I hear from a lot of people that have a major fear of putting a hole in their walls. Don’t let a hole keep you from hanging art or curtains or mirrors or anything else! And at the same time, don’t let a large hole dictate where something hangs just because you aren’t sure how to repair it. Over the near decade we’ve been renovation our house, I can’t even count how many holes we’ve repaired in our home. We thought it would be helpful to put together a video on how to repair every kind of hole, small to very large and even the deep cracks in between. You can watch the video below or on YouTube right here!
A few things to note: If your walls have texture to them, you’ll want to add texture spray before painting. We have a slight orange peel texture and have had great results with this Homax texture spray.
Here are the tools and materials we use for each size of hole.
Small-Medium Holes
Medium-Large Holes
Large-Very Large Holes
30 COMMENTS
Alan Andrews
1 year ago
Drywall always seems like a seems like such a scary thing to tackle. Any help I can get from people like you, who seem to know what they are doing, is very much appreciated. It is for sure a learned skill that I am working hard on getting better at every day. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!!
Scott Pfleeger
2 years ago
Great article. We recently started a drywall repair business and came across this article. Really appreciate you taking the time to educate us on this. I would have never thought to use the homax texture. It looks simple to use and makes perfect sense. Drywall repair by no means is an exciting topic to write about but you did an excellent job by keeping it entertaining and not boring by having a video to watch as well. Thanks a ton.
Casey
2 years ago
This is so great!!! Things I always wished I knew but was too ashamed I didn’t know how to do (except for the nail holes, I had that one pretty figured out). Thank you! Also, I can’t get over the way Chris says “caulk” haha!
Michelle
2 years ago
Great video, Chris! I had to patch some terrible areas after some plumbing leaks a few months back and the trickiest part was access to sand it well enough.
(PS- I like the whistling guy; I missed the music in your Chris Cooks video this week even though I didn’t like that music)
Kim
2 years ago
I am in the process of patching a larger hole and have watched multiple tutorial. This was by far the best one I have seen and actually helped a tons! Hopefully mine turns out as well as your looks. Thanks!
Breanna
2 years ago
Would you use your gap filler in a bathroom (between tile and a tub)? I have trouble getting the caulk to fill in between the tile and tub, because the gap is so deep. If not, do you have any suggestions? Thank you!
Chris
2 years ago
Sure, you could use the foam tubing as a backer then cover it really well with silicone.
CJ
2 years ago
Great video! Is the process the same for patching a hole in ceiling drywall?
Chris
2 years ago
Sort of. A lot of ceilings will have some crazy textures, and the mud often has sand mixed in. So the patching is the same, but matching the texture is trickier.
Julia
2 years ago
I have a large hole in my ceiling. Does the same process apply or does gravity make a difference?
Chris
2 years ago
Sort of. A lot of ceilings will have some crazy textures, and the mud often has sand mixed in. So the patching is the same, but matching the texture is trickier.
meg
2 years ago
This is great, thank you so much for putting this together for us. Question — if down the road I decide to hang a heavy piece of art (or a shelf, etc.) in a spot that was previously spackled … is it going to hold the nail/anchor? Thanks!
Chris
2 years ago
If it was a large hole and you used a mesh patch or mesh tape, it won’t hold. If, however, you used the final method of patching with a matching piece of sheetrock, it should hold pretty good, depending on the weight of the art. It will not hold as well as the original sheetrock, though. So be careful of the weight.
Emily Hinson
2 years ago
Please share where you found that large print on your wall! Love you stuff!
Shelly
2 years ago
Thank you Chris, so helpful to me for sure. I have a couple of holes to fill and this tutorial tells me to do. Thanks again.
Sara
2 years ago
What a great video… (except for that whistling guy in the background – almost had to stop watching because of that) ;) That will definitely save me from waiting until my husband has time to do some of those things. Really appreciate this resource!! Is it possible to buy smaller pieces of drywall to use for patching?
Chris
2 years ago
You bet. Lowe’s sells pieces that are 24x24in.
Patricia
2 years ago
I had a small screw top jar with paint for every room in our house along with a bunch of foam brushes. Each jar was carefully labeled (love my p touch brother!). This also helps for dings and mystery marks and gouges and all the other “life” experiences our walls encounter…
Katie
2 years ago
Do you have any tips on patching holes on plaster walls?
Julia
2 years ago
AUTHORWe’ve only dealt with drywall ourselves. I’m sorry!
Sabha
2 years ago
Thanks for the video!
Bess
2 years ago
How do you paint over the patched holes? It is obvious where you have painted over and does it usually match up pretty well without showing new v. old paint?
Julia
2 years ago
AUTHORI love using a patch with primer in it so the paint matches really well. If you don’t prime first (or use a primer/patch in one) then you can get what’s called flashing where the paint looks like a different sheen where you patched the wall.
Andi
2 years ago
Love this! I’m curious if you guys have ever had to deal with cracking in your drywall? I had a pretty long crack (like 2 feet) that went from a window corner to the edge of the wall. I sanded it down to get to the bare drywall, taped along the crack with mesh tape, spackled over it with a few layers, and then sprayed texture once it was sanded smooth. Fast forward two years and the same crack reappeared… Any ideas?? And this is the only place in the house with the problem, and it doesn’t show up anywhere on the outside, so I don’t think its a major foundation issue or anything. I just hate sanding down texture so I want to get it right! I’m about to just go buy some large art to cover it…
Julia
2 years ago
AUTHORIs your home newer? In the first 5 years a home can settle a lot. It’s not a sign of foundation issues necessarily, just kind of getting cozy where it is. :) You need a super-flexible material to fill that one so that if/when it expands again, it won’t crack. Try DAP ElastoPatch.
Lynn
2 years ago
Recurring cracks that run diagonally from the corners of windows and doors can be a sign of a structural issue and should be evaluated by a structural engineer.
Andi
2 years ago
It’s not structural, that’s been checked out :) so at least that’s good? Haha
Andi
2 years ago
No, the house was built in 1964… we even replaced that window, so that shouldn’t be it?
Brittany
2 years ago
I would love to see the sanding step and finished product. When I patch larger holes, the patch is rarely as smooth as the existing drywall. Maybe you can show this in a follow up post/quick video?
Julia
2 years ago
AUTHORThe key is to add enough joint compound or spackle so that you can sand it smooth. We just use a sanding block! Alternatively, you can sand, add another layer of spackle and sand it down one last time after it dries.