- 1). Clear furniture and objects out of the area of the room you will be repairing. Since drywall makes a mess it is a good idea to cover large furniture with plastic sheeting to contain the mess.
- 2). Position a ladder under the area of ceiling that needs to be repaired. Use a stud finder to locate ceiling joists. Mark these locations in pencil and use a straight edge to show where the stud is to a few inches beyond the repair area. Ceiling joists generally run in one direction and they are evenly spaced. Find joists outside of your damaged area.
- 3). Draw perpendicular lines above and below your damaged area so that you have a rectangle or square for a patch size. Use a utility and drywall knife to remove the damaged area. Try to adjust your stud or joist line so that your cut is 1/2 the width of the joist. This will give you a joist to screw into with your repair.
- 4). Measure your opening and cut a piece of drywall to fit the patch. Since you are patching from one joist to another, you should not need to add blocking between your joists; you should be able to screw your patch into the joist on either side to hold it in place. Use drywall screws and dimple your screws into the drywall.
- 5). Cut and apply fiberglass mesh tape over the seams. Overlap your corners for strength. Apply drywall compound to the mesh and patch using a 4-inch drywall knife. Spread the compound evenly over the mesh and nail holes, and thin out the edges. Allow the compound to dry completely, which usually takes about an hour.
- 6). Sand the compound and patch it smooth with the surrounding ceiling using a hand sander with a coarse sanding mesh. Wipe clean with a rag.
- 7). Apply several skim coats of drywall compound using an 8-inch drywall knife. Allow each coat to dry completely. Sand after the final coat.
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