Things You'll Need:
- 4" or 6" putty knife.
- small(10") piece of drywall.
- utility knife.
- joint compound.
-
Step 1
This works great on small holes, such as where an outlet used to be. First, square up the hole so it is fairly straight.
-
Step 2
Hold up your small piece of drywall to the hole. You will want it to cover the hole by roughly 2" on all sides. A 3" x 3" hole will need a piece of drywall about 7" x 7".
-
Step 3
Using a pencil, mark straight lines on the back of the drywall for the width and the height of the hole. Your marks will look like a tic-tac-toe puzzle, with the center piece being the size of the hole. Now make a cut on these lines with the utility knife.
-
Step 4
Here's the tricky part. Doing one side at a time, snap the drywall down so it breaks on the cut. If you then push down on the center and pull up on the piece you just snapped down, the snapped piece will tear away leaving the face paper still attached to your center piece. Do this on all sides and you will end up with a piece of drywall that will fit in the hole, but it will have a piece of face paper attached that will cover the hole 2" all the way around.
-
Step 5
Make sure the piece will fit in the hole. If it's too big, it is better to cut the hole bigger to get it to fit. It does not need to be a tight fit. Make sure the face paper has no small pieces of drywall stuck to it. If so, it can be scraped off with a knife.
-
Step 6
Spread a layer of joint compound around the hole. It is also good to spread some compound where the patch of drywall meets the face paper. Insert the plug into the hole and carefully wipe with the 4" or 6" knife, squeezing the excess mud out on all sides. You now have a fairly smooth patch. Let dry before next step.
-
Step 7
Coat the patch with two layers of compound, letting dry between coats. Sand smooth and paint.
