Patching Smaller Holes
Step1
Strip away any raised portions of the drywall paper around the edge of the hole.
Step2
Sandpaper all around the edges of the hole enough to scrape and roughen the paint.
Step3
For holes roughly 1 to 3 inches wide, apply self-adhesive plastic mesh tape. (Skip this step for smaller holes.)
Step4
Use a putty knife to apply spackling compound or a hard-setting, fast-drying patching compound. Smooth it out.
Step5
Repeat step 4 after the spackling shrinks, if necessary.
Step6
Allow the spackling to dry. Sand the area smooth, prime it and paint.
Patching Larger Holes
Step1
Find the stud that is closest to the hole and use a drywall knife or saw to cut out a rectangle of drywall around the hole, including half of the width of the stud.
Step2
Roughen up the paint several inches all around the cut with sandpaper.
Step3
Cut a new piece of drywall the same size as the one you removed. Use the cutout as a patch.
Step4
Attach your new drywall patch to the stud using drywall screws or dry-wall nails, being careful to set the heads just below the surface, but not too deep - you don't want to break the paper.
Step5
Using a wide putty knife, apply a thin spread of joint compound along the seams. Gently press paper joint tape into the joint compound with your putty knife. Be sure that the edges of the tape are embedded in the compound, but scrape any excess compound from the tape.
Step6
After the joint compound is dry, spread two or three additional thin coats of compound over the tape, extending 4 to 8 inches on each side of the seam to blend in with the surrounding wall. Sand lightly between coats.
Step7
Paint primer over the new patch. If the seams are still visible after it dries, apply more joint compound before final painting.
For holes roughly 1 to 3 inches wide, apply self-adhesive plastic mesh tape. (Skip this step for smaller holes.)
Use a putty knife to apply spackling compound or a hard-setting, fast-drying patching compound. Smooth it out.
Repeat step 4 after the spackling shrinks, if necessary.
Paint primer over the new patch. If the seams are still visible after it dries, apply more joint compound before final painting.
Comments
cheekaboom said
on 9/12/2008 This was great!
In answer to RonNasty, I too was wondering how long the tape along the left and right sides should be, but if you look closely, it looks like he nearly butt it right up to but did not overlap the horizontal tape. And then he used the jc on top of the tape. At least that's what it looked like to me, and makes sense, right?
edpinc said
on 6/21/2008 Great video but with vario Tapeless Joint compound you don't need to do all that it fills holes up to 3" with out Tape. WWW.edp-inc.net
RonNasty said
on 5/3/2008 Two questions:
1. Does the drywall tape over lap on the left and right side?
2. Are you using the joint compound after you apply the tape?
Otherwise, excellent presentation.
barry88 said
on 2/28/2008 Instead of patching a hole in drywall cut the hole larger and install a recessed cabinet. Check out www.inwallcabinets.com I installed one of their recessed wine bottle cabinets where a hole was in the drywall. The moulding covers up your rough cut-out hole and they even come with a high tack adhesive for extra E-Z install--how cool!!
barry88 said
on 2/28/2008 Instead of patching a hole in drywall cut the hole larger and install a recessed cabinet. Check out www.inwallcabinets.com I installed one of their recessed wine bottle cabinets where a hole was in the drywall. The moulding covers up your rough cut-out hole and they even come with a high tack adhesive for extra E-Z install--how cool!!