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Home » DIY Projects » Easy DIY Projects for the Home » Easy Steps to Patching a Hole in Your Wall

Easy Steps to Patching a Hole in Your Wall

June 29, 2017

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Remove those dated ceramic fixtures in your bathroom and easily patch the holes.

Trust me on this—you need to know how to patch a hole in your wall. When I first started decorating I thought I could go to the store buy some stuff and I’d be set. I quickly realized there was a little more to it AND my budget wasn’t going to let me get everything ready made. It would be nice to call up professionals to do everything from paint to moving in furniture in place, but in my world, I do most of everything myself. You want to do it yourself, but you don’t want it to look like you did it yourself.  And if you want to do any serious DIY, you’re going to need to know how to fix your walls.

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on a link, I make a small commission at no extra cost to you.  Read my full disclosure here.  

I took my first leap in the bathroom. It was a small forgiving space—or so I thought. My problem started with a $6 towel bar I found in Bealls Outlet. I wanted to change out the ceramic builder grade ones but was a little unsure how to dislodge them from the wall.

I know this looks is really bad. But hey, this is real life.

Remove ceramic toothbrush and soap holders from the wall

Once I took the first one down, there was no going back and I decided to remove all the fixtures.

Use a chisel and a mallet or hammer to gently pry between the wall and ceramic piece. Tap in a few places and it should release from the wall. One of mine was not cooperating, so I had to gently smash it with a hammer.

I was left with these gaping holes after removing the soap and toothbrush dispensers

It was off to the hardware store I went for supplies to fix these massive holes in my drywall.  I  stared at the shelves debating on what products to buy for half an hour before leaving with these mix of items:

  • Metal Spatula
  • Wall Spackle (also called mud)
  • Sanding Sponge
  • Can of Spray Wall Texture
  • Wall Patch (make sure you buy the right size!)
  • Drywall Tape

Before you go, measure the size of the hole so you can buy the right supplies. That, my friend, will save you at least one trip to the store. They worked magic together and they started my foray into thinking I could accomplish anything.

patch holes in your walls easy fix for diy beginners

Easily repair Wall Holes with these quick fixes.

How to Patch a Large Hole in Your Wall

(Only use this repair technique on places you won’t affix items to in the future.)

When you patch a large drywall hole (between 4-6 inch diameter), the best thing to do is cut a similar size drywall piece to fill the hole. Luckily, the towel bar I was removing had the cutout of drywall still loosely attached inside the wall. Paste mud on the edges of the cut piece and push it into the hole. The cut drywall should fit snuggly inside like a puzzle piece. Tape the seams using the drywall tape. Spread a thin layer of mud over the tape and the drywall piece using your metal spatula. (I recommend a medium-sized metal spatula. A small one will make it difficult to get even coverage.  Plastic ones are ok, but don’t allow you to get the mud as thin as a metal one.)  Let dry 24 hours or according to package directions.

 

Repair a Medium-Sized Hole in your wall

Another method you can use is to buy a metal mesh patch. Simply apply the metal mesh and seal over the hole. Apply a thin layer of drywall mud over the entire patch. Be careful to feather out the amount of mud to camouflage the level change from the mesh cover to the wall. The thinner you spread your mud, the easier this will be. You can thin out the mud by adding a little water and mixing thoroughly. Cover the entire area with mud and let dry.

Patching a Small Hole

For smaller holes like those made by large screws or nails, using a small piece of tape and mud will suffice. Fill the hole with mud. Seal with more tape and mud then allow to dry.

Sand Like Crazy

There is no worse eyesore to me than a pretty painted wall with an ugly patchwork job. After you fixed the hole you must sand properly.

To sand a wall patch, use a medium grit (220) sandpaper until you see zero creases, bubbles or texture. You want it to be SMOOTH. No lumps, bumps, indentations, scratches or seams. This will create quite a bit of dust, so wear a dust mask. I can’t stress this enough–make sure it’s smooth. Paint will not cover any imperfections. Once you’ve gotten it as smooth as possible, it’s time to prime. Drywall spackle will soak up a lot of paint and cause flashing. Flashing occurs where the sheen of your paint changes inconsistently on a surface.  It’s a telltale sign of an unprofessional paint job. My favorite primer is Zinnser Bulls Eye 123. It does a great job covering and preventing flashing.

 

Get your patch as smooth as possible before moving on. Paint will NOT hide anything.

