24Feb

My Way Of Repairing A Hole In Sheetrock

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My Way Of Repairing A Hole In Sheetrock


Note:  A reader wants me to mention that small holes, such as nail/screw holes (up to the size of a dime) and cracks in sheetrock/plaster can be patched using lightweight ‘Spackling Compound’.  Press a small glob of this stuff onto the hole, then smooth off the area by scraping over it with the flat edge of a putty knife, spatula, paint mixing stick, etc.


>How does one go about repairing a hole in the wall? It’s about the size of a fist… :)  

I warn you in advance many people will not agree with this simple approach but, in my opinion, these folks make the repair harder than it has to be.

A sheetrock saw [also called a sheetrock knife for some reason] makes this job easier. They look like keyhole saws but have a sharp point that lets you punch into the sheetrock to get the cut started. A sabre saw (jigsaw) with a wood cutting blade also works well. Some people use a utility (box) knife but, I find them difficult to use for this.

Get a piece of sheetrock [also called drywall or wallboard] a few inches bigger than the hole (scraps from construction site, maybe?).  The edges of sheetrock are thinner than the main area of the sheet so, stay a few inches away from the edge. Draw a circle just larger than the hole and, cut it out. It doesn’t have to be a perfect circle.  Lay this patch piece over the hole and trace the outline on the wall–that is, draw around it.  Cut along this outline making a hole in the wall roughly the same size and shape as the patch.

Find/cut/make a piece of wood that’s narrow enough to go in the hole and about 3-4″ longer than the diameter of the hole.  Thickness doesn’t matter much so long as you can get it in the hole but, thinner is usually easier to work with. A piece of 1/4″ plywood is perfect but, a wide range of things will work, including a couple of thicknesses of corrugated cardboard glued together.  (If the hole is in the ceiling the backer needs to be stiffer than for a wall so don’t use the cardboard trick.)  I’ll call this the backer piece.

Insert the backer into the hole such that it extends on each side of the hole and attach it to the inside/backside of the wall.

To hold the backer while you’re attaching it to the wall, drill a small hole it’s center. Tie a string to a nail, stick or something and thread the other end through the hole. Now, after you put the backer in place, you can pull on the string to hold it in place against the inside of the wall while the glue sets or while running down the screws. Then cut the string and let the nail fall inside the wall. Another way to do this is to put a long screw where the string hole is and use the screw as a handle to hold the backer in place with your fingers or pliers.  Remove the screw, of course, when your done.

Some common ways to attach the backer are:

  • glue it in place with:
    • a hot glue gun
    • caulk
    • construction adhesive
    • glue
  • screw it in place by running screws through the wall

Cold glues require you wait up to a day before finishing. The most common method is screws. If you use screws use flathead screws and tighten them so they just dimple into the sheetrock but, don’t tighten them until they cut the paper around the screw head.  If you use an electric drill/driver set the screwdriver clutch to the lowest setting and work up to the right torque. (If that last sentence was Greek ignore it. :-)

After the backer is in place, attach the patch to it using one of the same methods — thereby filling the hole except for the seam/edges.  Now, using a putty knife (I use a 4″-6″ knife but, make do with whatever size you have.) press a glob of joint mud or spackling against the wall, forcing it into the seam (and the screw dimples if you used screws) then, trowel/scrape off the excess making a smooth surface.  Allow this to dry–about a day if mud — and hour or so if spackling.  Mud will shrink as it dries so, you will probably have to repeat this at least once.  When flush and dry, use a sanding block or a damp sponge to make smooth.  Joint mud takes longer than spackling, but it’s more forgiving — you can use a damp sponge to remove it and do it over-and-over if you have to.

If you have some PVA (polyvinyl acetate) primer handy use it, otherwise just paint.

If the wall is stippled (textured) matching the stippling is another chapter.

A note of caution.  This method works well for a repair that’s in the central area of a sheet of sheetrock, such that the patch is attached to the surrounding sheetrock and not attached to studding.  When the patch is attached to studding, it and the sheet it abuts can move independently, so you’re safer to tape and float the seam to resist cracking.

Those who disagree with my method will do the repair much the same way but, will make a square patch, then tape and float the seams.

A hint for using a sheetrock saw:  Start the cut by pressing the tip of the saw against the sheetrock at your starting point, then work (drill) the tip into the rock by rotating your hand back and forth (clockwise/counterclockwise) while pressing.  

Dan T writes:

What I did to patch a hole in drywall: (inner wall-no insulation) wadded up newspaper & stuck it in the hole to surround the hole filled the opening with expandable foam cut the foam off even with the wall with a long knife spread drywall compound and sanded it’s been so long ago, I forgot where the hole was & I can’t find it  

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24Feb

Water Is Coming Out of the Tube on the Side of My Water Heater

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The name is Temperature Pressure Relief Valve (TPR valve).  This safety valve releases water (and thus relieves pressure) if either the temperature or pressure in the tank gets too high.  These valves are very important.  Water heaters can become bombs if the pressure gets too high and these valves fail to work.  See this major explosion caused by a small (5 gallon) water heater or this one when the TPR valve didn’t work..

These valves can begin to run water either because

  • the valve has become defective, or 
  • the pressure in the tank it exceeding the relief point.

