Drywall patch that disappears: California patch, setting compound, and feathering
Difficultyeasy
Time2 hours over a day
Cost$10
For holes up to 6": cut the hole square, cut a drywall patch 2" bigger all round, score and snap the back paper off the margin leaving the front paper as a built-in flange (the "California" or "hot" patch), butter the hole edges with setting-type compound (the 20- or 45-minute powder, not premixed), press it in, skim over the flange. Two more thin coats, each wider, sand lightly with 220, prime before painting or it will flash. Setting compound does not shrink; that is why the patch does not telegraph through.
#drywall#patch#california-patch#setting-compound#home-repair
10 comments
Log in or sign up to join the discussion.
Upvoted for the safety notes alone.
Should be the same procedure, the part moved slightly but the steps match.
Nice. What did the whole thing end up costing you?
Bookmarking. I have exactly this problem and was about to pay someone.
Question: do you need to disconnect power for this or is it safe to leave it plugged in?
Right around what the post says, give or take shipping.
Tried this over the weekend and it worked first time. Thanks for writing it up properly.
The "what went wrong" section is the most useful part of this. More people should do that.
The "what went wrong" section is the most useful part of this. More people should do that.
Yep, same here. The second time is always faster.