I had to paint around my patches because I was racing against the clock. Allow the mud to completely dry before you prime, re-texture, prime then paint.

Re-texture the Wall

I didn't sand well enough before texturing. Any imperfections you see will remain after you paint, so spend the time to get it SMOOTH!

I didn’t sand well enough before texturing. Any imperfections you see will remain after you paint, so spend the time to get it SMOOTH! I had to go back and re-mud and sand.

 

Chances are you don’t have 100% smooth walls; but I just told you to sand the heck out of the mud. To make sure you have a nice finish, you need to re-texture the patch. The easiest way I’ve found is to use a spray on product. I used this one because its sprays on blue and turns white when it’s ready to paint over. Turn the dial to your desired texture pattern (test on a piece of cardboard to get the hang of it.) Let it dry and follow with a coat of primer. I wouldn’t rely on a paint-and-primer-in-one here, it may cause flashing.

Once the primer is dry, you can get back to your regularly scheduled program of painting.

Remove those dated ceramic fixtures in your bathroom and easily patch the hole.

 

When I finished painting,  I still had a ton of work ahead of me because I needed to lay vinyl plank flooring and add accessories on a deadline.

I was immensely happy with the results and felt rather empowered by the whole (pun intended) experience. You can do this!

Have you ever made a ginormous hole in your wall?

Kenyatta

 

Your Friends should know about this!

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Comments

  1. colleen wool says

    July 3, 2017 at 5:33 pm

    Thanks for the instructions on this. I have so many holes I need patched.

    • Kenyatta Harris says

      July 3, 2017 at 7:58 pm

      You’re welcome. I would start with the least visible and smallest holes first. Then you can get the hang of it and progress to areas where people will see.

  2. Ty says

    July 3, 2017 at 7:29 pm

    This is helpful, thank you. We’re about it purchase a house and I’m sure there will be projects that require spackling and sanding “like crazy” ?.

    • Kenyatta Harris says

      July 3, 2017 at 7:57 pm

      Congratulations on your new digs! How exciting. I hope I can provide you more helpful info for your new abode.

  3. Paula @ I'm Busy Being Awesome.com says

    July 3, 2017 at 8:20 pm

    Wow – this is an incredibly helpful post. I’ve pinned it for future reference. I laughed out loud about your measuring advice, and how it will “save you another tripe to the store”. I swear any time I start a home project, I run to the store at least 5 different times – ha!

    • Kenyatta Harris says

      July 5, 2017 at 9:51 am

      Those trips to the store can be a real morale and pocket book killer. But sometimes they are just unavoidable.

  4. Katie says

    July 3, 2017 at 8:44 pm

    Such a great skill to Have! It doesnt look too difficult.

    • Kenyatta Harris says

      July 5, 2017 at 9:53 am

      It’s not difficult at all. The hardest part is making it disappear by feathering the mud. that can take a little finesse

  5. Davi says

    July 5, 2017 at 8:39 am

    This is such a good tutorial! We will be moving into an older home in several months and I KNOW we will run into this issue. The simple changes in the bathroom look great in this post! The whole room looks totally different!

    • Kenyatta Harris says

      July 5, 2017 at 9:55 am

      Glad I could provide something helpful! When I finished the bathroom, I wanted to kick myself for not doing it sooner. I hated that bathroom for 10 years; and it took only $150 and 3 days to totally transform it. I’ll do a full post on it soon.

  6. Jamilah Miller says

    July 19, 2017 at 9:48 am

    Very nice job! No disrespect to the men in our life but it’s nice to accomplish things and not always depend on a man. Nice work! Glad you shared.

    • Kenyatta Harris says

      July 20, 2017 at 6:57 am

      My husband is super busy. If I waited in him every time I needed to do a project I’d never get anything done.

  7. Melissa ~ Brown Dog Vintage says

    July 20, 2017 at 10:30 pm

    Great job! I learned the hard way that you should sand the heck out of it! You are 100% correct that paint will not cover the imperfections! Great post!

    • Kenyatta Harris says

      July 22, 2017 at 4:25 pm

      We both learned the hard way, but at least we’re a little wiser today!

Hey there, I’m Kenyatta, a self-proclaimed Home Décor and DIY enthusiast. I teach DIY decorating based on my simple core values-my rules of life. I’m a gutsy girl with a tiny budget, but enormous dreams and high style. I’d love to share this life journey with you. Laugh with (or at me) but leave with nuggets of wisdom that will last you a lifetime.

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