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I had to remove a relatively large section of the drywall, approximately 24x24 inches. There are two metal studs at the sides.

Should I try to cut out so both the existing and the new drywall will touch half of the metal stud on each side? And put in screws on both sides? Or there is a more clever way to fix this?

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    what is attached to the other side of the wall? ... now is your chance to improve its attachment to the wall if needed
    – jsotola
    Jul 4 '19 at 2:31
  • A small towel bar, no big deal... one day I will renovate the bathroom, but for now I think it's fine
    – Alessio Sangalli
    Jul 4 '19 at 3:07
  • @Alaska Man has good advice. For finishing it all up, this is a good YouTube tutorial: youtube.com/watch?v=uuS001pQNzI
    – J. Becker
    Jul 4 '19 at 3:12
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Should I try to cut out so both the existing and the new drywall will touch half of the metal stud on each side? And put in screws on both sides?

Yes that is an effective way to do it.

Another way is to add a board, 1"x4" boards work great, as structure to screw to.

Clean up your hole so the cuts are straight and at 90 degrees to each other so you can use a nice square or rectangle piece as a patch. Place the boards so that half of it is behind the old sheet rock, length wise along the cut, and half is sticking out so you have something to screw the new piece to. Screw the board in place through the old existing sheet rock, make sure your screw heads are counter sunk.

Now you can cut a piece to fit the hole and screw it in place. Tape and mud the seams. Sand and mud, sand and mud and sand, prime and paint.

Floating a but joint with mud is an acquired skill. Watch some YouTube video's and practice on a mock up of a but joint.

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  • I understand but if I have to (A) go down to the store, buy the board, cut it, or (B) cut some more drywall (that I have to do anyway to make the cut square) I'd do (B) unless the it is not as good as (A)
    – Alessio Sangalli
    Jul 4 '19 at 3:13
  • Both options work equally well - it’s your choice. That being said the top and bottom would be better supported with the board to avoid flex in the future that would cause the mud and tape to crack.
    – Alaska Man
    Jul 4 '19 at 20:30
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    Top tip for matching your patch piece to the hole (assuming you haven't cut back to half the stud on each side): take your slightly-bigger-than-the-hole in every dimension patch and simply trace it on the wall. Cut to the far side of the pencil line and you're done. If the patch is irregular, mark its orientation so you won't have to flip it around a few times to make it fit.
    – Aloysius Defenestrate
    Jul 4 '19 at 21:46
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I’ve had really good experiences with these style of clips. I’ve used them after a copper repipe to close the access holes.

You could also use them in combination to cutting back to the studs. Or just use them alone.

The one application I’ve found these not to work well with is when you’ve cut the drywall right against the stud - then it isn’t possible to slide the clip in because the stud is in the way.

Drywall clips

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I would suggest doing it like this:

  1. First straighten out the hole and cut the edges clean with a large steel ruler and a Stanley knife.
  2. Then I would attach two or three horizontal steel "dwangs" or "noggings" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwang) between the two vertical studs with screws.
  3. Then I would cut out an appropriately sized piece new of drywall and then screw the piece to the "noggings".
  4. Finish with drywall finishing plaster and paint.
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