Drywall Hole Patched With Styrofoam

I removed a baseboard heater and installed a outlet where the heater was wired so i had to cut a hole in the dry wall.
But had no drywall to fill the hole, so i used some foam packaging it worked really good, jut cut a block to fill the gap and pasted it in with some dry wall paste. And painted it, It worked out pretty well.

CanfieldsFarm (author) says: Aug 18, 2011. 7:18 PM

1. The house i lived in was built in 1948 by hand by my grandfather, he used his GI bill to buy the materials and got a book from the library "How to build a house"

NOTHING IN THE HIS HOUSE IS IS ANYWHERE NEAR "UP TO CODE"
if i cared about being up to code i would just tear down and rebuild the whole house.
2. Yes there was some mold this is where i had some plants growing after sanding and bleaching i painted over it.

3. For all the people worried about a 6 inch square piece of foam DO NOT LOOK at the Foam insulation blocks instructable i made a while back.

Indigno says: Oct 10, 2011. 11:15 AM

So what if 6 square inches of styrofoam burns? As if that little chunk of foam is going to cause catastrophic lung damage if the house catches on fire. Good idea if I'm ever in a pinch.

iPodGuy says: Aug 30, 2011. 6:44 AM

I applaud your innovation, but please reconsider replacing the packing foam entirely with new drywall or with insulating foam. There's even fire rated expanding foam (Great Stuff brand). What you've done is dangerous.

ntrider1991 says: Aug 25, 2011. 7:59 PM

well i would not show this off insurance company freak out right there and yes allot of county's and towns have local and state codes you might want to make sure you are not violating them house could be condemned if for some reason they seen that then you really have a nightmare because most places give you 1 year to make livable and bring up to code
but insurance company defiantly would not insure you

CanfieldsFarm (author) in reply to ntrider1991Aug 26, 2011. 4:16 PM

Ok well just keep this between you and me and dont tell the insurance company ok!

Lectric Wizard says: Aug 19, 2011. 9:16 AM

BAD IDEA, fire hazard to say the least ! Think what would happen if one of your connections arcs & sends a spark into the foam. There is a reason for fire codes & sheet rock !!!!

crapflinger says: Aug 18, 2011. 5:46 AM

GAH! get that out of your wall now! not only is Styrofoam flammable, it releases poisonous gases when it burns. it would be bad enough to put this in your wall in general, but right next to an outlet is 10X worse since that's where most wall fires start. the foam that's used for insulation has been treated to be fire resistant. the stuff they put in boxes hasn't

Soksume in reply to crapflingerAug 18, 2011. 5:41 PM

to be fair there are Styrofoam insulation products that are used today,BUT this is not the proper time or place for it.

crapflinger in reply to SoksumeAug 19, 2011. 5:07 AM

well, as i stated in my original post, the styrofoam that's approved for use as house insulation is treated with fire retardant. it is in no way the same thing as packing foam. insulation foam is also MUCH more dense

CaseyCase in reply to crapflingerAug 18, 2011. 1:55 PM

Wow--I agree!

mr.incredible says: Aug 18, 2011. 10:44 AM

Looks like you also have a mold problem. I would rip out a lot more than the styrofoam. A half sheet of wall board is cheap. Do it right the first time.

Soksume in reply to mr.incredibleAug 18, 2011. 5:45 PM

I agree there is a mold issue for sure you should definitely remove the drywall in the moldy area if not all the drywall in the room and as a safety precaution you should check the interior stud spaces to see if there is a mold problem behind as this can cause illness in some cases serious.