The key, as Sampiro suspected, is the size of the job. He’s much better off calling a handyman, who can certainly manage a job like this, than a plastering or drywalling firm, that is really not interested in something so small.
Of course, it’s a pretty straightforward repair job even for somebody without a lot of do-it-yourself experience. Cut out the bad section, make a patch the same size, and screw in place. Tape the seams with fiberglass drywall tape, and apply as much joint compound as it takes to get it right!
And putting the compound is not rocket science. It’s undeniable that a skilled person can do it faster and better than the unskilled, but the nice thing is that any mistakes can be sanded out and recompounded. I know, I know, the sanding dust is nasty, particularly when you’re working on a ceiling. But that’s really the worst part of the job.
I have done lots of drywall repairs and did the same thing your’re describing in my ceiling. You can do it yourself but if it’s your first time doing drywall work then you will not do a good job. Nothing personal, it just takes practice. Even with some experience, after several years my drywall tape starting peeling off. When I had my house painted this year I had the painters redo the seams for me.
Which brings me to my next point. You can probably find a small painting outfit that will be willing to do this for you if you shop a little. $5000 is way way way too much. Should be $500-1000, I would think.
I did this exact same thing - someone cough was up in the attic, took a misstep, and fell with both legs through the ceiling of our living room. The size of the hole was about 32" by 30" or so.
I fixed it myself, standing on an 8’ stepladder (it is a 10’ ceiling). First, I widened the hole with a keyhole saw to make it square and to cut it back to the joists. Then I cut the drywall (I only needed one sheet) to the appropriate size and fastened it to the joists with drywall screws. Then I taped the seams and applied the joint compound and sanded it smooth. Finally I got some ceiling plaster and did the best I could to blend it into the rest of the ceiling.
Lessons learned:
– Wear protective goggles. Plaster and stuff will fall in your eyes. Also wear some kind of hat if you don’t want to be washing joint compound or plaster out of it.
– With a hole the size you have, you can probably do it yourself, but it wouldn’t hurt to have someone to help you hold the drywall in place while you are screwing it in. Much easier.
– It’s really hard to blend the plaster in with the rest of the room if you have a textured ceiling. My repair is pretty easy to pick out if you look for it. But most people don’t notice it unless it gets pointed out.
I am confused by all the references to plaster, when discussing drywall. I have used only drywall joint compound on drywall repairs. True plaster is for plaster walls.
What are you guys talking about when you mention both joint compound and plaster?
For such a small section, a lift is unnecessary, though they are indispensible for full size sheets. Measure the thickness of your existing drywall, buy a sheet of the same. Cut the hole square + find or make something to attach the new drywall. See Chief Pedant’s post or the third link below for options. Cut the new piece to fit. Have one or two people hold it up while another screws it in. If you’re inexperienced, I’d suggest using a self adhesive drywall tape, as they are much easier to use than plain paper.
At least in my case, I have both. The original walls were plaster and lathe but anything patched or repaired was done so with drywall.
The lathe makes it easier since there is always something to screw into.
Definitely use a handyman as opposed to a company. It is a job that is hard to do the first time but gets easy with practice. Someone who know what he is doing can knock it out pretty quickly.
As in, crashing all the way onto the living room floor? Or just two legs dangling, with a joist breaking your fall by way of your groin? I’m not sure which sounds worse.
Old walls used wooden (lath) strips nailed between studs with spaces between. Plaster was then applied over the lath strips where it would ooze through and provide keys to lock the plaster after it dried. The exposed plaster face was then troweled smooth. For an example, watch a 3 Stooges movie; inevitably someone gets thrown through the wall and you can see the lath and plaster. Sometimes horsehide was mixed in with the plaster.
Nowadays there are two types of walls: Drywall (with taped and joint compound to hide the joints), or blueboard and plaster. Drywall can be DIY, but blueboard and plaster isn’t.
Drywall is much as addressed above. The stuff you want comes in thicknesses of 3/8" and 1/2". Firecode drywall (Type X) is 5/8" thick, typically only used where required by code.[ul]
[li]3/8". In many old houses, the lath and plaster together equal a thickness of 3/4", so I have been able to take down old walls (both lath and plaster) and replace them with two thicknesses of 3/8", slipping it behind door and window casings. If you only have a small area and don’t want to remove the lath, you can even use one thickness. Just make sure that you screw directly into the studs; screws into lath are not a good idea, especially a ceiling. [/li]
[li]1/2". If there is no backing behind the drywall (either sheetrock or lath strips), then 1/2" is the minimum that you should use. With 1/2" you may need to shim out the walls with lath strips in order get the drywall behind the casings.[/li]
[li]Only use screws. They may not even make drywall nails anymore, but if they do don’t buy them. Eventually changes in humidity will loosen the nails and they’ll pop. These days cordless drills and screw guns make this a no-brainer.[/li]
[li]If you have a place where multiple corners come together (it happens on ceilings), consider plaster buttons. Put on one a screw and drive it through the corner to keep the edges from bending out. [/li]
[li]In theory you should use paper tape rather than the mesh tape, but I don’t know anyone who does other than the pros. Tape the joints.[/li]
[li]Apply joint compound to tape, buttons and screw heads. You only want to see grey and white.[/li]
[li]Sand smooth. Easier said than done.[/li]
[li]Paint with a primer, then finish coats.[/ul][/li]**Blueboard and plaster ** is something that you won’t be able to do yourself. If you have a well established French Canadian or Italian population, chances are that there is someone who can do this. They make it look easy. It ain’t. Someone (could be the carpenter, could be the plasterer) will hang sheets of something that looks like drywall but isn’t. The exposed face is made to accept a scratch coat of plaster (which is formulated differently than joint compound). Then the plaster puts a skim coat on and smooths it out while you sit back and drink a beer.
Another possible reason for this reference is the use of setting joint compound—the type that comes in a sack and you mix up like mortar.
I usually use the stuff in the bucket (and I get the light fluffy stuff, in spite of the dude telling me I’m just buying air).
However, when I have big gaps or when there is a pretty good chance of the joint getting damp some day, I prefer to use the setting joint compound for the first coat. It dries much harder and is a bitch to sand, but it’s on there for good.
[QUOTE=Plynck]
[li]Only use screws. They may not even make drywall nails anymore, but if they do don’t buy them. Eventually changes in humidity will loosen the nails and they’ll pop. These days cordless drills and screw guns make this a no-brainer.[/li][/QUOTE]
They do around here. I found the hard way that screws don’t work with cornerbead - the metal strips used for outside 90 degree corners - but drywall nails work perfectly. Maybe it’s my technique but a $2 box of nails fixed that situation. I certainly wouldn’t use them for holding drywall to walls/ceiling (and regularly curse the people who did in my house every time I find yet another nail popping).
[QUOTE=Plynck]
[li]In theory you should use paper tape rather than the mesh tape, but I don’t know anyone who does other than the pros. Tape the joints.[/li][/QUOTE]
I used plain old paper tape and didn’t have any trouble with it - put down a thin layer of joint compound first, press the tape into place, smooth with knife. It really wasn’t hard.
It always starts to bunch up on me, but then again my technique isn’t great.