We've got a large "patched" area in the bathroom. It looks shoddy right now, and I want to do a better patching job....one that looks clean and unnoticeable.

As you can see from the picture, the current patch is next to the tub, and it goes to the top of the tile "border" near the floor.

How can I patch this correctly? The ugly, current patch is about 8-9 inches high, and about 4 inches wide.

I've got a couple of those steel wall patches, but I'd have to piece two of them together, and I don't think that would work.

Also, there's the issue of nothing for the patch to stick to on the left side near the tub and at the bottom where the tile border is.

Please help! Thank you.

 

Thats a tough area to work on. If I was doing it I would cut it out about an inch bigger than it is now, cut edges flush with tile edges. Then you will need to get creative with the blocking you insert behind the drywall... you might even need to slide some 2x4s sideways up into the opening as farvas you can before bringing them down, centering them across the opening vertically, then turning them sideways. Screw it above the opening with a couple screws. You might even need to screw it from the opposite side of the wall, if so, mark the location first and poke a hole through the wall first.

Then cut a tight fitting patch. Get a small bag of Easy Sand 5 setting compound and mix that up a little bit runny (like pudding) in a small drywall pan, and prefill any gaps along the edges. Easy sand 5 sets up in 5 minutes or less, so you need to work very fast with it. Don't mix up more than you need. As soon as it starts to get thick in your pan you need to scrape whats left over out of the pan, throw it out and wash your pan and tools before it gets hard. Then you can mix another batch.

For tape, I would recommend Fibafuse, which is a fiberglass tape. You spread on some mud, lay some tape on it and wipe it down tight with a 3" putty knife. The tape should be very tight on the wall and flat.

Quickly tape all 4 sides of your patch. The tape should be nice as straight with the tile, not too far away, not curled up on the tile. It should lay flat.

After that sets up you want to skim it with one more coat of Easy Sand 5, just thin enough that you can't see the tape anymore. I would probably pull the escutcheon away from the wall so it is out of the way and apply the mud with a 6" wide putty knife, starting at the bottom and pulling upward. Make this coat as smooth as possible. Try not to leave it thick along the edges of your knife.

Then on the following coats you should use premixed joint compound. You want to skim it on tight as well, filling in any imperfections in the surface, and tapering the edges out a little further.
Once its dry,, use a 80 grit sanding sponge to smooth it out. Depending on what it looks like you may need to skim it again. You arent laying on a lot of mud, just filling in any voids, and tapering in the 2 edges, feathering them out a little farther so that you don't have a hump where the edge of the repair is.

 

First, how to install the new drywall: Take out the piece. If necessary enlarge the hole to get to sound drywall. Install a nailer. It would be better if you could screw it to the sound existing on opposite sides, either above and below or left and right but since this is so small you can probably get by screwing a piece of plywood at the top and the right side. Cut some plywood large enough to lap a couple of inches above and a couple of inches to the right of the hole and as large to the left and bottom as you can finagle into the hole. Screw this to the existing so it fills as much of the hole as possible. To the plywood you will screw a new piece of drywall. Avoid pushing too hard on the left side and bottom of the piece. Let the screws draw the drywall to the plywood.
Now maybe there is a stud close to the left edge. I've done all kinds of things to support a blind side of the patch if there is something close. Maybe you can screw a piece of wood to the side of that stud if it is there and then screw the new piece to that. I've cut a piece of steel stud to an "L" shape and screwed it to the bottom plate then to above the hole like I described the plywood. These are pretty doable. There might be other ways if you get creative. A hole this small, if it remains this small will probably work with the plywood if you don't push the plywood in to much on the left side.
There must be hundreds of posts here about how to finish the patch once you get it installed.
There, I showed you mine. Let's hear from someone else.

 

XSleeper Is this what you are talking about?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShI0G__dKrI

Thank you!