How to Repair Drywall
Mothers always tell their children "don't play ball in the house" but accidents do happen and the result is often a hole in the drywall.
The most common area for holes in drywall is the wall behind a door where a knob impacts. Holes are now easier to repair with a relatively new material - drywall patch - that has a self adhesive mesh holding a perforated galvanized metal drywall patch.
Here are the tools and supplies you'll need to repair drywall:
- 6-inch minimum wallboard joint knife
- Cutting and taping knives
- Sanding block
- Sand paper
- Dust mask and goggles
- Dust cloth
- Paint brush
- Drywall joint compound
- Drywall patch
- Primer
- Paint
Here's how to make the drywall repair:
- Measure the hole and buy the appropriate size patch.
- Put on your dust mask and goggles.
- Clean the area to be patched with a dry cloth and, if necessary, use a cutting knife to widen the crack just a bit to give the joint compound something to adhere to and remove any loose drywall material.
- Peel off the backing and stick the drywall patch over the hole.
- Use the drywall knife and spread wallboard joint compound over the patch in layers.
- Cover all the pores of the adhesive mesh and extend the compound to about 6 inches beyond the hole or crack to blend with the surrounding area.
- Let dry and sand smooth using the sanding block. Repeat if needed.
- Dust the area with a cloth.
- Paint the surface with primer. (Hint: If you're painting the entire wall, tint primer to the color of the paint you've selected. It will save you an extra coat of paint.)
- After the primer dries, paint. If you're not painting the entire wall, feather the paint by using a slightly dry brush to blend with the existing paint surface.