How To Repair Drywall Around A Shower

How to Repair Drywall, Caulk & Grout a Tub

Long fourth dimension, no run across! I've been very busy creating some fun projects as a guest blogger for BLACK+DECKER. Y'all can click on over to see the planter box and, my favorite, the DIY Ladder Bookshelf I built for them.

But in between those projects and a few more I'm still working on, I was able to correct some issues in my bathroom I mentioned a few months ago when I updated my shower drape.

Similar this wet piece of drywall from a lack of caulk.

And this picayune divot from relocating the drape rod.

Well my married man went out of town to finish up his SCUBA diving certification, and then I hit it hard starting on a Saturday morning.

Remove Old Caulk

The first order of business was to remove and clean some moldy caulk effectually the bathtub.

Since I had a piddling fleck of mold brewing on the caulk, I wanted to make sure I killed the mold before reapplying caulk. Otherwise it'd keep coming back and ruin my new caulk! So I bought a cleaner that kills 99.9% of germs. This is of import because a lot of cleaners will clean the mold stain, but not kill the source!

The directions were simple. Spray, look 5 minutes, and wipe away. I allow the caulk joint sit for 24 hours drying. Then I moved on to my next repair! Tackling that water-damaged drywall!

Remove Damaged Drywall

I started by removing the drywall. Using a utility to score higher up and beneath the badly damaged surface area. I as well scored along the bathtub and the bead board's trim.

And so it was time to bring out the heavy artillery, or my tiny crowbar and hammer.

I used them to pry out the bad stuff but notwithstanding go out a mostly-straight line.

Replace Drywall

With the drywall out of the way, I measured the hole I needed to fill and headed out to my shop to cut the new drywall. I bought one of those ii pes x two foot drywall squares you come across in the drywall aisle at the home eye. It was perfect for this job!

Again I used my utility pocketknife to score forth the cutting line. I took iii passes with the pocketknife, going a little deeper each time, and then I could get it every bit directly as possible. When all that was left was the paper backing, I bent information technology backwards and scored from the dorsum with the pocketknife.

Two drywall screws was all I needed to secure information technology to the stud.

Apply Joint Chemical compound

So I got my materials fix for the 3-coat drywall mud process.

On pocket-sized repair jobs, my dad likes to employ "quick mud" on the beginning ii coats and then switch to regular joint compound. And then I did the same. The 20-minute mud only takes 20 minutes to dry out before you can sand and re-coat.

The down side is that you take to mix it up yourself, whereas the regular compound comes in pre-mixed buckets. I mixed a pocket-size amount in my tray and checked that the consistency was a little thicker than pancake batter.

I starting time put a layer of mud on the 2 seams, and so cut a piece of drywall record to size for both seams and placed it in the mud, centered on the seams. I applied another glaze over the tape, trying to get in equally smooth every bit possible.

And since I still had some drywall mud in my tray, I turned around and applied the first coat to the divot in the wall from moving my shower curtain rod.

It was much easier than the tight infinite betwixt the toilet and tub!

Mix Grout

While those ii spots were drying, I turned my attention to Another repair needed in the bathroom, grout. I guess with the fluctuation in weight of the bathtub the grout cracked.

I had previously removed the chipped pieces. And I brought one of the pieces to the habitation center to match the color. Then I realized I bought my original grout from Home Depot, so possibly I would remember when the color when I saw it. While I was in the tile aisle, I saw the perfect thing for this small task, a 1 lb. tub of grout with room to mix h2o in the tub itself.

It really is the same color and brand equally my original grout! Score! (If yous're wondering, it is PolyBlend's Linen.)

With the fill line on the exterior of the tub, it was easy to add h2o for the correct consistency.

The directions telephone call for you to mix in the water, then allow it sit for 10 minutes before mixing over again and applying.

Apply Grout

After the wait and re-stirring, I applied it with my putty pocketknife since it was such a small and confining area. It required a little more working than perhaps a grout bladder would, but it got the job done. Of course I kept whatever weight off of the few nearby tiles while it dried. I think the results are worth the $v price tag of the grout tub!

You can run across it's not a perfect friction match. Perhaps it's due to the 2+ years of wear, tear and staining the older grout has on the new grout. Simply way less obvious than missing grout!

Double-repairing again, I headed into the kitchen where I had noticed a spot where the grout was likewise missing, upwards against the cabinets.

I knew for sure the grout would not match, but information technology's so inconspicuous to anyone but me, I didn't hesitate to use what was leftover in the grout tub. So 2 repairs for the price of 1. 🙂

Sand Drywall Repairs

By this fourth dimension, the first coat of drywall was dry out plenty to sand. I used the small edge of sanding block to go far that small space. Once the smoothness was to my liking, I vacuumed up the dust with a wet/dry vac. Don't forget to vacuum the wall, too, if you're doing a repair to your drywall.

So I mixed up another small batch of quick mud and practical another thin glaze to both the wall by the toilet and the damage from the shower curtain rod. The second coat is always a relief. It makes you think that it might really look OK in the end. Because the first glaze definitely doesn't exercise that!

Apply New Caulk

With the grout complete and everything else still drying, it was time to call information technology a mean solar day! Simply I woke upwards on Sunday ready to finish the drywall and caulk. Since it had been 24 hours since I had sprayed my mold and mildew remover, I started with applying the caulk. I used a silicone sealant.

It's piece of cake plenty to wipe up with a wet rag while it'southward still moisture, but don't let it dry too much or you'll have to go out the denatured booze to make clean upward.

It simply took me about 20 minutes to apply and, once again, the results are worth the ooey-gooey-ness that comes with any caulk chore!

Sand Drywall, Again

And then there was one! I moved on to sanding the drywall again and re-coating for the third and final time. This fourth dimension I used the regular 24-hour drying joint compound (the one in the dark-green and white bucket).

Fortunately the shower rod repair didn't crave a third coat, just a little sanding before it was ready for paint.

Bear upon Up Paint

So come Mon morning, everything was dry. I took my sanding block to the wall once again and called information technology consummate! After vacuuming the dust, I dug out the wall pigment and covered my beautiful repair. I spread it on in long strokes and so followed up by daintily jabbing the paint castor on the wet paint. This more closely mimics the look of a paint roller to blend information technology in with the original paint job.

It fabricated a bigger difference when I used the aforementioned technique on the shower rod repair area.

I'm very pleased with all of the repairs I made to my tiny bathroom over the class of one weekend! Although, in my opinion, it'due south besides soon after my remodel to have to do such things. I guess that's the life of a homeowner! Hopefully these repairs will final longer than their predecessors!

And just for fun, here'south the evolution of my drywall repair in 1 JPEG!

Anyone else tackled modest repairs lately? They aren't as satisfying as doing something new for your infinite, merely necessary still! Who else smiles every fourth dimension they walk by one of their repairs and realizes it's non an eye sore anymore? Share in the comments below!

Cheers for Checking In! ~Chelsea