If you ever find yourself staring at a hole marring an otherwise perfectly good wall, don’t worry.
Patching drywall is easier than it looks: you just need the right tools and a few basic principles.
You do need some kind of drill or driver to do this, a screwdriver won’t cut it.
Joint Compound: It’s usually available in 1 and 5 gallon buckets.
I recommend keeping a 1 gallon bucket on hand unless you’re planning to do alotof patching.
(I always jump at the chance to use a power tool.)
In most cases, there isn’t a wall stud handy right where the hole is.
For smaller holes, here’s the method I use:
1.
You want all of the tape to be embedded in the mud without any wrinkles or bubbles.
(I usually wait a full 24 hours.)
Next, start layering joint compound over the patched area.
Many people put on as little compound as possible on the walls.
I did this for years, and it was a big mistake.
This is an example from finishing a drywall seam, but the same concept applies.
This is just to illustrate that the final “patch” will be much larger than the original hole.
Instead, a sanding padlike thisis a good option.
Here’s an example where I moved a light fixture and receptacle in my bathroom.
(Apologies for the horrible lighting but I often do these things late at night.)
After sanding the final coat, apply a primer before painting over that section of wall.
Here’s that same wall of my bathroom after the patches were painted, and fixtures installed.
