Drywall Repair: How to Fix and Patch Drywall

Information technology'due south easier than you lot might recollect to exercise your own drywall repair. We'll bear witness you how to fix drywall and other damaged walls.

Time

A full day

Complexity

Beginner

Cost

Less than $20

Introduction

Gear up damaged drywall with these DIY repairs yous tin do. Don't melt down if a doorknob, misguided chair or an impromptu hockey game knocks a big hole in your drywall. With a little patience, a picayune joint compound and a few dabs of paint even a novice tin can complete a near invisible wall repair.

Tools Required

Materials Required

  • Drywall
  • Drywall screws
  • Drywall tape
  • Joint chemical compound

How to patch a big hole in drywall: Overview

Measure the thickness of the drywall (well-nigh likely 1/2 in.), and wait for a big enough bit from a damaged piece at a home center as you encounter how to fix a hole in drywall, rather than buy a total 4 10 viii-ft. sheet. Cut it to size and screw information technology into identify, spacing the screws every 6 in. Taping the edges of the patch drywall to make it invisible is the trickiest function of the how to fix drywall job. Purchase a gallon tub of drywall compound and a roll of paper tape. You can use mesh tape, but information technology isn't as strong. If y'all accept a lot of repairs, also buy a sack of twenty-infinitesimal setting chemical compound. It hardens chop-chop and doesn't shrink, then it's ideal for filling cracks and gaps before applying the joint tape. For smoothest results, also pick up flexible 6- and x-in. taping knives.

Use a coat of chemical compound and tape to each joint. Sparse the compound a bit with h2o to assist embed the tape. Smooth the record with the half dozen-in. knife, pulling out from the centre toward each stop. Clasp some, simply not all, of the compound out from under the record so yous don't create a big hump on the wall. Immediately use a low-cal coating to the topside of the tape, tapering it out onto the wall.

The 2d and third coats are to blend and smooth the taped joints and so they'll be invisible when painted. Afterward each coat is dry, set up a straightedge against the wall to check for obvious dips and bumps. Knock off bumps and ridges with your taping knife. Add more coats equally needed. Then sand, prime number and paint. The post-obit will walk yous through more than important tips and steps for how to fix a hole in the wall.

Project step-by-pace (12)

Pace 1

How to repair a large hole in drywall: Check for wires

how to fix drywall

Before cutting out the damaged area of this how to fix drywall project, check the wall for obstructions. Often you'll find a wire, pipe or duct. If so, work carefully around them with a drywall or keyhole saw. Or make a shallow cutting past repeatedly scoring the line with a abrupt utility knife to begin a hole patch. It's easier to add together capitalist board than to try to cut the drywall over studs equally you lot learn how to fix drywall. Then cutting out the section with a drywall saw or utility knife.

Replacing drywall section tip:

When learning how to set up a hole in the wall, exit a few inches of drywall at corners and so you won't accept to spread taping compound onto adjacent walls or ceilings and repaint them as well! Try to avoid common drywall installation mistakes.

Step 2

How to patch a pigsty: Insert backer boards

how to fix drywall

Cutting the capitalist boards most 4 in. longer than the elevation of the hole. Pine or other soft wood works well. Concord them tight to the backside of the drywall when fastening them. Hold the boards carefully so the spiral points won't prick your fingers if they pop out the backside. The drywall screws will depict the boards in tight. Sink the screwheads slightly below the drywall surface.

Step iii

Tape the joints

how to fix drywall

Lay a 1/8-in.-thick bed of patch drywall chemical compound over the joints and press paper record into the compound with a flexible vi-in. knife. Immediately apply a thin layer of compound on tiptop of the tape. Allow to dry as you work your way through this how to patch drywall project.

Footstep 4

Apply a 2nd and third coat

how to fix drywall

Apply a second coat of compound, cartoon it at to the lowest degree six in. beyond the edge of the first coat to taper the edges of the repair. Permit dry, then add a third glaze to smooth any remaining uneven areas.

Step five

Sand the dry out compound

how to fix drywall

The final steps in how to fix a hole in the wall are to sand the dry out compound lightly with 100-grit sandpaper to remove ridges and blend edges. Prime and pigment.

