Over the years I have had my fair share of  drywall patching.  My first experience was back in college.  I was in a rental with 3 other girls and one of them was a lifelong friend.  She decided that I should “think fast” and threw a rather large PUMPKIN at me.  Needless to say, it didn’t end well for the drywall!  We were lucky enough to know someone who could fix it, but since then I have learned how to do it myself.

The small holes aren’t a huge deal but let’s talk BIG holes.  They can be intimidating and a little scary if you don’t know where to start.

I’ll show you how I patched this large opening that was once a doggy door:

I don’t have any before pictures, so you’ll have to use your imagination. 😉

Supplies needed:  utility knife, straight edge, screwdriver, scrap wood,  taping knife or scrapper, small piece of drywall, screws, fine grit sandpaper or block, adhesive-backed fiberglass drywall tape and joint compound or spackle.

To start, clean up the edges of the hole. Trim away frayed edges with a utility knife, making a straight-sided shape will allow you to easily replace that piece of drywall.

Next, you will need some type of support behind the new piece of drywall.  Ideally you would have some type of stud to screw scrap wood into.  If there is no existing wood, put a piece of wood (about 4 inches longer that than the opening) behind the drywall and secure it with screws.  The larger the hole, the more backing you will need. This will give you something to support the patch.

{ My hole was on an exterior wall, so I also added some insulation.  You don’t need to do this on an interior wall.}

Measure the opening and cut a piece of drywall to size. There are different thickness of drywall so be sure the new piece is the same size. Secure it by screwing it to the backer wood.

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Now you can apply adhesive-backed fiberglass drywall tape to the area around your patch.  If you do not cover the drywall joints, the mudding and painting of the drywall will look sloppy.

Now comes the fun part…Apply a thin coat of drywall compound to the joints and exposed screw heads using a taping knife or scrapper. (I just buy premixed spackle in the paint section.) Let the patched area completely dry before continuing.

 As you can tell my first coat is almost always super messy.  Don’t worry if you aren’t a pro at this (clearly I’m NOT!).  Use a piece of fine grit sandpaper or a sanding block to smooth out the rough patches.  I also use a damp cloth.

If you still have some uneven areas, put another coat (or two).  The edges should fan out, to where you won’t even notice the patch.

Now you can paint the wall! 🙂