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How To Repair Holes in Drywall
Large Holes
20-Minute Setting Compound: Twenty-minute setting compound is a great product for filling deep holes and gaps and for your first taping coat because, unlike regular joint compound, it hardens quickly without shrinking. That means less time spent filling. And you can apply a second coat of compound as soon as the first hardens. You don’t have to wait for it to dry completely.
For most uses, buy the lightweight type. It comes as a powder in sacks ($5 for 18 lbs.). Mix only what you can use in about 10 minutes. It hardens quickly, often in your pan if you’re too slow! Completely clean your pan and knife before mixing a new batch. Otherwise it’ll harden even faster! To avoid clogging the sink drain, throw leftover compound into the trash.
Small Holes
Small holes caused by screws or hooks, wall fasteners or drywall fasteners that pop up are simple to repair, but again time consuming because you almost always have to repaint the walls. Nail pops are common and particularly irritating, because you’re likely to have more than one. But drywall screws sometimes pop up too, as a result of damp framing that dries out and shrinks during the first year or two in new construction.
The first step of the fix is to drive nails back down using a nail set. If you have screws, dig the drywall compound from their heads with a utility knife and turn them in tight with a screwdriver.
Then dimple the hole slightly concave with a hammer to indent any raised edges. But take care not to crush the drywall core. In addition, cut away any paper tears with a sharp utility knife. This is a good technique to use with old wall fasteners as well. It’s usually easier to tap them into the wall slightly rather than pull them out.
Two coats of drywall compound, applied with two swipes of the knife in an “+” pattern, should fill the holes. The first coat will shrink a bit, leaving a slightly smaller dent to be filled by the second coat. Scrape the excess off the surrounding wall so you don’t build up a hump. Sand lightly to blend with the surrounding wall.
Be sure to prime the spot. Otherwise the topcoat will absorb into the patch and make the area look different from the surrounding paint. And use a roller when priming to help raise the surface texture to match the surrounding wall.
Cracked Corners
Every home settles unevenly as it ages. This sometimes causes inside corners to crack or ripple. Often the crack will run from floor to ceiling. Once you spot this problem, watch it for two to three months for continued movement and fix it after all movement stops.
The key to renewing the strength of the corner is to remove all loose tape and drywall compound. If the drywall below has crumbled, cut it away with your utility knife and fill the gap with setting compound.
Retape the joint following the techniques shown. Crease the paper tape down the middle so it fits into the corner easily.
It’s difficult to spread compound smoothly on one side of the corner without marring the other side. The trick is to apply compound for the second and third coats only on one side at a time. Let the one side dry, then do the other side.
Finally, buy a fine-grit sanding sponge ($3) to smooth the corners. It’ll do a nice job without gouging.
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