Hi guys, relatively new to the world of drywall repairs, and unfortunately I now have a water damaged ceiling I have to fix. The leak was due to a sudden issue with the shower above, and was caught almost immediately, but as you can see, the damage was done. I cut out the most water-logged sections and have allowed the rest of the drywall to dry out.

I understand that in order to do a proper repair, I will have to cut out the damaged drywall to the other joist as indicated in the photo, cut and screw in a new piece, then mud and tape accordingly before priming and painting.

The question I have is: should I be cutting out the other surrounding pieces of drywall (as indicated by the red lines)? Or am I better off just sanding and puttying these spots and blending them in.

The panel to the left of the joist seems to be firm to the touch with minimal give, even along the joist. Same goes for the other two dimples where some of the water clearly migrated to. It's firm, but I don't want to do all of this work only to have an issue come back.

 

No, but you might want to put a few more screws in next to the dimpled fasteners, since that area is now probably weaker than it was before. Cut off any loose paper with you knife so that its as smooth as possible before you start taping. Fibafuse tape is a good one to use. Easy, strong, and lays really flat.

You might want to put a stain blocking primer over those round stains. BIN, or Kilz original. Just hitting it with a light coat from a spray can would be fine.