How to Patch a Hole in the Wall

Have you ever had a mishap with a hole in the wall? Whether it be from a door hitting the wall or accidentally hitting the wall hard, wall holes are very common. This repair is fairly simple with the right supplies and tools. Today we will be patching a hole in the wall from my door handle hitting it before we had door stops in place.

Sanding Paper

Spackling

Putty Knife

Drywall Patch

Paint Brush

Paint

Plastic tarp

Texture spray is optional

The first step in wall repair will be to gather your supplies. I have included the supplies I used to do this repair. The hardware stores usually sell kits specifically for patching walls, which is what I will be using in this repair.

This second step is very important to have this project go smoothly. Place all the supplies you will need in a space nearby that you can easily grab from. Make sure to prep your floor to keep the clean up at the end easy as well. I will be using a plastic tarp to cover my area, but you could also use a cloth drop towel, or even a cardboard box.

Remove parts of the drywall that may be exposed or falling out to ensure that the drywall patch can adhere properly. Sanding down the edges will also help with the process, so it is best to do this before as well. Make sure to hold on to the sanding paper though, because you will need it in another step!

In this step we will be adding our spackling to the wall around the hole and patch with our putty knife. Make sure that you completely spackle around the edges of the drywall patch. I decided to let the edges dry before moving on to patching the middle, as I find this easier than having the patch move around while filling the middle portion of the patch. This spackle compound turns white when dry, so wait until it turns colors, which takes around 20 minutes. After it has dried, go ahead and apply the spackle to the middle to completely cover the patched area.

This step seems to be the hardest for me. I love to get things done quickly, but thoroughly drying is necessary. After making sure the patch is completely covered, we will be leaving it to dry for about an hour or two to make sure it is fully set.

At this stage, we will really be working on the appearance of the wall that will be left visible after. Sanding down the spackled area will set the foundation of the wall, so it is necessary to get it smooth and make sure the edges are flush to the wall.

Notice that there may be a slight rise in the area that was fixed. This is completely normal due to the nature of fixing the hole.

Now that the wall has been sanded down, it is time to prepare the wall to be painted. Taking a damp towel or cloth, you will wipe the area on the wall that had the putty on it and make sure to remove any dust from the spackle. After wiping it clean, you will need to allow it time to dry before moving on to the next step.

Note- After cleaning the area, this is where you would add texture spray before getting ready to paint. I personally don't mind not having the texture at this time so I skipped this step.

The very last step, but by far the messiest, is painting the area that you've just patched. This is why the prep is so important to get done ahead of time.

Set the paint in a place that's easy for you to access, but also not by your feet, as this could cause you to accidentally spill it and have an even bigger project to move on to. Apply paint onto your paintbrush and paint over all of the area that you have placed the spackle compound on. Once you are done painting, make sure to cover your paint can again and clean your paintbrush. Now the only thing left to do is allow the paint to dry and you've done it!

While your wall may not look as it once did, it definitely will look better without the hole! Great work!