How to repair damaged drywall for mounting interior blinds?

[marky000]

Hi all

Photos of the problem can be found at bottom of post.

The mount points for a set of blinds broke off at 2 of the 3 mount points a while back. Filling in and mounting in a nearby area wasn't ideal as the blinds wouldn't be centralised. So, I drilled deeper and installed larger wall plugs. The plugs are now a snug fit (with a reasonable portion of the plug in the drilled hole). However, there is a fairly large void area which obviously reduces the strength of the mount.

What filler could I use that is reasonably practical to apply and would also add some strength to the area? I am considering the following products:

Poly 310g Large Interior And Exterior Cracks Filler - 310g - Bunnings Australia

Selleys Gap Filler 435g Spakfilla Heavy Duty Interior And Exterior - Bunnings Australia

Gyprock CSR 4.5kg Less Mess Multi-Purpose Joint Compound - Bunnings Australia

Selleys 320g Liquid Nails Construction Adhesive - Bunnings Australia

Selleys 50g Knead It Multi Purpose Epoxy Putty - Multi Purpose - Bunnings Australia

I have listed the above in order, starting with what I believe are the weaker products and ending with the strongest ones. I also note that the stronger products such as Liquid Nails and Epoxy are going to be messier to apply. Incidentally, one of the sales staff at Bunnings suggested No More Nails (which I believe is the pretty much the same thing as Liquid Nails?).

I have used Polyfilla before and it's a nice product to use but I see it more as an aesthetics-based product and not something that will add much strength.

I have not used Spakfilla but I assume that is very similar to Pollyfilla, possibly marginally stronger.

The Gyprock multi-purpose joint compound looks to be a little stronger than the Polyfilla and Spakfilla. I believe it takes a while to dry but that is not an issue. I am not sure how easy it is to apply but should be less messy than the Liquid Nails and Epoxy.

The Liquid Nails and Epoxy will add strength, but I am concerned about the mess and quick dry times. Not sure about adding so much glue-based product to fill some pretty big holes. Would it maybe be a good idea to add one of these products in a small area around the wall plugs and then add the joint compound or Spakfilla on top of that?

At this stage, I am leaning towards the multi-purpose joint compound but the idea of using a combination of products could be a consideration.

Cheers

[JacobZ]

Hi @marky000,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is fantastic to have you with us.

By adding a longer and wider masonry plug, you have already added about as much strength as possible. A filler product, at this thickness, is not going to add a whole lot of strength, so the main focus should be on achieving a nice finish.

I would just use Poly 310g Large Interior And Exterior Cracks Filler as it can be used to fill deeper holes while still being sandable to achieve a smooth finish.

If you really wanted to, you could use Concremate to fill the majority of the hole, allow it to dry, then apply a skim coat of something like this Poly Interior Skim Coat Filler, before sanding and painting, but the strength added would be minimal at best.

Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob

[R4addZ]

Hi @marky000 

If the deeper holes and fixings are giving you the fix strength you want but not the stability, the filler will provide the stability. The current install without a filler will seem too flexible and the filler will provide a base for the screws to pull the mountings up to. Any decent wall/interior filler will do this job and remember that with a water based filler (most pre-mixed fillers are water based) it is possible to use a wet rag  rather than sandpaper to remove excess filler after it has dried. This makes it easier to re-finish the repair after sorting things out!