Well.... to make a long story short, I went home this weekend leaving my roommates here at our house at school knowing that they were having the biggest party we've had. They already were kind of on my nerves because they were planning on getting a keg, which is against our lease, and I was definitely not thrilled about it. Well, I came home last night, to find a hole in our wall on the way up the stairs to my bedroom. My roommate claims that he was walking up the stairs completely sober, and his shoulder "bumped" into the wall in a spot that was "supposedly" already patched over before. I have a hard time believing this story, and I plan on doing a little investigating to see if they're lying to me. However, we now have this hole in our wall that is about 8"X5", and I'm trying to find out how hard things like these are to fix. I have no experience in fixing walls, nor do any of my roommates.
I know, but I want proof lol... something that contradicts their story. Either way, I'm not going to pay for repairs and if it's taken out of my security deposit I expect to be fully compensated.
Sheetrock's the easiest stuff in the world to fix... now I've never fixed a hole quite THAT big (which is why it's so easy for everyone to say they're looking you straight in the face and lying to you... there's not even a CHANCE they're telling the truth, LOL!) On a "normal size" hole, you cut out the hole with a utility knife into a square, and cut a corresponding-size hole with the correct thickness on another piece of sheetrock. You can use a piece of door trim or anything of that sort that's longer than your hole is wide... screw the new piece of sheetrock (with a sheetrock screw) into the middle of the door trim and insert it into the hole so that each "tag end" of the door trim is sticking past the hole on each side from the inside... screw a sheetrock screw into each tag end of the trim that's BEHIND the wall on both sides of the hole and it'll pull your replacement piece tight to fill the hole.... mud, sand and paint. On a hole THAT big, you're obviously going to want to cut out the hole all the way to the studs probably...
If you want to see if they are lying to you, and to have some physical proof of it. Look at the hole in the wall. If the sides of the hole are all drywall and the paper behind is all ripped up than you know that they did it. Is it a dent or a whole? If it is a dent you should be able to take a knife, cut around the edge of the dent and peal off the paint/top later of paper. Than you can see if it's drywall (will look almost like chalk) or mud back there. For fixing it, you will want to get yourself a drywall saw. Cut the hole into a nice square/rectangle. Than take either a 2x4 or a sheet of at least 1/2" plywood and cut it to slide through the hole in the wall and use it as backing by screwing it to the existing drywall around the hole. Than cut a new piece of drywall to fit in the hole making it as tight as possible. A little trick is to take a utility knife and bevel the edge of the drywall. Only cut like a 1/8 or 1/4" bevel. This helps clear up any rough paper around the edge making it easier to cover up. If you buy the cheap paper tape to tape around the edges, make sure you mix your mud a little runnier for putting the tape on. Put some mud around the cracks between the new drywall and old drywall. Make sure that you put a good thin layer on. Than lay your tape on top and push it into the mud with a putty knife and using a little more mud on top. Than let it dry and add more mud. Keep on increasing the width that you span the mud after each layer. You will probably want to span it out to almost 4 or 5 inches past the edge of the crack on each side to make it look good. Than sand it down and paint. Make sure when you are sanding that you feather out the mud very well. Any little ridge will show through. When you are painting, you will probably have to paint the whole wall. Most people recommend putting primer on the mud before painting over it, but if you put a extra layer or two of paint on the mud before painting the wall than it will help it blend in better and help stop it from "flashing" through the paint and standing out. If you have any more questions let me know. I used to be a drywaller and still do renos for a living so I could help you out. I know that that was a complex write up but it is very easy to do. Gregs idea of using door trim isn't a bad idea as backing as long as if it isn't a really flexible piece. Since your hole is fairly big you just want to make sure that you don't use anything that will flex too much.
I'll post some pictures later tonight to see how in depth I need to get, plus to add to the amusement for you guys :D. I'm still not sure it's something I want to try and fix, but I figure my Dad might be able to do it.
I went to unofficial St. Patrick Day at University of Illinois. Trust me, I didn't miss out :D It's the biggest party of the year at any school.
Damn I miss college. This reminds me of the time my roommate got shmammered (and possibly something else) and tore off through our apartment with a hockey stick. We didn't just have one hole to repair! lol To bad it wasn't just a dent. You could just throw some putty in there until you filled it in. Also, your roommate is lying and he sounds scared of you which makes me believe that you are the house party pooper.
I second that. I miss college I wouldn't question so much as to why your roomates lied (it's college, accidents happen), but as to why one keg is your biggest party to date. Do you kids not drink anymore?
This makes me happy to be in college :D. This is seriously no big deal to fix, though I am majoring in Construction Management. Stuff happens, chill out. Why are you even considering fixing it? Your roomate broke it. Make him fix it. You should have just stayed for the party! Oh, and quit being the wet blanket of the house. It is seriously a really easy fix, and if you actually need help shoot me a PM. I'll tell you exactly what to do (as I'm sure many of us could).
That's the answer there, I've been to a few parties that resulted in heads, feet, etc. making some pretty good holes. Had to help my friend in high school repaint his entire living room before his mom got home that week because a hole had been put in during a party that weekend.....he still got caught.
I got a cell phone picture of a hole that is 3' long and 2' wide...in sheetrock. Troublesome to fix, but easily fixable. Bottom line - it's a hole in the wall. Not a big deal. We have one in our apartment - we just thumbtacked a Natty Case over it. Ship shape. Just a little "overhead" on life.
