It happened in the blink of an eye. The dog ran by, knocked you over, and now there’s a big ugly hole in the drywall!
Hiring a handyman to come and patch the drywall costs between $50 to $75 per square foot. But, that’s trading a hole in your wall for a hole in your wallet!
Repairing drywall isn’t difficult. It’s a great DIY home improvement project for beginners!
We put together a quick guide to teach you how to repair drywall damage in your home. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know before you head to the hardware store for supplies.
Analyze the Damage
The first step is to look at the damage and decide the best plan of attack. The biggest thing to note is the size of the damage.
If the hole doesn’t go all the way through, a little spackle works wonders. But, when the hole goes through the back of the drywall, the repair gets a bit more complicated.
How to Repair Smaller Holes
If the hole is about the size of a doorknob or smaller, you’ll want to use a mesh drywall patch. After applying the patch, use a spackle knife to scrape on small amounts of spackle in a criss-cross pattern. Make sure to blend the edges into the wall a little to soften and hide the edges of the patch.
After the first coat of spackle dries, add a second (if needed) then sand down the surface to knock down any rough edges.
How to Repair Drywall with Larger Damage
For larger holes, you’ll want a square of drywall a bit bigger than the hole instead of a mesh patch. Trace the drywall patch over the hole and cut out the drywall around the hole so the drywall patch fits into it.
Now, screw 2 thin strips of wood to either end of the hole so they sit on the edges of the hole on the inside of the drywall. Then, affix the square patch to the thin strips of wood with more screws.
Cover over the patch and the screws with spackle using a crisscross pattern. Once the spackle dries, sand it down until it feels smooth.
Finish the Repair and Repaint the Wall
once the repair has dried all the way, you can take very fine grit sandpaper and go over the area one last time to get the patch as smooth as possible. Make sure to blend in the seam where the patch meets the wall as well to hide any harsh lines.
Once the wall has a smooth surface, it’s time to repaint! Start with a coat of primer then (after that coat is dry) apply a coat of wall paint that matches the existing wall color and finish.
For larger repairs or if your wall has high gloss paint, you might want to repaint the whole wall or ask for advice from professionals like Majestic Painters. Otherwise, you’ll see where the patch job was and it won’t look right.
Home Repairs Are a Labor of Love
You love your house, that’s why you want to repair things when they break. Otherwise, you would let that hole stay there until you got ready to sell the house.
But, all the effort you put into keeping your home beautiful pay off in the long run. Consider it protecting your equity.
We hope you enjoyed reading this article and that you learned how to repair drywall damage. If you’re looking for other great articles about tech, travel, and entertainment, check out the rest of our blog today!
