Patching drywall on an inside corner

Question

I'm a beginner looking for advice on fixing a hole in an inner corner. It's approximately 3" inches tall and 1" wide and there is an intact vapor barrier behind the hole. There doesn't seem to be enough space to add a furring strip. The damage to the right wall is largely surface - the brown paper is exposed but not torn. I would prefer not to remove the baseboard.

My current plan: clean the edges so it's a nice rectangle, California patch, but cut off the bottom and right side so I only keep the paper strip on 2 sides. Then use paper tape for the inner corner.

Questions:

1. I'm not sure if the lack of support on two sides will cause the patch to fail. Wondering if I could use something like this method so there is additional support, but with (a) only the horizontal strip, and (b) with paper tape to account for the inner corner bend.

2. Do I need to use a primer on the right wall first to protect the exposed brown paper?

Answer 1

If you're really worried about backing and don't want to make the hole bigger:

Take a strip of wood (maybe 1/4-1/2" thick and 1-2" wide) and cut it to a couple of inches longer than the height of the hole. Drive a long screw 1/2" into the middle to use as a handle. Put some glue on the face of the strip at the ends, insert into the hole, and pull on the screw until the glue is set. Then remove the screw.

Answer 2

I can't see clearly on the picture if you have framing on that corner, which is usually the case. Or at least some drywall clips.

This might sound counterintuitive, but the easiest and cheapest way might be to just find the next framing stud -- probably 16" from that corner, and just cut the existing drywall right in the middle of the stud. Then replace that panel. Drywall is super cheap, and it makes little sense to repair large holes.

But if that sounds too scary, you can stuff the hole with some backing material, e.g. crumpled packing paper or newspapers, etc., just whatever can hold your joint compound from falling into the hole. Then use hot mud (e.g. EasySand 45 joint compound) in successive layers until you are about 1/8" to the surface. Then use regular joint compound to feather the work and make a seamless transition to the new wall. There should be no cardboard exposed. Then yes, apply primer and paint.

Answer 3

Don't go nuts here.

That tiny patch doesn't call for additional backing, or oversized repairs. A couple screws and a good tape job will hold it securely. Just cut a little rectangle of drywall a bit bigger than the damage. Trace it on the wall. Trim the damage to that trace, being careful to preserve the vapor barrier.

Now screw the patch to the corner framing with two screws as far inward as possible. Repeat for the other side if it's not solid.

Prefill with your choice of joint compound, scraping all compound off level with the wall surface, and let it dry completely. Now tape the top and sides with conventional tape. Skim with a wide knife and only as much as is necessary. Repeat until you have a nice flat finish, then sand lightly only to remove crumbs and knife lines. Clean up dust, then caulk against the base trim. Paint.