Repairing Hole In Ceiling
I have a 2x2ft hole in the ceiling of a 12x15ft bedroom. My contractor said he can not replace a small area and needs to remove all 180sq ft of sheetrock on the ceiling because it is not possible to patch and retexture part of the ceiling to match the remaining ceiling.
What is your experience?
Holes of this size normally have to be cut back to a stud so there is something to attach to.
Re-texturing when patching can be done if the person is really good. I have seen jobs where you can not tell and other times where it is very obvious what happened.
It is a bit more labor to get the patch right so there is a bit of a price trade off when you do a larger areas (easier and quicker) then when you do a small area (sometimes more work but not always).
Decide how much it will cost you and decide if it is worth finding a different contractor. Or do it yourself and learn what it is like to try to get it to match!
John
[addsig]
Gee.... sounds like the 2x2 hole is the least of your worries. I'd fix the leak, first.
Without seeing it, it's hard to imagine that it can't be patched. I think a skilled drywaller/taper can do just about anything.
As far as blending the finish? Is it textured? Again, a good patch, texture, and paint job seems the most likely scenario.
[addsig]
Some patches are extremely hard to match and will stick out no matter how good the drywaller is.
I would be happy to look at it for you if you send me a digital picture and give you a professional opinion.
Randall
[addsig]
I don't know why you'd have to rip out all of the drywall. My guess is its an older texture job? And this guy doesn't know how to do it, or just wants to use a machine instead of manually putting the texture on...remember...your always patching large parts of drywall whenever you do a job (he's not going to cover the entire ceiling with one piece of drywall...) you always tape your pieces together, mud over the tape, do alittle sanding, apply some texture, then maybe do some sanding depending on the texture type...he's full of it!
Bob, this is a good sign you are using the wrong guy to fix your properties. Your guy has the right idea if this is a high dollar property or your own house, but not for an investment property.
You need a guy that is always trying to balance between doing it the cheapest way while still making it look acceptable if you want to maximize profits by not spending un-necessary money for little return.
Guys who only do things the "right way" are great for your personal property but not for these situations.
there is not enough info. to determine if that large a section needs to be removed. what caused the 2x2 was it a leak if so water can travel enough to cause most of the ceiling to be "brittle" enough to have a large {or all} section of the ceiling removed.........kenmax
"My contractor said he can not replace a small area and needs to remove all 180sq ft of sheetrock on the ceiling because it is not possible to patch and retexture part of the ceiling to match the remaining ceiling.
He doesn't say anything about the remaining drywall being brittle or there still being a leak or there being mold OR ANYTHING! He simply says he can't do it to match the remaining ceiling...he says its not possible...
[ Edited by Stockpro99 on Date 06/23/2004 ]
This issue I have seen is people post a "simple" question, because they don't know it's a hard problem. Not saying that this is the case here.
I would prefer people pitch the "bad" news to me that I can go face the problem more well informed.
well said cj.
A lot of supposition and conjecture here. I stand by my original offer to look at the problem if I have a digital picture to look at. My email is in my profile, I will post my opinion when I see the picture.
That said, generally on a 2x2 you could patch it and then texture the whole ceiling so that a reasonable cover up would be achieved if you are unable to match the texture of the patch. THis is cheaper and easier than tearing down the whole ceiling. A lot depends onthe value of the home.
I was in Tigard last weekend and would have looked at it for you
Good Luck.
I just want to add, that unless this texture is really a work of art along the lines of the Sistine Chapel painted ceiling, there is no texture that cannot be duplicated.
Get somebody who can patch it and match it. It doesn't have to be perfect. Is this a million dollar home? Too many rehabbers get caught up with tunnel vision focusing on a problem that they think every prospective buyer will zero in on as soon as they walk in the door. All the drama we create for ourselves is usally self-created.
Some people will paint a room and make a mistake on one piece of molding, when somebody comes to see the room the first thing they do is point out to them where they screwed up, meanwhile the viewer would never have noticed it until it was pointed out.
There has never been a house that was rehabbed that I couldn't walk into it and see where you could dump more money, it is endless, you can rehab and rehab and rehab forever, you have to draw a line in the sand where this is good enough to sell and stick to it.
I would patch it, match the texture, and paint it, the only person who will ever notice it is you.
The above 2 posters are right on the money here.
Anyone, worth their salt, can patch and match this area reasonably well. And as previously stated, the only one who will recognize it will be you and the guy that patched it. Million dollar home or 50K, matters not. Patch it. If it stands out, which I truly doubt if the patch is a good one, then retexture the entire area. The cause of the problem (while important to rectify) has no bearing on the result of the patchwork, unless it has affected the existing sheetrock on the rest of the ceiling.
Dave
why not patch the 2'x2' area then put a light coat over the whole ceiling?
Pardon me for butting in, I'm new here, but I'm an experienced rehab contractor. Confusion arises from the word "texture." Many houses have the blown-on accoustic (popcorn) ceilings. These are a piece of cake to patch, and they disappear under new blown-on accoustic. "Texture" usually means a drywall finish, that is to say, joint compound applied by hand or roller (or spray) to give a textured pattern. On older houses these can be quite intricate works of pattern. They can be duplicated if you had the same brush or tool that was used, loaded with the same consistency of "mud" and applied by the same hands. Otherwise you're looking at a struggle. Few contractors wish to risk getting paid on their ability to recreate these neat old patterns. Yes, you can patch it and Yes, one can see it's a patch. That being said, I can't see taking down 180 sf (that's 6 sheets of sheetrock) of ceiling and messy insulation, just to avoid a patch. Buy some mud and start experimenting on a piece of cardboard. Then have your contractor patch the 2 x 2 section, finish it smooth and leave. Put on your smock and go be artistic. A couple of hours can save you a bundle.
Well said..