Patching dry wall at a high place

[paulsiu]

One of my mom's friendly neighborhood "handyman" was painting her staircase and somehow rip the corner of the top of the staircase (see attachment).

I don't have a long ladder, but I was wondering if there's a way to patch this using a long telescopic pole.

Paul

[Cookie]

Did you ever notice if you had any water damage there ?

[paulsiu]

Did you ever notice if you had any water damage there ?

No, I don't think so. I believe the guy poke the ladder through the corner...

Paul

[Gary Swart]

You may be able to rent a ladder if you can't borrow one from a friend or neighbor. One can sand drywall with a sander on a pole, and you can paint with a roller on a stick, but to patch a hole, you have to be where you can fit a patch, nail or screw the patch in place, and tape it. There's no way the patching can be done long distance.

[Cookie]

Is this near the ceiling you mentioned in your other post?
It looks like he might have had a hard time reaching it because I can see where it looks like he dabbed at it with his paint brush, plus, I can see a crack sparling above it which should had been fixed, the tape where the joint is at the paper looks like it is in bad condition. It looks like your walls needed some additional work beforehand, not just painted.

[jimbo]

There appears to be a lot of previous damage/patchwork in that corner. I would get whatever kind of ladder or stage necessary to get up there and take a look. Could be something related to the roof leaks.

[paulsiu]

Is this near the ceiling you mentioned in your other post?
It looks like he might have had a hard time reaching it because I can see where it looks like he dabbed at it with his paint brush, plus, I can see a crack sparling above it which should had been fixed, the tape where the joint is at the paper looks like it is in bad condition. It looks like your walls needed some additional work beforehand, not just painted.

Nope, water damage is on the other side of the house. I talked with my mom and she indicated that the cracks may have been there already. Perhaps the handyman may not be at fault after all, and that corner just happened to be weak. My suspicion is that there was water damage back before 79 from a bad roof and after fixing the roof. Instead of fixing the wall, the previous owner probably covered it up over with wallpaper so that it pass inspection. Otherwise, why wallpaper that section of the wall.

I guess I will need to talk to a dry wall person after all, since I am not comfortable with replacing panels 20 feet up. Should check if that damage is from water or from foundation shift.

Thanks everyone for your help.

Paul