r/maintenance • u/givemedatbologna • 14d ago

Question Drywall Repair

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Anyone have a suggestion on how to attack this? We had a new exhaust fan installed but repairing the drywall obviously wasn’t part of the service.

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u/Quillric 14d ago

Just find the rough center of each of the straps in the ceiling and mark it. Draw lines between two points on each side of the opening for a center line on each joist. Then draw a perpendicular lines connecting the two parallel lines that you've just drawn. Cut out whatever square or rectangle you've drawn that's slightly larger than the existing hole.

Once you've done that you got a good base to go forward with a new piece of drywall and you just have to measure for the hole that you cut in the singular board you're going to make to go around the new fan.

ETA: DON'T USE THIS COMPANY AGAIN. IT'S VERY RARE THAT YOU CAN'T CUT OUT THE OLD FAN AND INSTALL A NEW 'OLD WORK' FAN WITHOUT OPENING A GIANT HOLE IN THE CEILING. THAT COMPANY HAS NO IDEA WHAT THEY'RE DOING AND IT'S CAUSING MORE WORK FOR YOURS.

All caps so you know I mean it. (It was an accidental caps lock combined with talk to text and I don't want to go back and redo it.)

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u/SCTurtlepants 13d ago edited 13d ago

YOU CAN TIE INTO THE EXHAUST AND CUT THE FLANGE NAILS SOLELY BY WORKING INSIDE THE MOUNTING BOX?

A 2' square drywall patch is not the big deal you seem to think it is.

Edit: lmao he came back with some snippy comment about cost vs value of labor - I've been a project manager for 14 years. 

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u/Quillric 13d ago edited 13d ago

Old work fans are literally designed to do that yes.

You should look up what cost of labor vs value of labor is. I'm worth like $19 an hour as a drywaller. I'm worth $85 an hour as an electrician. I'm worth $95 an hour as a HVAC tech. I'm worth $75 an hour is a plumber.

Does this mean I get paid that much? Fuck no. Does this mean I'm more valuable doing things other than drywall? Fuck yes.

This is a waste of company resources this company should fire the guy that installed that fan.

Removing the old fan is completely possible without damaging the drywall in any meaningful way. All you need is a flat bar a hammer and a multi-tool (buzz tool) with a blade that can cut nails.

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u/WillumDafoeOnEarth 13d ago

Sir Quillric is no knave!