# How to Finish Holes Left by Electrician



## bonpineda (Oct 31, 2014)

Hello,

My electrician cut several 3 inch holes on my drywall to install some chandeliers in our home. I secured these round drywall pieces back in their place by using some 1X1 pieces of wood and drywall screws. Now it's time to apply spackling paste over this but was wondering if it is necessary to put drywall mesh tape for the 1/32" gaps around the circular drywall piece. Would the tape prevent any cracking later on or it should be fine without the tape? Please see attached photo.

Thanks,
Bon


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## concrete_joe (Oct 6, 2014)

how are the walls framed? how old is house? what type of floor does wall sit on?

just mud? will likely always leave you a ring to see. slight flex in wall and mud that thin will crack. a plaster material might hold up. paper is where the strength is, mud just "bonds" it in place, etc.

are you re-painting? if so i would do a blow-out patch see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMfUiAVZ9ZA

maybe try mud 1st, and if it continues to be visible then do blow-out patch.

an alternative to std drywall/mud methods is to use automotive bondo, dont over use it, etc. they sell small cans of this at hd or lo's, etc

hint though, i would perhaps keyhole saw some "teeth" into that center piece (and wall) on the edges (maybe 1/4"-1/2" deep) so that mud or bondo have more place to grab and hold everything tight, etc.


taping over it the way it is will require you to feather the mud out 8-12" around the hole..... not sure if that's what you want to do.


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

Yes, you should tape around the hole or you could get some cracking. It won't crack much, but, you could get some hair line cracks. You could also buy a metal drywall patch with tape already on it to put over the hole(s). This will leave you with a squared up patch. Finish it like you would any normal drywall repair. Get some Quickset powdered drywall mix that sets up in 20, 45, or 90 minutes. This stuff is hard and is perfect for a first coat. Then apply regular joint compound over top of the quickset once it has dried. Be sure to feather out 4 to 6 inches. Allow that to dry overnight. Apply another coat, this time feathering out 10 to 12 inches. Again, let dry overnight. Once dry, sand out the rough spots being sure to sand the edges well so the patch is truly feathered out. Sand any high spots in the middle. Remove any dust, prime with drywall primer and repaint.

I wouldn't use bondo on those holes as it is next to impossible to sand, unless you want to use it in place of quickset for the first coat.


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## ratherbefishin' (Jun 16, 2007)

No need to overthink this one. You secured it well, it's a tiny gap, it's not on a seam or framing member where it would be prone to cracking. I think a tub of DAP Crackshot and a sanding sponge will do fine in this case.


If you do feel the need to do more than that, follow Gym's advice. I'm just not seeing the potential for movement in that patch.


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## joed (Mar 13, 2005)

Video is how I do it but I leave more than an inch. I like about two inches.


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## MrBryan (Apr 28, 2011)

Gymschu said:


> Be sure to feather out 4 to 6 inches.


This.

I agree with ratherbefishin' that cracking will probably not be an issue here. The number one reason this kind of patch can look bad is if not enough material is used and the ring shows through the patch. 

No matter which method you choose, feather it out far enough and it will be fine.


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

Yes if you just use joint compound or spackle it will show. I would not remove it since you already have a backer and screwed in place just to do a hot patch, cali patch, blow out patch. First you would need to square the hole. 

At this point instead of messing with tape I would use the patch Gymschu recommended. For a 3" hole repair I would recommend a 12" drywall knife to feather it out. This could be finished while you are still cutting the patch.

The only thing I would do different is skip the powdered stuff it's hard to work with if you never have before. And the size of these patches you really won't need the strength.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

Setting compound gives you 2 major advantages. One, it's stronger than regular compound. You don't need that. Two, it allows for 3 coats in 1 day, something that a pro would appreciate but as a homeowner you really don't need since you live there and don't have to make separate trips. I personally would never patch that without tape. Using tape is not "overthinking" it.


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

If you use the store bought patch you don't need tape the piece of metal covers the whole area and sticks to the wall and has mesh around the edge.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

The premade patch would be fine, with no tape. Just seems a shame that someone finally installed the drywall piece correctly, now we're patching over it, ha ha


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## ratherbefishin' (Jun 16, 2007)

jeffnc said:


> Using tape is not "overthinking" it.


