How to Repair Textured Drywall (To Run Wire)

by travis.muszynski in Workshop > Home Improvement

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How to Repair Textured Drywall (To Run Wire)

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www.howidothingsdiy.com

In this video, I’m going to show you how to run wire through walls. I will cut and repair drywall with knockdown texture. I had to run electrical wire through the main floor of my house to get it from the basement to the attic for a new circuit to my garage.
I'll cover how to cut out the drywall, drill holes in the top and bottom plates and then do a repair on textured drywall with knockdown texture.

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Supplies

-Drill with about a 3/4" drill bit

-Box cutter

-Drywall saw

-Drywall mud knife

-Small piece of drywall

-Drywall joint compound

-Knockdown texture in a can

-Knockdown knife

-Pencil

-Stud finder

Cut Hole in Drywall

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Find the stud locations with a stud finder. Mark the hole in-between the two studs. Mark a hole that is big enough to fit your drill and drill bit into and near the top and bottom of the wall. Now score the drywall with a sharp box cutter and the carefully cut out with a drywall saw. Do not cut too deep so you don't hit anything that might be behind the drywall.


Using the 3/4" drill bit, drill a hole all the way through the top and bottom plates for the wire.

Fish Wire Through Wall

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Find where the hole comes out in the basement and then start feeding the wire up into the wall. Now fish the wire up to the top of the wall. Using a fish tape will help with this process. Finally push the wire up through the top plate. Be sure to push enough through so it doesn't easily fall out of the hole. Pushing lots of wire through the top plate will also make it easier to find in the attic.

Cut Drywall Patch

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Cut a piece of drywall 1" larger than the hole you're trying to repair. Then, score the actual size of the hole on the back of the patch as shown in the photo. Now remove the perimeter drywall, leaving only the front paper.

Install Drywall Patch

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Test fit the patch and then make a mark about 1" around the perimeter. Now remove the patch and scrap off the texture in that area. This will help the patch lay flatter. Now put an even coat of joint compound around the perimeter of the hole. Press the patch in place and smooth out the edges with a drywall knife.

Apply First Coat of Joint Compound

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Once the patch is completely dry, apply a skim coat of joint compound over the patch. Feather the compound around the edges.

Apply the Second Coat of Joint Compound

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Once the first coat is fully dry, sand smooth and apply a second coat of joint compound the same way as the first, but this time feather out the edges a little further out. You may have to repeat this step a third or fourth time until you achieve the desired result.

Prime the Repaired Area

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Once the final coat of joint compound is dry, sand smooth and feather out the edges for a seamless transition. Prime the repaired area and a few inches beyond the repair. Priming before texture will allow the texture to dry evenly across the repair and old paint.

Apply Knockdown Texture

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Once the primer is dry, lightly sand the area. Then shake the can of knockdown texture for 1 minute. Test the spray setting on a piece of scrap drywall. Once you are happy with the size of the texture, begin to spray on the texture in a random pattern over the patch. Blend the new patch in with the old texture.

Wait about 5 min or until the texture starts to haze over and, using a knockdown knife, gently knock down the texture.

Prime and Paint

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Let the knockdown completely dry. This should be around 2-3 hours. Then lightly sand the the texture. Then prime, let dry, lightly sand primer and paint.

Take great satisfaction in doing it yourself and congratulations on a job well done!!