Hey everyone, I recently moved into a new house and I've noticed that a lot of the drywall cutouts for things like light switches and vents are a bit too oversized. The shoe plates don't fully cover the holes, leading to visible gaps around the vents even when they're covered. I'm pretty handy with DIY projects and know how to patch regular holes in drywall, but I'm at a loss for how to cleanly patch or shrink the edges of these larger openings. I want to make it look neat without it appearing lumpy or uneven once painted. Should I use mesh tape and joint compound for this? I'd really appreciate any advice from those who've tackled similar issues before!
11 Answers
For little gaps, here’s a quick way using DAP:
1) Take off the faceplate.
2) Put a bead of DAP between the box and the wall, and give it 24 hours to set.
3) If needed, shave off any excess and apply drywall mud, then sand it down until it’s smooth.
Check out this YouTube video on fixing drywall cutouts; it might have the perfect solution for you! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0UgwV_Xpxs
If those gaps are small, try this: Remove the plates and use some drywall spackle to smooth out the edges. Just apply it with a putty knife, let it dry, and you can feather in some matching paint after.
If the gaps are mostly on one side, you could loosen the screws on the device and slide it over a bit to cover those gaps.
I wouldn’t recommend trying to build a new edge. A practical approach would be to cut a square larger than the original hole and add a patch in there. But if it’s not too awful, jumbo switch plates can work too. Just weigh your drywall skills against the effort it might take to fix things.
Whether to use mesh tape and joint compound really depends on the gap size and your comfort with mudding. Larger cover plates are available, and sometimes that’s a quick fix rather than investing all that time in repairs. Just balance the effort versus cost!
If you prefer not to use larger plates, you could fill the gaps with a piece of drywall using construction adhesive. Using a thinner drywall piece will help make it flush, and then just smooth it out with mud and sand it down afterwards. I’ve actually done this for several outlets, and you can’t even tell!
That sounds like a solid plan! This shouldn’t crack, provided you do it right.
Using flat tape around the box with quick-setting compound should expedite the process really well!
Look into "mid-size wall plates"! They’re an easy solution compared to those oversized ones.
You could always go back to the builder if it’s really bad. They might need to take a look!
Honestly, instead of trying to patch those cutouts, you might just want to buy slightly larger switch plates. They can cover the gaps and save you the hassle of patching and repainting. Plus, there are some really nice screwless plate options out there that look way better than the standard ones!
Totally agree! Oversized plates seem like the easiest way out.
Yes! Switching to screwless plates can really upgrade the look!
Definitely! If there are too many holes, maybe larger plates would be easier.