Electrical – How to fix a hole above an outlet box

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I've got a hole above an outlet box in a wall. The wall has a 2×4 to the right of the box. I can feel it from the inside. It's just lightweight dry wall. There used to be cable and network lines pulled out of the hole.

I need to patch it up, so I can sell the house it's part of. I'll make sure to turn off the power before any work. What's the best way to try to fix this hole? Are there any special considerations I should take?

The photo got rotated 90 degees for some strange reason. The hole is above the outlet. The 2×4 inside of the wall is to the right side.

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Best Answer

If I were you, I'd do the following

  1. Go buy a low voltage old work gang and a recessed multimedia port plate (you can use other plates if you want, I'm just trying to leave the Ethernet accessible).
  2. Buy some fiberglass mesh, wood shims (if you don't have any scrap wood laying about), drywall screws and vinyl spackle
  3. You said your stud was to the right of the box. Confirm that, and then, to the left of your electrical box, mark and cut the hole for your low voltage gang. Move it away a few inches but do not contact the stud just to the left. You should have 12-24" depending on how far your studs are. I wouldn't make this too far from your electrical box, though, and I would make sure it's even with the electrical box for aesthetics. Save the drywall you cut out.
  4. Mount the low voltage gang, then fish that Ethernet cable though the multimedia plate and mount it onto your box.
  5. Take the piece from Step #3 and make sure it fits in the hole above the outlet. Widen the hole as needed until the piece can fit reasonably well inside (does not have to be perfect, but you don't want more than 0.25" of gap anywhere)
  6. Take a shim (or scrap wood) and use a drywall screw to screw the shim to the wall just to the left of the hole so it sticks out into the hole
  7. Put the piece in the hole and use a drywall screw to attach to the shim from Step #6
  8. Tape the gaps around the drywall piece with the fiberglass mesh tape and then spackle the gaps and drywall screw holes
  9. Sand and paint
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