| Anyone who has ever had drywall in their house | | | | or plaster around the edges of the hole, then apply |
| knows that eventually a door will get slammed open; a | | | | drywall patch, following the manufacturer's instructions. |
| piece of furniture smacked against the wall, or some | | | | To make a repair to a small drywall hole without a kit, |
| other incident will create a gouge, a hole or a scratch in | | | | follow these instructions: |
| the drywall that must be fixed. When those times | | | | Step 1: |
| happen, get out your tools and get to work: there's no | | | | Prepare tin can lid that is at least 11/2 inches more in |
| need to hire a contractor to come in and patch your | | | | diameter than hole in drywall for backing piece. Use |
| drywall, it's a relatively easy fix that you can handle | | | | keyhole saw to cut out narrow horizontal slit in wall on |
| yourself! | | | | each side of hole. Measurement of hole plus both |
| The first thing you'll need are a few essentials to | | | | narrow slits should equal diameter of lid so you can |
| handle the job right: | | | | insert lid sideways into hole. |
| - A drywall repair kit. | | | | Step 2: |
| - Clean tin can lid. | | | | Use awl to punch two holes in center of lid. Thread |
| - Tape measure. | | | | 12-inch piece of wire or string through holes. |
| - Keyhole saw. | | | | Step 3: |
| - Thin wire or string. | | | | Holding ends of wire, slide lid through slit. Still holding |
| - Scissors or wire cutters. | | | | wire, pull lid toward you until it's flat against inside of |
| - Scrap wood. | | | | wall. Can lid should be held firmly against inside of wall. |
| - Putty knife. | | | | Step 4: |
| - Drywall patching compound. | | | | Use putty knife to apply premixed drywall patching |
| - Sandpaper. | | | | compound over patch following manufacturer's |
| - Primer and paint. | | | | instructions. Pack the compound into the hole, keeping it |
| - Paintbrushes. | | | | inside. Do not spread it on wall surface. Leave patch |
| The easiest way to fix any drywall repair project is to | | | | slightly low, and don't try to level it. Let patch dry until it |
| purchase a drywall repair kit from your local home | | | | turns bright white, typically at least 24 hours. When dry, |
| improvement store. Be sure you measure the hole that | | | | cut string or wire and remove stick. |
| needs fixed and buy the appropriate kit for the job. For | | | | Step 5: |
| example, a drywall patch for a ceiling is thicker than | | | | To finish patch, fill it completely with more patching |
| one for a wall. | | | | compound to make patch level with wall surface. Let |
| Once you're ready to begin, remove any loose paper | | | | dry, lightly sand area, prime, and paint. |