May Be a Defective Valve

If your TPR valve suddenly started leaking when it didn’t use to, and you haven’t had any plumbing renovation work done recently, this is the most likely cause.  As the valves get older they sometimes begin to leak  I’m not sure why this happens.  I’ve heard people say they weaken over time, but I don’t understand why that would be.  It may be if it has released small amounts of water over time this water has built up deposits in the valve that begin to interfere with it closing.  Or, perhaps a particle from the tank gets stuck in the seat holding it partly open.  There’s a lever on the valve that lets you open it deliberately.  Some advise you do this periodically to be sure it’s working properly.  In my experience if you open an older valve it’s likely it will never close properly again — it will begin weeping when it wasn’t before.  As Terry Kennedy writes on alt.home.repair:

It’s not uncommon for older valves to get stuck in the open position when tested for the first time after many years – so be sure to know where the water shutoff valve for the inlet to the heater is.  A phone number of a plumber is a good thing to have handy.  And don’t test it at 10 PM on a Saturday night.  :-)   

These valves are cheap and there’s only one problem replacing them — sometimes they’re hard to unscrew.  You may need a long handled wrench with a cheater.  Turn off the gas or electricity and cold water supply to the tank.  You only need to drain enough water to get below the level of the valve.  Don’t drain a lot of water until you’ve broken the valve loose, so the weight of the water helps keep the heater from moving while you pull on the wrench.

Wrap some teflon tape on the threads of the  new valve when you replace it.

Note:  If you also replace the discharge tube, it must be made of a material that’s rated for both high temperature and pressure.  This includes most rigid wall copper, iron and, in most places, chlorinated polyvinylchloride (CPVC plastic not regular PVC) pipe.  The pipe size must match the opening size of the TPR valve discharge (usually ¾ inch).  It must terminate 6″-12″ above the floor, and the end cannot be threaded or have a fitting which permits connecting a plug or cap.  

May Be High Tank Pressure

The other reason for the TPR valve to run water is high pressure in the water heater tank.  This is usually caused by one of two things — high main water pressure (water district or well) or a back flow prevention/check valve.

Backflow Valves

Houses built or renovated in the past 10-20 years may have a back flow prevention valve in the water supply line.  These valves only allow water to go in one direction.  Building codes have begun to require them so that once water enters your house it cannot move backward into the water supply system.  This introduces a new problem.  When the water in the water heater tank is heated it expands, making a greater volume of water.  This extra water needs somewhere to go.  If all the faucets in the house are closed it can’t go that way.  Before these one way valves, water was simply pushed back out of the house into the main supply.  The backflow valve prevents this, so the extra water has no place to go and pressure builds in the tank until it exceeds the TPR valve set point (about 120 psi) and water comes out the TPR discharge tube.  As you may have guessed this isn’t good.

The solution is to install an expansion tank in the cold water line between the backflow valve and the water heater.  These tanks give the extra water a place to go.  If your builder installed a backflow valve he should have also installed an expansion tank but . . .    If you have an expansion tank it may have failed.

Main Pressure May Be Too High

If the main water supply pressure is too high this can also cause the the pressure to exceed the TPR valve set point.  The Uniform Plumbing Code calls for water to be delivered to homes for domestic use at between 50 to 70 psi.  Supply lines as well as appliances are designed to withstand up to 80 pounds per square inch.

Water pressure regulators reduce the pressure delivered by the water district to between 50 and 70 psi.  Over time the rubber and metal parts in these regulators can fail. When the regulator fails, water pressure to the home increases putting a strain on valves, hoses and appliances they were not designed to withstand.  A solution to the problem its to install your own pressure regulator on your incoming water line.  But, this pressure regulator will also behave like a backflow valve — it will not allow water to go backward through it — so you’ll also need an expansion tank if you install your own pressure regulator.

If you suspect the pressure in your water heater is too high you can buy a water pressure gauge for about $9 (one place is Home Depot) and check it.

Connect the gauge to the water heater drain faucet (garden hose thread).  Run a hot water faucet until the water heater begins heating.  Close the faucet.  If the pressure starts creeping up as the heater heats the water, there is a backflow valve or in-house regulator creating a closed system.

If the pressure does not increase as the water is heated, but the pressure reads above 80 psi all the time, your supply pressure is too high.  You should consider contacting the city/water district, and if they don’t do something consider installing your own regulator.  To check the supply (main) pressure you can also connect the gauge to an outdoor faucet, and turn on the faucet. Make sure the faucet is “regulated”. Some outdoor faucets are unregulated.  If the pipe connected to the faucet comes out of the wall it’s probably regulated.

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24Feb

Fastening Things to Drywall (and Plaster maybe)

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Plastic Anchor

These conical plastic anchors are worthless for drywall.  A #10 screw directly into the wall will work as well.  (They work OK for light duty in masonry)

 

Nylon Wall Driller

I like these for a pulling force of less than than about 20# on a single fastener.

 

Nylon Toggle Wall Grip

These fasteners work well for things like bathroom fixtures and towel racks.  They’re like a lighter duty toggle bolt, but don’t require the toggle bolt’s large hole, and the “wings” don’t fall off if you have to remove the screw temporarily.  They can hold a pulling force of about 40# each.

Molly Bolt

A traditional favorite for fairly strong holding power.

How to use a Moly bolt.


Toggle Bolt

For heavier lifting, the larger toggle bolts are a traditional favorite.  Toggle bolts require a bigger hole in the wall, and if you ever have to remove them they drop the anchor part (wing) inside the wall and you have to get another one.  

How to use a toggle bolt.

Click Here for an Article on How Many of the
Above Fasteners You Need For Your Job


Don’t Use Drywall Fasteners For Heavy Loads

If you have really heavy loads you should not use drywall fasteners.  For the sake of argument, let’s say a pulling force of 75# is the upper limit for a single toggle bolt.  By pulling I mean forces trying to pull the fastener out of the wall.  All of them can handle somewhat greater forces that are parallel to the wall–at right angles to the fastener, like a hanging picture.

So, if you must apply more than 75# to a single fastener you need to use screws run into studs.  If you simply can’t position the fastener at a stud, then span two studs with a board screwed to the studs, and screw the object to the board.

Lighter Objects

Picture Hangers

For pictures and light objects, picture hangers will do.

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