Stride 6

How to fix a hole in the wall: Small Holes

Small-scale holes caused by screws or hooks, wall fasteners or drywall fasteners that popular upwards are simple to repair, just again fourth dimension consuming because you nigh always take to repaint the walls. Nail pops are mutual and particularly irritating, because you lot're likely to have more than one. Just drywall screws sometimes pop up too, as a result of damp framing that dries out and shrinks during the first year or two in new construction.

The first footstep of how to patch a small hole in the wall is to bulldoze nails back downwards using a nail ready. If yous have screws, dig the drywall compound from their heads with a utility knife and turn them in tight with a screwdriver.

And so dimple the hole slightly concave with a hammer to indent any raised edges. But take care not to beat out the drywall core. In addition, cut away any paper tears with a sharp utility knife. This is a good technique to use with old wall fasteners as well. It's commonly easier to tap them into the wall slightly rather than pull them out.

Ii coats of drywall compound, applied with two swipes of the knife in a "+" design, should fill the holes. The first coat volition shrink a flake, leaving a slightly smaller dent to be filled by the 2nd coat. Scrape the excess off the surrounding wall and so you don't build up a hump. Sand lightly to blend with the surrounding wall. Exist sure to prime number the spot. Otherwise the topcoat will absorb into the patch and make the area look unlike from the surrounding paint. And utilize a roller when priming to help raise the surface texture to match the surrounding wall.

How to fix a hole in the wall fast: 20-Minute Setting Compound

Twenty-minute setting compound is a great product for filling deep holes and gaps and for your first taping glaze because, different regular joint compound, it hardens quickly without shrinking. That means less time spent filling. And you lot can apply a 2nd coat of chemical compound as before long as the first hardens. You lot don't have to wait for information technology to dry completely as you complete a how to fix drywall project.

For most uses, buy the lightweight type. It comes as a powder in sacks. Mix only what y'all can use in almost 10 minutes. It hardens quickly, oftentimes in your pan if you're as well slow! Completely make clean your pan and knife before mixing a new batch in your how to fix drywall job. Otherwise it'll harden even faster! To avert clogging the sink drain, throw leftover compound into the trash.

Drive a popped nail below the surface

how to fix drywall

Drive a popped smash below the surface of the drywall with a hammer and a nail ready. Cut away loose joint compound and newspaper shreds.

Pace 7

Drive in drywall screws

how to fix drywall

Bulldoze drywall screws about 1-1/2 in. above and below the popped nail. Sink the screwhead just below the surface of the drywall.

Step 8

Fill the holes

how to fix drywall

Fill the holes with joint compound, swiping starting time across the holes, and then down. Let dry, apply a second coat, and so sand, prime number and pigment.

Step 9

Cracked corners sheetrock repair

Every home settles unevenly as it ages. This sometimes causes within corners to fissure or ripple. Often the fissure will run from floor to ceiling. Once yous spot this problem, watch it for ii to three months for continued movement and gear up information technology subsequently all motility stops.

The key to renewing the strength of the corner is to remove all loose tape and drywall chemical compound. If the drywall below has crumbled, cut it abroad with your utility knife and make full the gap with setting compound.

Retape the joint post-obit the techniques shown in below of this how to fix drywall article. Crease the newspaper tape down the eye so it fits into the corner easily. It'due south difficult to spread compound smoothly on one side of the corner without marring the other side. The trick is to apply chemical compound for the 2nd and 3rd coats merely on one side at a time. Let the one side dry, then do the other side.

Finally, purchase a fine-grit sanding sponge to smooth the corners. It'll do a nice job without gouging.

Cut through the tape

how to fix drywall

Cut through the tape at the ends of the cracked area and piece, scrape and tear abroad all loose tape and compound.

Step 10

Employ articulation compound

how to fix drywall

Use a 1/8-in. layer of joint chemical compound, then fold and press paper tape into it. Stroke the length of the tape, squeezing compound out on both sides. Let dry out.

Step 11

Apply 2d and tertiary coats

how to fix drywall

Use second and tertiary coats to polish the joint, tapering the compound about vi in. out. Let ane side dry earlier applying compound to the other side.

Originally Published: February xx, 2022