Is this hole, to the right of the light, fixable with hot mud? Or should i cut another sheet?

It is a 4" light. So the imperfection is maybe an inch.

Cutting holes in drywall, especially ceiling, is a friggin nightmare


----------



## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Should have be done with a hole saw or a Roto Zip with a pilot bit for a tight fit.
Good luck trying to patch that mess up.


----------



## ktkelly (Apr 7, 2007)

This would work:

http://www.homedepot.com/buy/paint-...cial-can-light-patch-100-per-case-134952.html



If you can find them in lesser amounts...


----------



## 7echo (Aug 24, 2008)

How much of it will the trim cover? If the trim covers all or most of the damage I would think you could mud it and it would look fine. 

Those ring patches could come in handy, never seen those before.


----------



## amakarevic (Apr 12, 2007)

joecaption said:


> Should have be done with a hole saw or a Roto Zip with a pilot bit for a tight fit.


it was done with a Roto Zip. 

but i make a mistake most of the time on the first try. 

the way i do it is i get the rough X/Y coordinate where the center of the hole is and then make a pilot hole there and go in circles. the problem is when i get to the rim.

i tried the lipstick technique with varying degrees of success.

i just think that making ceiling patterns is the curse of this world. walls are easy cause i do it with roll paper, i spread it over the wall and then cut holes with scissors and then put some painting tape around perimeters cause i screw up those holes sometimes too. then i paste the stencil onto drywall and it works fine.

but the problem with the ceiling is that it is not easy to staple large sheets of paper onto it so i usually sacrifice one sheet to just make a stencil cause i make mistakes on the first draft 95% of the time.

i hate cutting drywall to measure, BTW. it is the ultimate curse for someone with A.D.D. everything else i have done in construction requires far less precision and is more forgiving to correct mistakes.


----------



## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

Yes--Pack that---use 2 coats to pack it or it will sag.

I've had that happen when I forgot to lock the can to the bracket--hate it when that happens


----------



## scottktmrider (Jul 1, 2012)

I would flat tape it,cause there is not anything for the mud to really stick to and might crack or fall out.


----------



## CopperClad (Jun 22, 2012)

Take the 4'' can out and get a 6'', if that is the only light in the room. Sounds, and looks like you should stay away from the rotozip, and chainsaws. A keyhole saw creates a lot less dust and is much easier to control. I'm not so sure about your stencil method, you should just be able to trace whatever shape you need right to the sheet rock and cut away. Just takes some practice, you'll get the hang of it. Good luck


----------



## scottktmrider (Jul 1, 2012)

Just tape it;looks like the rest of the ceiling is not taped.


----------



## burnt03 (Sep 20, 2009)

amakarevic said:


> it was done with a Roto Zip.
> but i make a mistake most of the time on the first try.


lol, that's pretty much the story of my life. Except I'll usually do it wrong the 2nd and 3rd time too :no:


----------



## miamicuse (Nov 13, 2011)

I would cut out a 10"x10" square around the hole. Cut a new 10"x10" drywall and recut the hole on it (you can do this over again if you make a mistake). Then insert two strips of 1x2s across the hole to the back of the drywall, screw to original drywall on each side, lay the new sheet over the can, screw to secure.

Just need to tape four straight seams.


----------



## coupe (Nov 25, 2011)

I agree with the above post#11, this hole should be cut using a drywall saw and a drywall circle cutter. even with ADD, simply measure each way from adjoining sheets , to center of light and mark on ceiling with light pencil.

rotozip works great, if you know how to use it? it looks like you ran yours in a clockwise rotation around the light? you should have measured 1/8" past edge of light and ran it counter clockwise, when running around boxes/lights,running inside= clockwise, running outside= counter clockwise.

good luck


----------



## bluntman001 (May 10, 2011)

I'd say that the hole is fixable with hot mud, and some tape. Cutting out a big hole around the light seems like a lot of work just to patch that hole, specially if its just going to get covered with texture. Hot mud with tape will do the same job, and its not like it going to just fall down. Just make sure your mud is thick. Come visit us for more


----------



## scottktmrider (Jul 1, 2012)

scottktmrider said:


> I would flat tape it,cause there is not anything for the mud to really stick to and might crack or fall out.


I dont see what the big deal is.Looks like the rest of the room needs taping just put a piece of tape than fill and finish like normal.
If you cut the drywall short around the window do you move the window.


----------



## bf514921 (Jul 8, 2012)

flat tapem float it sand it, never know it is there. If your really worried float it out 10 inches, trim will cover after that.


----------



## bjbatlanta (Jul 16, 2008)

There is a learning curve to using a Rotozip. Flat tape & finish....


----------



## oldrivers (May 2, 2009)

take a knife and bevel the edge , fill with hot mud use thicker , scrape and tape , then finish . easy repair. by the way the patch of hotmud and tape is stronger than the drywall itself. you just need to use a good 10-12 inch blade to feather it out. dont use a small blade like a 6 inch use 10-12 wide blade for the finish coat anyways.


----------

