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I removed some can lights and I need to patch the holes. Since I already had round pieces of drywall from new cuts, I used them to plug the holes using furring strips. I have several of those to do.

Can I tape these patches with mesh side by side, until it covers the whole area, or should I cut new square holes, re-patch, and apply paper tape (basically a square butt joint)?

What would give me the best result as far as seamless finished texture?

Am I asking for trouble (hairline cracks) by using fiber mesh here?

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    Wow... that small a distance change borders on "not worth it"! Obviously, you found it worthwhile, but wow... what a pain that must have been!
    – FreeMan
    Nov 12, 2020 at 17:33
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    @Freeman Ordinarily I would agree and wouldn’t have touched the configuration, however, you are not seeing the whole picture. This was can lights facing a fireplace that’s no longer there and there were 3 spotlights that were shining down on top of shelving that is no longer there. So I moved from 5 lights on the perimeter (2 sides) of the room to four lights centered in the room. Without this lights would have looked ridiculously misaligned and all over the place. In addition, new lights are flash mount LEDs that require no cans, just a hole in the drywall, so no extra work with cans.
    – David
    Nov 12, 2020 at 17:45
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    As noted, "Obviously, you found it worthwhile"... That does make more sense...
    – FreeMan
    Nov 12, 2020 at 17:53
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    Oh, I get it, @J..., I get it. In my house, I'd be the one moving it 6" while my wife screams that "it's good enough where it is!!!". I was just noting what a pain that must have been realizing just how little it had to move to make it look right...
    – FreeMan
    Nov 13, 2020 at 12:28
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    @freeman it’s part of a major renovation I’m doing on the entire floor of about 1000sq ft. including taking down walls, replacing and replaning kitchen. Believe me, moving a hole by half a foot is nothing compared to the all the work. I’m not about to “skimp” on moving a light that’s gonna bother me forever if I don’t. True dat about the wife ;)
    – David
    Nov 14, 2020 at 14:53

3 Answers 3

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First smooth out those edges and make sure they're flat. No need to cut out squares and re-plug. Then use five or six equal lengths of paper tape to tape the area. I like to butt joint the sides of the tape and not overlap it. I also wouldn't use the mesh tape because if you're not careful you'll see the mesh imprint on the finished wall. Be prepared to do a lot of finishing touch up because ceiling flaws are easy to see.

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Not an endorsement but there are pre-made ring shaped tape options. There is the multi-purpose where you cut to shape, or the pre-made rings sized for can light holes:

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As others stated, shave the paper fuzzies, I usually angle the knife slightly to get a v shaped groove. I would just fill with a setting compound ie hot mud with a squared in mesh covering 90% of the round hole, or prefill with hot mud without mesh and then go over with paper tape and all purpose compound. Then it will need 2-3 additional thin coats like normal for a butt joint covering the whole area out to about 6" past the hole. I prefer to do this in a square because it is easier to feather the edges and sand/scrape each coat. Then prime and paint as usual

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