Drywall – a proper way to tape a 6” round hole from can light

drywallpatching-drywall

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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Best Answer

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.