How to Cover a Recessed Light Opening in the Ceiling

Your ceiling will be left with significant gaps where the recessed lighting once was if you have removed the fixtures. These gaps not only look bad, but they also let cold air into your house. Applying a patch to the sheetrock and painting over it with paint that matches the color of the ceiling can easily cover these gaps. To get an exact fit, you might need to repaint the complete ceiling if it hasn't been painted in a while.

1. Position a platform beneath the ceiling opening. To create a square shape around the opening, place a ruler around its perimeter and make straight lines with a pencil. Use a drywall saw to cut along the lines to cut out the sheetrock.

2. Use a tape measure to calculate the dimensions of the ceiling opening. On a section of drywall that is the same thickness as the current drywall, draw a rectangle. Use a utility knife to carve out the fix by following the lines.

3. Using a saw, cut two pieces of 1-by-2-inch boards that are several inches longer than the patch's edges.

4. Insert one of the boards into the ceiling opening, and use a screwdriver to attach it by driving a nail through the ceiling and into each end of the board. Verify that the screw's head is level with the ceiling. In the same way, fasten the board that is on the other side of the opening.

5. Insert the plasterboard repair into the cavity. To secure the repair, drill screws through the sheetrock patch and into the 1-by-2-inch planks on either side.

6. Using a putty knife, cover the joints of the patch with joint cement. While the cement is still moist, cover it with a piece of drywall tape. Utilizing the putty tool, embed the tape into the compound and let it cure.

7. Continue to apply joint solution in layers until the surface is flat. After it has fully dried, sand the region with 100-grit sandpaper.

8. Continue until every ceiling cavity has been repaired. To make the region blend in with the remainder of the ceiling, paint it.