Tag: drywall ceiling

What to do with that hole in the ceiling…

While I have fixed a fair number of ceilings now – usually textured drywall – there are other, cheaper, sometimes better options depending on the size of the hole.

Amarjit’s tenant had a leak from a bathtub drain. He fixed the plumbing but had a 30×30 square hole left over. Fixing the drywall wasn’t ideal because there were some funky curves in the original installation due to the drain being too low. I suggested a simple cover. Much cheaper, much less hassle for the tenants, flexible/looks OK, and easily removable if there is another leak. I used 1/4″ melamine and painted the edges white.

A week later I was fixing a bunch of holes at Patricia and Gary’s house. In this case it made sense to drywall most of them, but one hole needed access to an outside tap shutoff, so it was best to make another cover panel:

pop-off screw caps cover the screws which go directly into the joists above

Here is a picture of one of the repairs that needed textured ceiling, wall, and crown moulding all fixed:

Removing a wall

Carol hired me to remove an interior non-load-bearing wall. She got a permit from the city and tested the drywall for asbestos. We knew the wall was not supporting the ceiling because the trusses ran the length of the attic.

Before and After:

Before
After

During:

The drywall came down pretty nicely. The studs were a little bit harder – mostly one top plate which was attached to part of one of the trusses.

I called an electrician to re-wire the switch and heater. He also had fun climbing around in the attic. 🙂

The ceiling was more challenging. Some blocking needed to be adjusted to keep things level. There was also a cablevision cable running floor to ceiling that was a bit of a mystery. Shaw came and tested it and cut it, luckily.

The floor was also a challenge. It is laminate and going to be replaced at some point, but can’t be done for a few months…so I was asked to patch it. I ripped some pieces to fit with a gap for silicone. It is not ideal…but should last for a few months.

The ceiling got taped and 2 coats of mud. Then sanded and texture sprayed:

maybe don’t mention to my wife that I used our mixer for drywall mud

After the texture dried, I attempted to match and paint the ceiling (off-white). It took quite a few tries but I got close. Very rarely do I get a perfect ceiling.