We have a towel rack that was grabbed when someone fell. Now a hole in the drywall. Unfortunately, the needed towel rack cannot be moved elsewhere. What is best approach for repair of drywall and replacement of rack?
You'll need to repair a larger area that where it's damaged now - any small patch will just rip back out.
the best thing to do would be to cut out a rectangle of sheetrock that is large enought o remove both damaged areas and crosses at least two studs. Add some solid framing to block between the studs, making sure that the solid frame is directly behind the areas where the towel bar is to be anchored. After nailing or screwing in the framing, cover with a replacement piece of sheetrock, tape and mud it in place. Final step is repainting to match the wall, you'll probably need to paint from corner to corner to make it blend in and look good. Now youcan reattach the towel bar and anhor it directly into the solid wood of the framing that you added.
It's a lot of work for a small bit of damage but this will help prevent this from happening again.
And take your time patching in the drywall. With a good patch job, only you will ever see it, because you know where it is. With a bad patch job, it will stand out like a sore thumb. Paint hides no imperfections. Feel for edges, they will show when painted. Good sanding and then matching the texture job is the next trick. Maybe practice on scrap drywall.
Posts: 323 | Location: No. California | Registered: Mar 24, 2004
To add to Jaybee's suggestion. On the horizontal surfaces, it is helpful to fasten backing plywood since your patch piece will be on the skinny side and may flex. So attach to the blocking on the sides and also to plywood blocking along the top and bottom edges. For more information on this, see this Drywall Repair Tutorial.
this is often done if you want to skip the drywall repair. the big box stores sell 1/2 inch thick slab pine, poplar and oak slab stock about 4 inches high and varing lengths. you'll need a piece long enough to accomodate your towel bar and span 2 studs, fasten the slab stock to the studs, using finsh nails or decorative screws, fasten the towel bar to the slab. you can stain or paint to match. usually the hole is small enough to be covered by this, you can also 45 degree cut the corners of the wood to make it look more decorative. sometimes this method results in a stronger installation than molly bolts or plastic anchors
