Drywall is made as sturdy as possible. Still, it does get damaged and breaks over time, if it is treated roughly. There are several steps that can be taken to keep drywall in the best possible shape, but once it is damaged there is nothing to do but fix it.
There is a tried and true process that is used to properly repair damaged drywall. Because drywall is thin enough to punch through and delicate enough to crumble on the edges there can be quite a few ways to damage drywall.
From small nail holes to giant cracks, it can be repaired, blended and patched seamlessly into the rest of your wall. Having basic knowledge of the skill and labor it takes to repair drywall will give you more respect for the process and an understanding of why it takes time to get perfect.
There are a few steps that are almost always used to repair drywall. Knowing those steps and what your repair man will be doing to your walls is very important for having peace of mind during the process. Here is a comprehensive explanation of how to repair damaged drywall.
Knowing the complete drywall repair process used in your area will allow you to feel comfortable in the work you are paying for. We use tried and true methods to get you the smoothest wall and paint job possible. Here are the basic steps that we use for our drywall repair process here in Dallas.
1. How to repair small holes in drywall?
A small hole is probably the easiest but most fiddly hole to fix. That is mostly because it requires filling the hole completely with putty to make sure the hole is stable. It is, however, the easiest to blend back into the wall once it is patched.
These holes are the most common as they are usually caused by nails or small punctures in your drywall and it is likely your wall has more small holes than you are aware of. Even the smallest hole can be obvious under a fresh layer of perfect paint so hiring a great drywall expert who will handle any holes in the wall as they go is imperative to a great paint job. Here are the easy steps to repair small holes in drywall.
Step one
For small holes that might be in your drywall the first step is to clean up the hole a bit. Drywall rarely damages evenly all over. To make the hole easier to repair it needs to be an even hole with no edges.
To make a small hole even get a knife and carefully cut around the edges of the hole until the outside of the hole is a bit bigger than the inside. This will give you an even surface to fix with none of the jagged edges that often happen where you poke a hole in the drywall.
Step Two
Once the small hole is cut evenly, you can begin filling it. The best material to fill drywall is painters putty. Often professional painters are the best at repairing drywall because they have to do it so often to make their painting job pristine.
Fill the small hole completely with painters putty. Any spots left unfilled will be weaker than the rest of the wall and are more likely to crack again. Filling the entire hole with putty guarantees a reinforced wall.
Scrape the excess of the putty away so that it is even with the wall. Any uneven bumps will need to be sanded away so keeping the putty even with the wall takes away some of the extra work you will have to do. Once you have the hole filled and the putty even with the wall they will need to give the putty some time to dry.
Step Three
Once your putty is completely dry you can begin blending it into your wall. It is unlikely you will have gotten the putty completely smooth when scraping the putty to get it even with the wall. Even if you did a great job scraping the putty, you will still need to sand it a little to blend the edges and remove any texture.
Drywall is very smooth and does not have texture so it is important you try to get your putty to match. you will also be putting more material on top of the putty so you want it as flat as possible to keep your drywall hole from becoming a mound of putty. That is why your third step in repairing a small hole in your drywall is sanding the dry putty.
Step Four
Your fourth, and final, step to repairing a small hole in your drywall is applying spackle over the sanded putty. This step is to make the hole completely disappear. It also makes an even surface so the patch is easy to paint over.
You might have to repeat this step to get the perfect coating of spackle. You want it as flat to the wall as possible and for it to cover up all the putty. Once your spackle is applied and dry, you can paint over it and watch the patch disappear into the rest of the wall.
2. Fixing Medium Sized Drywall Holes
These are holes and cracks that do not take much work. They are small enough for a patch and too big to stuff full of putty. Still, they are hard to blend into the rest of your wall so it is best to allow a professional to do a great job making your wall look brand new.
Step One
A medium hole in your drywall might actually be easier to fix than a smaller hole. There is a product specifically designed for fixing medium-sized holes in drywall quickly and easily. To fix a medium-sized hole you need to apply a drywall metal patch.
The first thing you need to do before you apply your metal patch is sand the wall and the hole down a bit. you want a completely smooth surface before you apply your patch. Any jagged edges or rough patches around where you will be placing the patch need to be sanded smooth.
Step Two
Once you have the area around the hole sanded smooth, you need to make sure all the sanded dust is removed from the wall. The dust will make it hard for the patch to stick and might add some unwanted texture to your repaired wall. Getting all of the dust off of your wall is a very important step that can not be overlooked.
The patch works like an adhesive and it cannot stick as well as it should if it is trying to stick to a dusty surface. Wiping away the dust after you sand is one of the most important steps to fixing a medium-sized hole in your drywall and one of the most overlooked steps. Make sure you do not try to stick your patch to a dusty surface.
Step Three
Once your wall is correctly sanded and wiped clean you can begin to apply the patch. Drywall metal patches are stickers. They have a sticky back that is covered by a piece of paper that you peel off to stick the patch to your wall.
These patches come in a variety of sizes so that they can go over many different sizes of holes. You stick the patch on with the mesh side facing out. Make sure you center the patch over the hole so the entire thing is covered by your patch and it is solidly stuck onto the wall.
Step Four
Once your drywall patch is stuck firmly in place you can begin blending it into your wall. This is done with a drywall compound that your drywall repairman will absolutely have on hand. This compound is put over the patch and feathered out on the sides to help it blend in with the rest of the wall.
It is important that this step is done correctly or you will end up with a very obvious patch on your wall. you want your compound to be as flat to the patch as possible and getting thinner as it goes to the edges. you should go outside of the patch to try and make the patch and the drywall compound blend into your wall seamlessly.
