Handy Tips

Anyone else addicted to HGTV? Just when I think I can wean myself (c’mon, seriously, how many times can I watch re-runs of Property Virgins?), they go and put another show on that just feeds my addiction. For the last few weeks, HandyMan and I have been watching Handyman Superstar Challenge 3. I haven’t seen the first two seasons but I wish I had. I’ve already picked up a few handy tips like this one which I’ll pass along.

Drywall Patch:
When you’ve got a large hole in your drywall, the logical thing to do is cut around the hole and create an opening that is rectangular in shape. Then, measure that rectangle and from a new piece of drywall, cut a piece the same size. Put that piece in the hole, tape, and mud. If you’re lucky, you’ll have cut the patch perfectly and won’t be able to see the seams between the old and new.

Wrong-o! What you should do is cut your patch piece from the new drywall FIRST. Then, using the patch as a template, trace it onto the drywall to be repaired. Cut out this shape, put in the patch, tape, and mud. You should have a perfect fit! Its a lot faster too than cutting and measuring, cutting and measuring.

Luckily for us, we won’t have to make use of this tip just now because all the drywall in the kitchen is up! The tarp zippers worked like a charm and contained most of the drywall dust to the kitchen. We plan to prime and paint this weekend so will be posting some progress pics soon.

Any great DIY tips you want to share??