:laughing:C'mon, jeff, I know your reading comprehension is better than that. I was referring to concrete joe's post with all the structural questions and suggestion for Bondo:no:

It's a 1/32" gap, according to the OP.....smaller than the average nail hole from a picture hanging that you or I wouldn't think twice about using caulk or spackle...on an ARCH, the strongest structural design. I know darn well, with modern products like Crackshot, I can quickly make that disappear. I will admit there was a time when I would have automatically taped it.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

ratherbefishin' said:


> :laughing:C'mon, jeff, I know your reading comprehension is better than that. I was referring to concrete joe's post with all the structural questions and suggestion for Bondo:no:


Really? It didn't follow or quote that post.



ratherbefishin' said:


> It's a 1/32" gap, according to the OP.....smaller than the average nail hole from a picture hanging that you or I wouldn't think twice about using caulk or spackle...on an ARCH, the strongest structural design. I know darn well, with modern products like Crackshot, I can quickly make that disappear. I will admit there was a time when I would have automatically taped it.


And now you're saying you don't need tape again. The size of the gap isn't what matters. Obviously you can make it "disappear" by filling it with compound. You could make it disappear with paint too.


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## ratherbefishin' (Jun 16, 2007)

jeffnc;1424220 Just seems a shame that someone finally installed the drywall piece correctly said:


> We DO certainly agree on that, I refused for years to Cali patch anything big enough to stick my hand in and install a backer, then went entirely to cutting it out larger if needed to install a backer. My not so humble opinion: Cali patches are for hacks in so much of hurry that an extra five minutes is their "make or break" point. A free-floating backer has almost zero potential to ever crack, simply because it isn't affected significantly by normal movement of the frame.


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## ratherbefishin' (Jun 16, 2007)

jeffnc said:


> Really? It didn't follow or quote that post.
> 
> 
> 
> And now you're saying you don't need tape again. The size of the gap isn't what matters. Obviously you can make it "disappear" by filling it with compound. You could make it disappear with paint too.


Really? With paint? I've been missing out here, jeff....please inform me as to what brand of paint would do that. My BM supplier sure as heck doesn't have anything that would do that.


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## ratherbefishin' (Jun 16, 2007)

jeffnc said:


> The size of the gap isn't what matters.


Actually, that's practicly the ONLY thing that matters, unless it's a long straight line gap on a framing member....


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

ratherbefishin' said:


> Really? With paint? I've been missing out here, jeff....please inform me as to what brand of paint would do that. My BM supplier sure as heck doesn't have anything that would do that.


Any paint.
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/9792

But you're missing the point, again.


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## ratherbefishin' (Jun 16, 2007)

jeffnc said:


> Any paint.
> http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/9792
> 
> But you're missing the point, again.


So you're point with paint is that if you put several hundred coats on it, and sand every coat, it might eventually disappear. No, I'm not missing anything at all, that would work if you're willing to spend a couple years on it.:laughing: I'm just saying that a 1/32" gap is smaller than many nail holes I've spackled or mudded over the years, without tape, and the fact that the OP secured the patch properly, instead of a halfazzed cali patch, makes it quite possible that a modern product like Crackshot is worth a try for a DIYer vs buying tools and materials and dealing with the learning curve to tape and mud.
I really have no argument with you, jeff, if a customer asked me to do that, I'd automatically quote it as tape and mud for two reasons: 1) no chance of a call back if it did happen to fail down the road, because it wouldn't, 2) wouldn't be able to justify my price to do such a diddlysquat job if I couldn't stretch it out a little.
I'm really only trying to save this guy some time and money. If it does happen to fail down the road, it's his house and he can always re-do it later.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

My point was simply that there's a right and wrong way to do things, and just because you could get paint to work doesn't mean you should do it. And also, paint does hide some small cracks by bridging them. Happens all the time in trim work and no one is the wiser usually.

It's true that if you're the homeowner, you can get away with things in your own home if you're OK with patching it later when it fails. But most homeowners want to be "one and done", so using tape is best even for DIYers, for the reasons you mentioned. With new tapes like FibaFuse, there is simply no excuse for not using it (no application excuse, anyway.) If you can get joint compound on your wall, you can use FibaFuse.


