Q: My wife drove the car into the garage wall and did a lot of damage. She managed not to completely drive through the wall, but the drywall is crunched and the studs are cracked and bent. Luckily there is no electrical or plumbing running through that part of the wall. What’s the best way to fix this?
A: If the studs are cracked, they are no good. You need to remove the drywall from both sides of the wall to completely assess the damage. Make sure the bottom sill plate did not move. If it did, you’ll likely have to replace the entire sill plate. Otherwise, you need to replace all of the broken studs and then reinstall the drywall. However, the garage wall is most likely a load-bearing wall. To replace the studs you will need to build a temporary support wall to support the overhead weight while replacing the studs. If you don’t have experience working on load-bearing walls, then it’s probably safer to hire a professional to do the work.
