Patching and Plastering - textured drywall patching

I have a textured drywall (little bumps) that has a 4inch diameter hole that I'm trying to patch. The hole is filled with a 4 inch circular drywall piece.

My question is should I sand down the texture near the patching area before applying the drywall compound? If there are little bumps, I don't think the drywall compound would spread and smooth out evenly.

my wall looks like this
http://www.vertri.com/orangepeel.gif

While it wouldn't hurt to sand down the surrounding texture, you should be able to get a decent job mudding over the texture since each layer of j/c will go out a little further than the previous coat.

I shouldn't be telling my secrets; but this is what I do. I always use setting joint compound on patches. As marksr says each coat goes a little farther out than the previous coat. On the last coat I really burn in the edges with the trowel. Then just as the mud sets I wipe down the edges with a damp cloth. This eases that edge down to nothing and takes some of the bumps off the existing. Then I texture.
This sounds like a good candidate patch for the aerosol texture in a can. Start with the finest texture. You can always coarsen it up with a second pass.

I shouldn't be telling my secrets;

:D It makes one wonder, doesn't it, why people here so freely give away their secrets and helpful advice over the cyberspace, but in real, would not think about driving over to someone's house to coach someone on how to do their repair, for free. Ever think of that one? That crossed my mind already. And I find this fact interesting.

I always use setting joint compound on patches.

I love that stuff. Practice makes perfect. If yo do it right, you do not have to fear that dreaded nearly-impossible sanding, since if you did it right, you may not have to at all.


This sounds like a good candidate patch for the aerosol texture in a can. Start with the finest texture. You can always coarsen it up with a second pass.

And sometimes, by using the different size texture straws, you can closer replicate what was on there.

I shouldn't blow my own horn; but actually from time to time I do show and tell people exactly how to do a little job like this. I let them watch and tell them what I am doing at each step and why I do it and sometimes alternative ways it could be done. I figure the small stuff they do themselves would not have made me rich had I done it nor make me broke because I didn't do it. And when the larger job comes up they will remember me either after they have tried it and found it was harder than it looked or when they want something out in the public to turn out better than they are afraid they can do it.

I do pro bono work for friends and neighbors frequently.
I imagine we all do this to some extent. If we do it here we probably do it in real life, and if we would not do it in real life we are probably too stingy to give away the advice, too.

Yes, it is rewarding to help people -in person (also), I mean.

But one job I would not be too fond of to agree to is if a friend called up and said he sheetrock mudded and wondered if I'd give him a hand, sanding it out. And that he will do the walls, and give me the ceiling. :D Nope!

I guess altruism has limits.

This is what I do for our house-which was built in '04 and has the 'flattened splatter' texture. (step by step for patching walls):
1) get joint compound at the right consistency...thicker is
better~ too thin will run
2) get a plastic bristled whisk broom-small hand held type(don't use straw type or it will get soggy and not 'throw' well)
3) put alittle compound on the end of the broom and hold bristles tight w/one hand, while splaying back w/other hand to
throw compound on wall (experiment w/distances)
4)use float to flatten out when compound starts to set
5)practice this technique alot on cardboard boxes, scrap sheetrock, etc. until you can be somewhat consistent
6)paint when feel it blends into existing wall

Key here is PRACTICE for your texture type