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## ratherbefishin' (Jun 16, 2007)

jeffnc said:


> My point was simply that there's a right and wrong way to do things, and just because you could get paint to work doesn't mean you should do it. And also, paint does hide some small cracks by bridging them. Happens all the time in trim work and no one is the wiser usually.
> 
> It's true that if you're the homeowner, you can get away with things in your own home if you're OK with patching it later when it fails. But most homeowners want to be "one and done", so using tape is best even for DIYers, for the reasons you mentioned. With new tapes like FibaFuse, there is simply no excuse for not using it (no application excuse, anyway.) If you can get joint compound on your wall, you can use FibaFuse.


Yeah, I understand, though not necessarily "a right and wrong" in this case, more a matter of what works and what doesn't, but that's splitting hairs:wink: I believe you proved one point I tried to make about modern products, though, with your suggestion of Fibafuse. I haven't used it, but I've heard nothing but good about it.....same with Crackshot a few years back. Everything's improving and it's not easy to keep up with innovations. I'm retired now and past customers keep me busy on small repairs when I'm not fishing, because "I don't trust anyone else to do this....":laughing:
You're analogy to cracks in trim definitely gave me a chuckle, I've done that countless times, usually spot priming first with something solid like 123 or Freshstart....or, in the case of the 1/32" we're looking at here, a little paintable caulk. I guess that's really why I suggested trying to fill rather than tape in the first place.

So, question for ya......with Fibafuse, do you have to float the repair out as far as with a typical paper or mesh?


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

Well, I'd probably float them all out about the same, but
a) you get a smaller hump with FibaFuse than with paper
b) FibaFuse sands pretty well if you sand it a bit too close

so technically you could float a smaller area than standard.

The thing about FibaFuse is that in my opinion, it's an excellent product for pros and homeowners (FibaFuse also makes larger sheets for larger drywall repair areas, like heavy skim coating.) It cuts easy - some say too easy - so pros who don't like to use corner trowels don't like it in corners. But I recommend corner trowels for DIYers anyway so it's OK for them.


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

I like to keep a couple of the 36" rolls handy 1 for large repairs and 1 to cut to different sizes and odd shapes you may run into. Absolutely hate corner tools but are the correct tool to bury the FibaFuse. And this product is not to be confused with FibaTape.


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## ratherbefishin' (Jun 16, 2007)

Thanks, guys...picked up a roll of Fibafuse today, haven't used it yet, but just looking at it I can tell that with some Durabond 20 it should save a lot of time and effort on a repair.

Tool, I hate corner trowels, too, except for one purpose. I've worked on a lot of old, warped, out of plumb houses where I can use those to build a layer of mud to straighten out the joint, then tape and finish it so visually it appears square and plumb. That's usually the only time I use my corner trowels.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

FYI, here is what the company has to say:
"FibaFuse is a highly porous material made from Fiberglass making it susceptible to tearing when embedding it into an inside corner. To prevent tearing, a corner trowel is recommended for all inside corner applications. If a flat knife is the desired tool, reduce the force used when embedding the tape. Since FibaFuse is porous, joint
compound will flow very easily through it, therefore less pressure is needed to remove excess joint compound. If a tear does occur, there is no need to pull FibaFuse from the joint. Just insert another short length of FibaFuse directly over the
affected area then embed with joint compound. Because FibaFuse is porous there is
not an appreciable buildup of tape thickness which would occur with paper tape."

Here is what Myron Ferguson has to say:
"A two sided taping knife commonly called a corner trowel works best for embedding FibaFuse tape into a corner. The corner trowel pushes both edges in at the same time and because there is no sharp edge of a knife pushing the tape in tight so the FibaFuse is not cut. Using the corner trowel eliminates the potential of FibaFuse being cut with the edge of a taping knife as it is pushed into the compound along each edge of an inside corner. Keep in mind than once the compound used in this tape embedding coat is dry the FibaFuse is just as strong as paper tape and can be finish taped using conventional tools such as a 6” taping knife or corner finishing tools."


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