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I'm having recessed lights installed and want to know the best method to plug the holes left by the electrician. I was thinking of something like paint stirring sticks and construction adhesive to secure to back of drywall. Then plugs could be glued or screwed to the wood. Or I could use screws to secure the wood plank. Is this ok? Better ideas?

holes

In hindsight I should have asked the electrician if he uses a flex bit (he didn't) and if he uses a hole saw to cut the holes for the lights (he didn't).

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  • 11
    Get a new electrician!!! Lol
    – UNECS
    May 13, 2012 at 21:43
  • I had recessed lights installed and my electrician just crawled up there to run the wire. At any rate, you should be able to find drywall hole repair kits at any improvement store. Use it with some spackle and you should be good to go.
    – Engineer2021
    May 16, 2012 at 18:07
  • This is a vaulted ceiling with 2x6 rafters, so no attic and definitely no space to crawl
    – Andrew
    May 16, 2012 at 19:02
  • The only reason the Electrician could have used so many access holes. Is that he had to bore a hole next to each rafter due to it being an inaccessible flat ceiling. Otherwise he would have cut the 2 holes for the lights. And fished in the wiring with a fish tape or other device similar to it. I would have to be there to see. ...
    – user35579
    Apr 14, 2015 at 0:16
  • Image link is broken. Do you happen to have another link?
    – RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket
    Apr 17, 2021 at 4:03

1 Answer 1

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Wow, I'm surprised to see that an electrician did this to run wires! That number of holes certainly looks excessive.

While the method you suggested will work just fine, it seems like it would be quite repetitive. It might just be easier to cut out a rectangular strip and replace it with a new piece of drywall - then tape, mud, sand (and repeat) and paint. You might have to paint your entire ceiling in order for it to blend well.

If I were doing this (and I installed 30 of them in my house without cutting any extra holes in the ceiling), I would have cut the holes for the can locations and then fished the wire using a 6' flexible drill bit and an extension bit if necessary. An inspection camera comes in handy here too to help you see what's going on. If I was really stuck, I'd start by cutting a small hole only for the inspection camera (maybe 1" max - easy to patch), and if it really required a large hole, only then would cut a large hole so I could determine where the problem is.

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  • Yeah, I'm going to ask him why he didn't use a flex bit. The rafters in the house are 2x6, 12" OC, a bit non standard.
    – Andrew
    May 14, 2012 at 14:06
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    Some holes might ultimately be unavoidable depending whats up in the ceiling - but that many is just crazy - like my arm can probably reach longer than the distance between holes!
    – Steven
    May 14, 2012 at 14:14
  • Could you explain the methods/technique the electrician should have used to create less holes? BTW, the big hole on the right is for a can light. Keep in mind I have rafters ever 12". I'd like to get my facts straight before I confront him on this.
    – Andrew
    May 16, 2012 at 14:37
  • Sure thing @Andrew
    – Steven
    May 16, 2012 at 15:43
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    What's the point of confronting him - the damage is done. I second the suggestion to cut out a rectangular section that encompasses the holes you intend to fill and to patch with one solid piece of drywall cut to fit. Much sturdier and simpler to complete.
    – The Evil Greebo
    May 16, 2012 at 17:42

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