Filling large hole in interior wall

I used to be in the "biz" as a summer job in college.

There are 2 ways to do it. The easy way and the good way.

good way: Rip out the window and window framing (sill, header, cripple studs, and jack studs...actually you "could" leave in the jack studs, not a huge deal). Fill in the space with new studs and add drywall.  If the wall is load bearing, you may not want to go this method as you will have to brace the top plate of the wall when you pull the header.

Easy way: Rip out everything right to the window framing and just toe nail in studs to fill in the space. So the framing for the window will still be in place, but you will just add some more studs in the gap. Match them up to the cripple studs in place. Then drywall over it.

How much of this stuff have you done? Do you need more detail?

It sounds major but isn't really.  You take out the old window fill in the opening with studs cut to length. Put sheetrock on both side, cover the joints with joint cement and tape and then paint.  If this sounds hard, a carpenter can do it for you in a couple of hours.

TW

I'm pretty handy like I work on my own cars and do small odd jobs around the house like changing the faucet, etc., but nothing regarding walls or windows or drywall. 

Specifics would be good but if it's too hard, let me know also.   

it is easy. You should have doubled studs at the sides. These are the king stud and the jack stud. Just measure and mark every 16" off the king stud (furthest one out). Now cut 2x4s as long as the opening is tall and nail into place at the marks.

Make sure the edges of the old drywall are square and cut a new piece(s) to fit the hole. Hold the drywall in place and screw it down. Hit every stud and do about a 24" vertical spacing between screws. Dimple them into the wall a little, but don't break the paper.

now the hardest part:

Get some mud (drywall compound) and put a thin coat on the wall with a mud knife. You just are trying to fill the screw dimples and the joint, so make it THIN and only cover the areas you are filling, no need to coat the whole wall. put it on a tad thicker at the joints and while it's still wet, press joint tape into it. That will help hide the seam. Allow it to dry, then put another coat over the joint tape. Once it has dried, sand it smooth. Inspect your work with your eyes and hands. If it's smooth, then you're done. If there are high spots, sand them down. If low spots, fill them in, let dry, sand smooth and inspect. Keep doing that until you give it the "good enough" stamp. Then paint it.

That had to be one of the funniest things I've read in a long time...Practically broke a table but no, I didn't 'cause' the hole in the wall.

Lara - 2006-02-22 6:41 PM window my a$$...  you rode your bike off right off your rollers and now new major drywall repair.. 

Thanks for the info Matt and Thomas. 

Matt, since you were in the biz, what's a fair price for having someone do this (if I mess it up)? 

If you've never taped drywall before and this is going to be in a high visibility area, this probably wouldn't be the project to learn on.

One option may be to put the drywall up yourself and get a local handyman type to do the taping/joint compound.

to tell you the truth, I'm not sure and I'd be afriad to venture a guess.  I wasn't the contractor, I just did the work for him, so I didn't deal a whole lot with what he was charging for thw work.  It would also depend a lot on the size of the hole and how much material was needed, and the price of materials (especially drywall) changes quite a bit month to month.  The cost of building materials is also pretty regional, so....

I would figure out how many sheets of drywall you need and what thickness it is (probably 1/2" and call a home store to get an estimate of material costs.  Then look in the phone book and call some people to get estimates.  Be ready to tell them the dimension of the opening and see what they say. 

Put a tall cabinet in front of it, filled with your triathlon medals and trophys!

You forgot the easiest way: hang a large picture over the opening. 

You know, this got me to wondering.  Why would someone go to all the trouble to add an extension to the house, with all the framing and finishing work involved, and then not frame in the window?

 Back in a day, (long since past tyvm) I did a lot of this kind of stuff. You have (mostly) received good advice

You are probably going to have to take out the window, frame up the opening, and patch in new sheetrock. Depending on how large the opening is, you may want to consider removing the sheetrock floor to ceiling so that when you insert the new, you don't have any unnecessary horizontal joints.

We used to have a saying whe I hung drywall,

"It'll cost you $500 if I do it.....$800 if you watch......$2000 if you help"

A few tips, details and estimates.

If you remove the wall above and below the window, you will also have to remove any crown or base molding.  The stuff is hard to match with new molding so try to be careful removing it so that it doesn't get damaged.  Pry gently all along the length before pulling it free.  If there is an electrical receptacle below the window (usually not), then the degree of difficulty for removing the entire wall goes way up.  Pul the nail heads through the wood rather than hammering them back out.  It will damage the showing side less.

Any molding you want to save, use a knife to score the paint at the place where two pieces are to separate.  Paint can be just like glue and pull a chunk off.

The window is removed from what was originally the outside of the house.  Remove the trim on the inside first.  This includes the picture frame-like molding around the window and the stool which is the ledge on the inside that you set your flower pots on.   Then remove the trim on the outside.  You will have to use a knife to cut through any caulk.  The outside trim will probably be paint encrusted, stuck and impossible to salvage.  Pry it off as best you can. 

Cut the nails between the framing and the window with a reciprocating saw.  When it is free, push gently from inside to outside toward an assistant on the other side.  The window is probably salvageable and is worth about $10.

Proceed with as much demolition as you are willing to put back. 

Install the studs and sheetrock as described above.

Some tools you need

For demolition,

16 oz framing hammer.

Wonder bar (prybar)

Crowbar

Reciprocating saw (very useful not essential)

Utility knife.

For framing

Hammer

Tape measure

Circular saw (or hand saw)

For Drywall,

Utility knife

Chalk line (for marking long straight lines)

Cordless drill with appropriate screw driver bit

4 ft drywall square (handy but not essential)

For taping

12 inch taping knife

Tray for joint cement (or a thing called a hawk which is a metal mortar board with a handle in the center)

6 inch taping knife (I don't use this much except for corners)

For reinstalling trim

Paint scraper (to clean up the edges of the molding)

Hammer (nail gun is really nice for hand-eye challenged do-it-yourselfer)

Nail set

For painting

 Rollers, tray

4 inch brush

2 1/2 trim brush

How much would I charge for doing this?  I would do it for free cause I'm a nice guy and its fun.  I'm not a professional carpenter.  A self-employed carpenter/handyman/contractor with insurance and a business card goes for around $60/hr around here and a assistant $30.  Its a 4 hour job.  Materials would be less than $100.  You could get a first class job for $500 like Ride said.  A professional painter would charge about $200 per room to repaint the drywall more if you repaint the trim too.

Post pictures of the work in progress.  It will be fun.

TW

Wow!!! Thanks everyone for the detailed instructions and advice. I'm very worried now because of the high visibility area and concerns that people have brought up because of that, and my inexperience.

I heard from a friend that after you take out the window, you can just apply pieces of drywall over the existing drywall, sort of like another layer of wall on top of the wall, and you just lose several inches of living room space?

Do people do this instead of cutting a piece of drywall and fill in just the window space?