How to Patch and Repair Drywall Holes: DIY Home

• drywall
• DIY
• homeowners clinic
• repairs

It’s no big deal to fix drywall holes. Years ago, when I had a job doing condo maintenance, I developed this method for repairing large holes in walls. First, cut a neat drywall patch. Make it generously oversized, relative to the hole. Next, hold it over the hole and trace neatly around the patch with a sharp pencil. Take a drywall saw and cut on the outside of the pencil line. Now take the patch, drive two drywall screws into it to serve as handles and test fit it in the hole. If the patch doesn’t fit, here’s a down-and-dirty trick: Put your thumb about midway behind the blade of the saw and scrape its teeth sideways over the patch’s high spot. The coarse teeth plane down the edge of the drywall. If the ridges left by the teeth need to be shaved off, flip the saw over and do the same move with the back of the saw.

Finally, butter the edge of the patch like it was a brick, and simply set it into the hole. Wipe off excess drywall compound with a 6-inch knife, but don’t bother being too fussy. Come back after the compound is dry and sand the repair smooth. Apply compound as needed to blend it into the surrounding surface. I’ve skipped the drywall tape on most repairs and haven’t seen problems with them. But I’d tape a really big repair—say, a patch that is 1 foot square. Drywall tape is even more important for a durable repair if the patch is located in a zone that could see additional abuse, such as where a doorknob may strike.

With modifications, the same procedure can be used on ceilings, as our editor-in-chief, Jim Meigs, found while helping his son do some volunteer work recently. Use a strip of drywall inserted into the ceiling cavity and screwed to the patch. This acts as a brace that holds the repair up while the drywall compound hardens.

For small holes in a wall, simply slap on a peel-and-stick drywall patch. You can also use a method in which you cut out the patch but carve away the drywall around the perimeter so the patch’s paper forms a flange. Put the patch in the hole and apply compound over the paper flange.

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