Quick Fix: How to Patch a Drywall Hole

olldbobbi Smart ideabook and easy to follow, logical instructions. Perfect for people who like to mix up their decor from time to time. Or constantly, like me!

astraea Really useful! I have a tiny chip, where the electrician began to put a switchplate in the wrong location .. and I've been a little intimidated about fixing it. Sometimes if you don't do the right thing, you can make a small problem look worse!

mrsben I'm way ahead of you on this one Meg. Learned how to do this years ago when my daughter's Chocolate Lab puppy ate a humongous hole in the drywall. (Any one who owns a Lab knows their are notorious for eating anything.) Didn't have an extra piece of gyprock, so stuffed the hole first with crumpled newspaper then added the steel plate etc. It worked!!!!! Have since discovered this method also works well when converting a conventional light fixture to a recessed light when a larger hole is required for application and finishing requires some patchwork.

olldbobbi mrsben - your daughter's lab ate a hole in the drywall? How on earth was he able to sink his teeth into it???? Oh no!

The only thing our Jack Russell has chewed on is a letter from the IRS, and I was just fine with that.

mrsben @Bobbi: We asked her (the dog) but she wouldn't tell, but we suspect she just licked it to soften it up then chewed and devoured. Daughter was living in a relatively new Townhouse back then (they just don't make homes like they use to) and we think if she had been left any longer, the tenants attached might have had an unexpected guest. It wasn't so funny when dtr. discovered it (frantic call to me) but afterwards we did have a good laugh about it. (Her carpeting is another story.) She was ambitious but had the sweetest disposition. Surprisingly enough considering all what she ate as a puppy, she lived to be seventeen.

olldbobbi mrsben - That is one ambitious lab! And, no, they don't make homes like they used to. Mine was built in 1965, all maple cabinets still in very good shape. Original hardwood floors, and, unfortunately, without insulation. 113 degrees here the other night, that is hot!

prior1 Hey Meg...Here's another little trick I picked up from a contractor friend. Cut the damaged area out in a square or rectangular shape. Measure your opening. Cut a piece of sheetrock approx. 6" larger than the opening you've made. Mark on the back of the sheetrock piece the dimensions of the hole you've cut in the wall. Cut along those lines being careful to NOT cut the paper surface on the opposite side. Break the gypsum away and peel it off the paper that will remain...Now you have a square/rectangle of sheetrock with a flange of paper around the outside perimeter. Spread joint compound around the hole you've cut and on the paper flange and set in place. Finish with joint compound as you would any repair...Makes a nice, simple repair...Easy and cheap!

Bette I'm having some work done outside while I paint and patch my living room, and ceiling. Ceiling has small hairline cracks with some paper puckering from the drywall? I have been gouging out these cracks to refill and paint. Contractor told me to have drywall seam stuff laid over these small cracks and hit it with the joint sealer. I'm hoping it works. I hate sanding on the ceiling.

mrsben @Bette: Instead of using conventional fillers or a drywall compound what I have used to fill in 'cracks' is a product by DAP. It is called Alex Plus and is an 'acrylic latex' caulking silicone that is paintable, flexible (unless an Earthquake, I guaranty the crack will not reappear), mildew resistant and is good for indoor or outdoor use. You can purchase it in a 162 ml tube and is available at most Home Improvement stores.
Footnote: It cannot be sanded but a drywall compound can be put over it.

sherman labarge Drywall and plaster repair can be super cinchy. Just educate yourself a wee bit and tackle it--mistakes are easily fixed.

Bette @mrsben isn't that like caulk? I have some of that, somewhere.

marie_odile Thank you for this great tutorial on wall boarding. I lost control of a heavy truck tire on a rim and it went flying down a short flight of stairs smack into the wall across from the door, right between two studs. It made a hole the size of a dinner plate and perfectly concave on the co-tenants' side !!

After I composed myself from the hilarity of it all, I advised my landlord who also laughed. He commissioned a handyman, but the handyman wasn't very handy. All he did was fill the hole with a bucket of spackle which has now dried and cracked and certainly can't be painted like that.

I will send this wall board lesson and to my landlord and tell him that I think this is how a larger hole needs to be repaired !! Sorry, no photo, but the image of the tire bouncing down the steps into the wall will always be etched in my brain. :)

mrsben @Bette: Yes the product I mentioned is really a caulking but actually a drywall installer recommended me to use it. Told me it was something he used not only in cracks but to joint corners and areas particularly around staircases as both of the latter are known to shift over time.

katelynweissinger Just thought I'd mention to anyone considering using this tutorial that this method works great for small holes, at most a few inches across, otherwise the fiberglass tape doesn't have enough support in the middle and bows when you try and apply spackle or joint compound. If you have to cut a hole in the wall for some reason try and keep in narrow and more linear. It's easier to patch a 2 inch wide, 2 foot long hole with drywall tape than a 12 inch square one.

For larger holes follow prior1's suggestion or use a backing piece. You can take a thin piece of board and measure it a few inches wider than the hole. Put it inside the hole and screw on either end. Then cut a drywall piece to fit the hole and screw or glue to the backer board. Home Depot and Lowes both sell quarter sheets of drywall that are perfect for patches like this. Also note that if you have an older home with thicker drywall, a plaster skim coat, or other texturing on the walls, you may have to apply a layer of spackle or joint compound too and play with the texture/depth. Also remember to feather the touch up paint when your finished patching or you'll be able to see it at certain angles, especially if it's a glossier paint.

Engineer Your Space Great tutorial and good to know, especially if you're a renter and want to get your deposit back when you move out!

louisianalou I'm not a big fan of this method; especially for such a small divot-type hole. I prefer to patch drywall with a patch that is flush with the wall as opposed to a patch that overlays the wall. Overlay patches are almost always visible as you have added a layer of thickness to the wall. As for the small hole in the photo, I would have simply filled it with joint compound (or spackling) and then texture. But hey, whatever works for you.

capsun what method would work best for removing/repairing hole where a doggie door is?

louisianalou capsun: I have installed doggie doors. Doggie doors are installed on external doors which are almost always made of solid wood or are a metal shell with a hard foam fill. These doors would be extremely difficult to repair cleanly; you will notice the repair job. If you hire someone to attempt this, its going to cost you. I wouldn't attempt to repair a doggie door, I would simply replace the door. Another option is to cover the doggie door with an external and/or internal security cover. Most come with at least one security cover and I've seen where you can order both covers. Go online, you can probably find that the manufacturer sells both security covers. Hope this helps.