I know a lot of homeowners who would rather put a picture over a hole in the wall rather than try and repair drywall themselves. I’ve always questioned this belief. I mean, patching a hole is not the simplest task in the world. But it’s a lot better than trying to explain to guests why you have a replica Monet painting hanging two inches off the floor! Here are some tips on fixing those ugly wall holes once and for all.
If the hole is larger than three or four inches across you are going to need to find a piece of drywall you can use to patch the hole. You should be able to buy a small piece, about 2 feet by 2 feet, at Home Depot or a local hardware store. This will save you the trouble of having to buy a full sheet.
Using a utility knife, cut around the edge of the hole to remove the loose drywall. To make things easy you’ll want to keep the lines straight and make the hole a perfect rectangle. Then you can cut a piece of new drywall to fit the rectangle. Slide it in to see if it fits. If you are lucky enough to see the studs from the hole you can simply screw the new piece right into the studs using drywall screws. If not, you’re going to have a little extra work.
Cut two, thin pieces of scrap wood (plywood will do) and slide them into the hole so they run vertically across the hole, with the ends behind the wall. Then put a screw through the wall into each end. You can now insert the new piece of drywall and screw it into the scraps of wood. Your wall is now patched up.
To make it look good you’ll need a small tub of joint compound and some drywall tape. Cover all joints and screw holes with the joint compound and then run the tape over the four joints. Cover the tape with a smooth layer of joint compound and let dry for 24 hours. You can then sand the joint compound with some drywall sandpaper and apply another layer of compound. Keep repeating these steps until the wall is smooth. Once dry you can add a coat of paint to match the rest of the wall, and no one will ever have to know that a hole once resided there!
Sheetrock repair is not all that hard, and you may even find it to be a lot of fun. Granted it might not be as much fun as figuring out how to “creatively” decorate that doorknob hole in the bedroom wall, but at least you’ll have no explaining to do when it comes time to sell the home.