Step Five
Step five is the same as step one. you need to sand your dried compound until it blends into the wall. you may need to add more compound to fully conceal the patch and blend in into your wall. Repeat sanding and applying compound until you feel the patch is blended into your wall.
This is likely going to take a few tries to get perfect. Your drywall experts are going to know how to do this quickly and well so allow them to do their job without worry. The most important step is getting your patch sanded so that it looks as seamless as possible.
3. How to repair a large drywall hole?
Large holes in your drywall require the most work to fix. Your professional drywall expert will know exactly what to do to make your drywall look as good as new. These steps are important to know so that you can understand any extra costs to you for repairing a large hole.
There is a process for fixing large holes in drywall that does take time to get just right. Understanding the process that it takes to fix drywall will allow you to understand the job you are asking to be done and what kind of time and labor it takes to get just right. Understanding how to fix your own home will help you respect the work you are paying for. Here is how to repair a large drywall hole.
Step One
Larger holes require patches made out of drywall. you cannot make a mesh patch look seamless on top of a larger hole. The best place to start is finding a patch of drywall a little bigger than the hole you have.
You want the patch you cut out to be a bit bigger than the hole so you have room to blend it in. you also need to make sure the drywall patch is the same thickness as the drywall where the hole is. Having a thicker piece of drywall than the wall you are trying to repair is going to look off and not give you the seamless look you are going for.
Step Two
Cut out your square of drywall to be a little larger than the hole you are going to cover so that you have a little extra room to work with and cut down. Trace the outline of the square you have cut over the hole in your drywall. You are going to need to cut the hole in your wall to match the shape of what you have cut so that your patch can be even and shaped in a way that is easy to fill.
Keep the outline of what you intend to cut a bit smaller than the piece of drywall you are using as a patch. This gives you room for blending and a little room to mess up your lines while cutting. Once you have your outline cut you can begin the next step.
Step Three
Make sure there are no wires where you intend to cut. Stick your hand in the hole before you get a knife anywhere near it. Feel around to make sure you are in no danger of hitting wired or cords when you begin to cut.
Accidentally cutting into wires could be very dangerous. It is very important to make sure that there is nothing you could injure yourself with before you begin cutting into the drywall. This is also the time to make sure you have a sharp knife that is made for cutting into drywall so that it does not slip and injure you.
Step Four
Once you make sure the wall is safe to cut into you can begin to saw into the drywall. Keep as accurate to the shape you have drawn onto the wall as possible. you want your patch of drywall to fit snugly into the wall to make a more seamless finish.
Continue to compare the hole you are cutting to the patch you have made. you do not want it to be smaller than the patch but if you saw much bigger than the patch, that will make the wall not look as seemless. Checking how the patch will fit into the space you are carving out for it as you go will guarantee a good fit and a good patch.
Step Five
Once you have your patch cut out you need to give it something to hold onto. To do this cut out two thin pieces of wood and screw one inside the top of the whole and one inside the bottom. This will give you something to screw your patch into so you can get a snug fit.
Drill your patch into the two pieces of wood, making sure to be careful not to damage the drywall patch. It is easy to drill too deep and create cracks in the drywall which is not what you want to do. Your drywall experts will know how to prevent this and keep your patch in perfect condition.
Step Six
Next, you will begin treating this hole the same way you did the medium-sized hole. Add your mesh patch over the drywall patch so that it has something to cover the small gaps in between your patch and the wall. This will make the space between your drywall and your patch blend together.
Before you apply your patch you need to make sure to wipe all the wood shavings and pieces of the drywall off the wall so that your patch can stick. A completely clean surface remains the best way to get a good bond to the wall. Once your wall is clean just peel the sticker off the back of the patch and stick it right on.
Step Seven
Continuing to treat this hole the same way you would a slightly smaller hole, you need to apply the drywall compound over your mesh. Do this as smoothly and evenly as possible to make it blend in with your wall. A lumpy wall is going to be very obvious even under a layer of paint.
This step should be followed by sanding and then repeating. You will likely have to sand and apply the compound several times to make the patch look just right. After that paint should apply smoothly and the wall should look even?
In Conclusion
There is a tried and true process for repairing a hole of any size. Most of them are going to require patching and blending. That is a difficult process to get exactly right, especially if it is your first time trying to patch drywall.
Hiring a professional drywall company is the best way to assure the best-looking wall with well-blended patches. Even if you feel capable of filling and repairing your own holes in your drywall, you should be aware that a paint job is going to show any mistakes so it is best to ask a drywall expert if the patches are flat enough for a smooth coat of paint.
Different sized holes require different steps to fix. It can be difficult to tell when a hole is too big for only a metal drywall patch and requires a full drywall patch. The best way to check is to ask your drywall expert what size hole you have and what method they intend to use for patching it. That will prepare you for what kind of cost and labor you will be dealing with.
Any professional drywaller in our company, in Dallas area is going to follow these basic drywalling tactics. Filling holes in drywall is a bit difficult as it requires experience with how patches work and blend out on drywall. The drywall experts of Omega Industries of Dallas do an excellent job filling holes in drywall and you will be much happier with their professional work than you would be with your own.
Now that you have a very basic amount of drywall repair knowledge and of the process that it takes to repair damaged drywall, it is important to remember that when your drywall experts are doing their job. The process that takes the most time is the drying and sanding which is impossible to speed up if you want the job done correctly. Allow your drywall experts to do their jobs and trust that you are going to end up with a beautiful wall with no holes and an even coat of paint when they are done.
The complete drywall repair process used in Dallas is efficient and well tested. You will find yourself very happy with the work done and the resulting smooth wall and paint job. These steps are what our drywall experts do here in Dallas, to give you the perfect, smooth wall you want, for the right price.
