# How to cut drywall to access plumbing?



## 123pugsy (Oct 6, 2012)

Good plan.

Just be careful when you cut at a stud and get just past it that you don't plunge into the wall and cut a wire.


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## mikegp (Jul 17, 2011)

Just curious, how do you know where the lines are actually running in the wall?


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## RickMacKay (Mar 23, 2016)

Most tradesmen use a drywall saw...it is a small handsaw, shaped like a filet knife. That way, you can feel if the blade, which has large teeth, (good for drywall, not so good on pipes and wires) is touching anything.


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## MrElectricianTV (Nov 13, 2014)

french_guy said:


> Hello all
> I'm redoing my master bathroom, and I need to access some plumbing inside the wall in the toilets
> I'm planning to make a clean horizontal cut (with a multi tool) at approx 2 ft from the floor on 3 walls. It will give me full access to the water lines I need to work on
> Then, put blockers and reinstall pieces of drywall. Walls will be tiled anyway, so I don't care if it looks pretty or not
> ...


I use my multi-tool at a 45 degree angle inward. The angle cut allows the cut out piece of drywall to be reinstalled using joint compound buttered on the edges. Even if you are cutting across wall studs, the angle cut supports the cut out piece between studs. This method usually does not need taping as the joints are sealed together at an angle with compound.

You can see an example of a hole that has been cut at a forty five degree angle and the patch job on this short YouTube video that I made:


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