Patching and Plastering - Drywall repair on ceiling

I am going to be moving a light fixture. I was looking for some advice on repairing the hole left by the old electrical box/light fixture. I have not seen the hole yet but I am guessing that it is going to be the average size of all other standard ele. box access hole for flush mounted ceiling light.

More than likley the easiest way to fix it will be to insert a 1x2 [or any size that will fit] that is longer than the opening into the hole. Screw each end to the existing sheetrock and then you have a solid mounting base to screw the patch piece to. Then mud, tape, finish and texture as you normally would.

I suggest cutting a square patch that will easily span the ceiling hole and use it as a template to mark the ceiling. Then cut the ceiling to the template size using a dry wall saw. That way the patch will fit perfectly and squares are easier to tape than round patches.

OK I am back. I am having the suckiest luck at this. This is the first hole I have tried to repair. I cut out a square templet and used it to cut the ceiling and the patch for the hole. My first attempt was not to put backing to stableize the patch and caked the mud with the mindset that I would be able to sand it out. Not a good idea. So I removed that piece and went at it again. I used a piece of thin wood and screwed the patch in place. OK for some reason one end of the patch had "expanded???" and was almost a 1/4 inch thicker than the other end of the patch. So then, I cut it back out cut another patch and removed the support so that I could keep this patch level to the ceiling. The next piece, I thought was going great until I come to find the tape was bubbleing up. I am going insane with this. I was wondering if I would be better off by putting a piece of cardboard behind the hole and just clumping joint compound in the hole and sanding it flat. Any help would be greatly apprecated. And with this being my first patch could you be as specific as possible. Thanks ALOT.

I was wondering if I would be better off by putting a piece of cardboard behind the hole and just clumping joint compound in the hole and sanding it flat.



NO!

First secure the patch inplace with screws. If there are any big gaps prefill them with mud and let them dry. Then apply a thin layer of mud, laying the tape on top and then smooth it out - it is ok to get some mud on top of the tape but not a lot - you don't want the weight of the mud to pull the tape loose. Let dry before applying next coat. After second coat of mud has dried, sand a little and apply 3rd coat. It should be looking good by now. Remember you can always sand any high spots or add mud to any low spots.

hope this helps

Thank you for your help. This hole patching is way harder than I was expecting. I will give it another go.

It isn't all that difficult once you get it figured out. Sometimes the hardest learned lessons are the ones we remember best :)