Hi fellow Hiveians and DIY Enthusiasts,
Here today with a lesson learned on how not to patch a wall that’s had some damage to it. Our air conditioner froze a few years ago due to working constantly with low Freon. Being in a condo, our unit is in an access in the ceiling in our hallway.
So what I did that didn’t help me in the long run was using the wrong material to patch the wall. People who are familiar with it just call it mud, since that’s what it looks like but it’s technically called joint compound. This is a material based from gypsum in a powder form. You just need to add some water.
The problem I had the first time is I used the pre-mixed mud instead of using the powder to then add water. The pre-made stuff is ok in certain scenarios like patching a hole from a screw but for a large repair, it didn’t work out for me. It was too thick and ended up making me needing to sand it a lot.
Once the pre-mixed stuff was sanded down, you can see that there were some issues with it. It’s ok, I was planning on using the good stuff once I was in the middle of sanding it, seeing the stuff I had to fix.
What I didn’t do the first time around was fix the corner there. It was bubbling up, you can kind of see it in the above picture but here I used a knife to cut away the junk. Rule of thumb is to take any pieces off that are loose enough for you to do with your fingers. Taking it off now prevents issues that come later when you sand or paint it. You don’t want to start painting and have some flakes popping off. One of the things my dad instilled in me is do it right the first time. (Unless you are doing it with something you think is right but ends up not working out, like the pre-made mud lol)
There’s a couple things needed to do this job.
I used a 2 inch taping knife, a 4 inch taping knife, a nice sturdy bucket, and my handy-dandy 3 foot ladder.
The actual mud, or joint compound if you’re formal, is this stuff called EZ Sand 45. I think it sets up in 45 minutes, which is why it’s called 45. This stuff is awesome. My dads been using it for decades to do work. Every time him and I did a job we needed to make holes, we always used this to patch the holes for the clients.
So what we have to do first is mix the mud. It’s a little strange but it takes minimal water to actually get it set. What I learned from a professional plaster guy on YouTube was to make the mud a little watery. This will give you a lot more leeway with putting it up. It also doesn’t dry in the bucket as fast. I never really mixed it with my dad so I wasn’t familiar with how much water was needed but it’s not a lot! The consistency is a bit like pancake mix, not cement mix. I’ve had excellent success with this formulation!
So unfortunately the picture I took of the blade with the mud on it is brutally blurry, sorry. I should’ve looked first but that’s ok. You don’t need a hell of a lot to do a repair like this. The more you put up there, the more you will need to sand off so just use what you need.
The mud first pass. Tried to just put a thin layer.
I was happy with the corner. It may have been a better idea to take down the trim that’s on the space in the ceiling but I don’t have a saw that could cut a nice piece just in case I screw it up so I am leaving it. I don’t need to buy a saw just for that, as much as I would like to we don’t have the storage space for it.
I was also happy I was able to tuck the plaster right up into the crack between the wall and trim. It will set nicely, I hope!
It may look odd but it just needs to blend and be flush with the existing wall and paint. Once it dries, is smooth and flush it will just need to be painted. We were planning on repainting the whole hallway anyways because my wife painted it when she moved in and it’s kind of a gross aged-cigarette yellow look. She didn’t have money or help when she moved in years ago so she still did an awesome job for a single woman with minimal DIY experience!
So that was my fun project today. Tomorrow it’s hopefully going to paint but I will give it a light sand with some 120 or 150 grit sandpaper, depending on what I’ve got in the closet. We will eventually
Mothers Day
Washing Machine Repair part 2
Washing Machine Repair part 1
Focaccia Bread ; Sink Pop-Up Assembly Repair ;
Bathroom floor washer dryer ;
DIY bathroom floor near a toilet ;
DIY 2011 Nissan Sentra spark plugs ; DIY Tomago Cages ; Securely Hanging a Cabinet ;
Joint Compound on Ceiling ; Washing Machine Drain Pump ; Bubble wrap insulation on a wall ; Finish work in the bathroom ; Bubble wrap on windows ; Laminate floors in a bathroom ; Ball joints on a car
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