What do you do when there is a hole in your ceiling needing to be fixed? Not just any ceiling fix either. No, I’m talking about fixing a large hole in the ceiling. A verrrry large hole. See, my husband fell through the ceiling and we now have a large ceiling hole above our living room/den and we have to patch the hole. Yes really.
My husband fell through the ceiling while working in the attic recently, because air-conditioning men we hired to replace one of our air-conditioning units left loose air ducts, so my husband was in the attic trying to tighten them when he slipped and fell through the ceiling.
Thankfully he wasn’t seriously hurt, no cracked or broken bones to speak of, but he did get some pretty nasty scratches and bruises. Oh, the curse words were flying everywhere for sure, but at least he was ok.
Seeing my husband’s body hanging through the ceiling, struggling to catch himself so he didn’t fall all the way through, is a very scary sight to behold. Fortunately, Grandpa was able to pull himself up through the large, gaping hole in the ceiling and didn’t fall all the way down to the floor. It’s a longggg way down.
If he had fallen through the ceiling all the way down to the floor, there’s no telling how bad the injuries could have been, but a broken leg or even a hip fracture is the least of the injuries I’ve heard of from people falling through ceilings or off of roofs.
Trust me, the ceiling got the worst of it.
How to Fix Ceiling Holes
Repairing ceiling holes includes drywall work that even my personal “fix it man”, as I playfully call him, isn’t experienced in. There are things you need to buy, rent or have on hand if you’re going to repair a wall or ceiling on your own. Unfortunately, since we have high ceilings, we’ll have to rent scaffolding equipment for Grandpa and another family member (an experienced carpenter) to use in order to reach and fix the ceiling hole.
We have high ceilings that are textured with that popcorn “cottage cheese” texture, and we have learned the hard way that patching or repairing ceiling holes is a costly project. Home maintenance costs are sky-rocketing, so getting cost estimates to patch a ceiling hole from professional home improvement companies is enough to make your eyes bug out.
The lowest quote we were given to repair the ceiling hole was over three thousand dollars for a two-day fix-it job. $3000.00 and up is not in our budget, and we feel quite fortunate to know people who are experienced in home improvement and drywall to help keep costs as low as possible.
No wonder so many homeowners prefer the DIY home improvement route to patch holes in walls or ceilings, and when you’re working hard to get out of debt, the last thing you need is an expensive home repair job to patch a popcorn ceiling hole.
Not only that, but we don’t have to concern ourselves about finding out how to paint or get rid of a popcorn ceiling either, because our guy already knows how and is doing the repair and paint work with Grandpa’s help for a mere fraction of the cost given in estimates.
From what I’ve heard, fixing textured ceilings is a pain in the butt, but when it comes to having to repair holes in a ceiling, the pain of patching a popcorn ceiling do-it-yourself style is well worth it vs. the pain in the pocketbook. I just hope they match the paint colors right so we don’t have to hire an experienced painter to finish the job.
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Hi Lin – That is really bad luck but I’m glad your husband is ok. If it doesn’t match up right – don’t pay an expensive decorator to repaint your ceiling.
Honestly, I’m not artsy at all, but I’ve moved house so many times and I always paint the whole house before I move out. Just use a roller on the ceiling and a paint brush on the edges as you do each section and it will be fine.
Hi Cath,
Well, since we’ve been having to make other home repairs due to foundation shifting (wall cracks), any and all painting being done to finish fixing the ceiling hole may at some point require repainting the whole interior of the downstairs.
We don’t know for sure yet, but if or when the time comes that we start thinking about selling the house, we have to at least consider the possibility that painting the entire interior of the house and ceilings may be necessary. Just not yet. Whew!
Wow! That had to be a heart stopping moment. Thank goodness no one got hurt in the process.
I don’t mind doing small home improvement projects, but the major ones intimidate me. Having high ceilings does present more of a challenge, but like you said, with the right tools and equipment, it’s possible to do it yourself.
Happy Holidays to you and yours.
It really was Barbara, but he was ok. Fixing ceiling holes may not be a fun project, but at least doing it ourselves will save us quite a bit of money by not hiring a carpenter we don’t know and aren’t sure of would do a good job. Happy Holidays to you too.
Help! I did the same thing, because i was killing squirrels and i just put m foot through, but there are two holes. Is it a D.I.Y.? or just call someone to do it?
Killing squirrels? You must have been on your roof to do that, not inside your house attic and fell through the ceiling. Either way, it’s good to have someone knowledgeable about ceiling repairs, sheetrock, tape and bed etc. We were fortunate to have a family member in the carpentry business come and help us out to get the ceiling fixed and painted. Good luck!