How to Patch Drywall That has Texture

Patching your textured sheetrock or drywall is a little more challenging than doing a smooth wall; but commercially available spray texture products (See “Spray Texture Product Example” link under resources below) permit a good repair. These products work very well on orange peel or spatter textures. Orange peel texture is aptly named. It looks like the skin of an orange. Spatter is a lighter application, more like individual bumps with some smooth wall visible between the bumps. Spray texture is also available for patching knockdown or "Mediterranean" type drywall textures (Again see resource link below), but those details are not covered here.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Piece of sheetrock large enough for repair
• Carton or utility knife
• Screwdriver
• Drywall screws
• Paper joint tape or self-adhesive fiberglass tape
• Sheetrock compound
• Putty knife (for small holes)
• Taping knives (3 or 4 inch & 6 inch)
• Drywall trowel (11 x 4.5 inch)
• Spray can of texture material
• Drop cloths and/or plastic
• Paint (primer and finish)
• Sandpaper

1. Patch hole - Small holes can be patched with just a bit of joint compound or spackling. Joint compound shrinks as it dries so do a second coat after lightly sanding the first. Some other eHow articles provide a good description of how to patch large holes in sheetrock. In resources below click on the links to “How to Repair a Hole in Drywall “ and “How to Patch a Hole in Drywall”. The second reference has a good video showing repair techniques. Particularly in patching large holes, it is important to work carefully and patiently to get a repair that blends smoothly with the rest of the wall. Texture will not hide a poorly blended patch. When in doubt apply additional thin coats of compound and sand them carefully. With a textured wall you will need to sand off the existing texture around the patch just a little beyond the area where you will be spreading joint compound. You do not have to get the texture off perfectly. Just get it smoothed down a bit so the blending will work better. Also be careful not to sand off the covering paper on the sheetrock. At the edges of the dried joint compound where you need to feather into textured areas, wet rag sanding works well. Use a damp rag instead of sandpaper. If the rag is too wet it will take off too much compound, but if wrung out almost dry and used with light pressure it will help you to blend very nicely into the textured area.
2. Re-texture small areas - For nail or screw holes or very small patches “spatter painting” works pretty well. Add more water to a small amount of joint compound so that it is almost “runny” (you will need to experiment here). Dip an old, fairly stiff toothbrush into the wet compound and then pull your thumb from front to back on the bristles while holding the toothbrush near the wall.
3. Re-texture large areas - For re-texturing larger areas buy a spray can of texture (See resources) from one of the large home improvement stores or a hardware store. Some of these cans have different size straws to adjust the amount of texture applied; others have an adjustable nozzle. Matching the existing texture is a bit touchy. Practice on large piece of cardboard, to get a feel for how to apply the material and also to choose the right texture nozzle setting. Spray the texture in a sweeping motion in short bursts and gradually build up the amount that you need. Step back often to judge your progress and to see where more texture is needed and how well your work is blending with rest of wall. Very lightly lap into the existing texture on the wall to better blend your repair. Also use drop cloths or plastic and drape off wall area beyond where you are patching because there will be drips and the “sweeping motion” application tends to get material a little too far out at times. Very light, .31 mil “painters plastic” works well to shield areas. Just tape it to the wall with masking tape.
4. Prime and Paint - Prime the patched area with a good drywall primer. For faster recoating use one of the quick drying spray can products like Kilz or Zinseer's 1-2-3 that permit finish coating in about one hour. Repaint as necessary. If wall is painted with latex paint and you still have some of the original color and the paint job is not too old, you can probably just paint patched area and feather into existing paint. Latex paint blends pretty well even with touchup a year or so after the original paint job.
5. Heavier textured areas - Some textured ceilings are just a more heavily applied version of the orange peel texture on the wall. These can be matched with a heavier setting on the spray can nozzle. There are also “popcorn” ceiling textures. These actually have particles of polystyrene mixed in with the spray that is put on the ceiling and come in medium and coarse grades. Repair cans for these are also available. Finally there are spray texture cans with material to repair walls with heavier “Mediterranean” knockdown style texture. For these follow the manufacturer’s directions.

Tips & Warnings

• Home improvement stores typically have some partial sheets of sheetrock (e.g. 2 foot x 4 foot) salvaged from damaged standard sheets, so you don't have to buy an entire standard 4 foot by 8 foot sheet when making repairs.
• A hair dryer can be used to speed up the drying of the sheetrock compound between coats.
• Use damp rag sanding in addition to sandpaper.
• If one edge of your large wall patch meets the adjacent wall or a ceiling, cut that edge of your patching material on a stationary power saw with a fine blade so that it is a very smooth cut. (Cutting sheetrock with a power saw is very dusty work, so wear a dust mask.) Fasten patch securely and then carefully caulk the corner joint rather than trying to tape it. Don’t use too much caulk and smooth and even out the caulk with a wet finger and clean smears quickly with a wet rag.
• Provide good ventilation, spray texture and spray paint products produce strong fumes.