How to get rid of cardboard without damaging wall or new drywall?

Question

Here is the situation, Im in a dorm, we broke through the drywall and knocked the wall mounted door stop into the wall because it was not installed near enough (or over) the stud. I have used mud in the hole, placed a peice of cardboard over to hold it in. After the mud dries im going to need to get the cardboard out... any ideas on how to do this without destroying the new drywall?

Yeah... as corky pointed out, i did it incorrectly... knowingly too.. basically im under a time constraint and made do with the materials i had. This feels sort of like a "worst cas scenario" question.

Answer 1

You probably should have put a piece of waxed paper over the hole and the cardboard on top of the waxed paper. That way the waxed paper wouldn't stick to the plaster. The usual method of repairing a hole in plaster board is to put a support piece behind the wallboard rather than try to get mud to hang in a hole that size and support it from the front. You can probably just carefully tear off the cardboard, little by little and use a piece of fine sandpaper to smooth out any imperfections remaining, then paint.

Answer 2

Go to the hardware store in the paint section and purchase a mesh patch. They come in different sizes and stick to the wall. Sand lightly and wipe with a damp cloth and let dry before applying. Spackle over with a wide drywall knife, let dry and apply a second coat, let dry and sand smothe. If you take a sample of the old wall to Home Depot or Lowe's, they can match the paint. This would normally take a couple days, but if you use a hair dryer to dry the spackle, you could do it in a few hours. Just don't get it too hot as it will develop cracks.
Good Luck!

Answer 3

Like the last answer do that and you maybe will have to put another coat of plaster over it and sand again.

Answer 4

can you cut around it carefully with a razor knife ?? then do your touch up paint ........ good luck man