How to Fix a Hole in a Wall In Your Upper Fairfield County Home

Hole in a wall in residential home in Upper Fairfield County
Drywall is a relatively sturdy material for covering the walls and ceilings in your Fairfield County home, but it's certainly not impervious to damage. If you are dealing with a hole in a wall, there are a lot of ways it may have happened from a careless furniture mover to an anxious dog or cat. Regardless of how it happened, now there's a hole in a wall in your house and you need to know how to get it repaired.

If the problem in question is just a few tiny holes from screws, nails, drywall anchors, or even thumbtacks, the repair process will be very easy—most people should be able to handle it all on their own for tiny spots of damage. If it's a small hole in a wall that is bigger than a nail hole but smaller than about four inches in diameter, the repair will be more complicated. While you may be able to take care of it by yourself, you can count on your local Fairfield County handyman to erase the damage effectively and efficiently. If your hole in a wall is more than four inches across, it's going to require some extra equipment and know-how that isn't needed with smaller issues.

No matter how big your hole in a wall is, we'll explain how to get it patched up with step-by-step instructions and expert advice from the team of drywall repair professionals at Mr. Handyman of Upper Fairfield County.

Tools and Items You May Need to Fix a Hole In a Wall

The steps on how to repair a hole in a wall vary according to the size of your damaged area, and the tools or items you need for drywall repair are going to vary as well. This list covers everything you may require to follow the steps we have listed below, but you won't need all of this to fix tiny nail holes or small holes that are less than four inches across. Based on the size of the damage, you will need some or all of the following:

Pen or pencil
Utility knife
Drywall saw
Hand saw (for wood)
Screws and screwdriver
Stud finder
Sandpaper
Damp cloth or sponge
Paintbrush
Measuring tape
Drop cloth or plastic sheet to catch falling dust and loose debris
Paint in the same color as the existing surface
Drywall compound, which is also called spackle, plaster, drywall mud, or joint compound
Adhesive mesh patch
Fiberglass joint tape
Drywall panel or scrap piece
Scrap lumber or piece of plywood
Texture spray
N95 face mask
Safety goggles

For a hole in a wall that is bigger than screw holes but smaller than four inches in diameter, you will need a self-adhesive mesh drywall patch. You can likely purchase a drywall repair kit at your local hardware store that includes a mesh patch, along with most of the other tools and items you'll need to carry out the repair.

How to Fix Dents, Nail Holes, and Screw Holes

Ready to get started? This method is simple and doesn't require much, just some lightweight spackle, a sanding tool, and some paint for touching it up after it's patched. It should work well for a nail puncture or any other dent, hole, or hairline crack of a similar size.

Start with your lightweight spackle, which typically comes pre-mixed. If it didn't, mix it up according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Use a putty knife to completely fill in the dent, hole, or hairline cracks with the spackle. If you don't have a putty knife or similar tool, you can get away with just using your finger.
Slightly overfill the damaged area, but try to make it as smooth and even as possible with the rest of your surface.
Give your compound time to dry totally—there should be recommended drying times on the package (this may only take around 30 minutes to dry completely since it's such a small amount).
Once it is completely dry, use fine-grit sandpaper or a sanding block to sand down the dried spackle, removing any rough edges so the repaired part is smooth and level with the rest of your surface.
Lightly dampen your rag or sponge and wipe the spackled area to remove any excess dust from sanding.
Use your small paintbrush to touch up patched areas with paint. You may need to let the paint dry and do another coat or two for optimal results, especially if it's a darker paint color.

How to Fix a Small Hole In a Wall

So what do you do if you're dealing with a hole in a wall that is considerably bigger than a nail puncture? The most common cause of holes this size is a door knob slamming into your wall and causing impact damage. This is the size of a hole in a wall that needs an adhesive patch.

Cut any loose or dangling chunks of drywall away from around the edges of your damaged area, taking care not to cause even more damage.
Place a self-adhesive mesh patch over the hole.
Grab your drywall knife and use it to spread a lightweight joint compound over the top of the mesh patch. You'll want to use a generous amount and apply it in a crisscross pattern, feathering edges with your knife so it blends into your wall surface better.
Check your joint compound packaging for how long that compound needs to completely dry. This could potentially take as long as 24 hours, and it's really important that it is totally dried out before you do anything further.
Does your spackle look indented once it's dry, so it's not totally flush? In that case, apply another coat of compound and let it completely dry again. If it's not flush because it's bulging out slightly, don't worry—you can take care of that with sanding.
Sand your spackled area until it is smooth and even with your surface.
Now your repair should be smooth, but it's probably not the same texture as your wall which has a lightly stippled texture. At this point, you may want to apply texture spray so the repair blends in better with your wall surface. A difference in texture may not matter much if it's not in a very noticeable area, but if you would prefer a better match, apply texture spray and let it dry.
Cover your repaired spot with paint and, of course, let it dry. If it has been a long time since the wall was last painted or your patch is in a really prominent area of your wall, you may need to repaint your whole wall to make your repair invisible.

How to Fix a Large Hole in a Wall

If you're planning to tackle a hole in a wall that is more than four inches in diameter, you should know that the steps for repairing major drywall damage are a lot more complicated because you'll need to cut into the wall and create a patch piece out of another panel of drywall. It's important that you use protective gear such as safety glasses and a drywall mask—you don't want to risk inhaling drywall dust or taking flying chunks of drywall to your eyes. Since you're cutting into the wall, it is extremely important to make sure you aren't at risk of cutting through any electrical wiring inside the wall. If you're not sure, don't cut until you are.

Mark lines about two inches above and below the hole with your pen or pencil.
Use your stud finder to locate wall studs on either side of the hole and mark their location.
After putting on your mask and protective eyewear, grab your drywall saw and cut along those horizontal lines you marked above and below until you get to your studs, taking care not to damage the studs.
With your measuring tape, measure three-quarters of an inch from the edge of a stud to find the middle of it. Draw a line to mark that spot.
Gently score those lines over top of your studs with your utility knife and cut the drywall down the center of your two studs on either side of your damaged area. You will likely need to do several passes with your utility knife.
Carefully pull the piece of drywall you've just cut out of your wall. At this point, you should have a square or rectangular hole with about half of a stud showing on either side.
Measure your scrap lumber or plywood and use your hand saw to cut a strip that is about three to four inches longer than the height of the hole you just cut in your wall.
Insert that support piece vertically inside your hole, in the middle between your wall studs. The goal isn't to cover the whole opening, it's just going to provide additional support for the patch piece.
Screw it into place, making sure to sink your screw heads slightly below the surface of your drywall.
Cut a piece of drywall into a rectangle the same size as the hole using your utility knife—make sure to measure first. It's better for it to be a little bit big than a little bit small.
Set your patch piece into the gap. You want it to fit as snugly as possible, but you shouldn't have to force it in. If it's too big, you can just shave a bit off its side and try again. If it's too small and doesn't reach the edges, you may need to cut another piece (measure first).
Secure your patch by screwing it onto the wall studs and the support piece you put in the center, but make sure your screws are at least an inch away from the edge of your drywall. Remember to slightly sink the screw heads into your drywall surface.
Place strips of fiberglass drywall tape over the top of the seams around your patch piece.
Use your drywall knife to generously spread joint compound over the tape, smoothing it out and feathering the edges so they blend into the wall surface as much as possible.
Fill in gaps above the screw heads you used to secure the patch and smooth them out.
Let the compound dry completely, according to the suggested time frame in the manufacturer's instructions.
Sand your dried compound until it's smooth and even with the wall.
Add a second coat of compound, let it dry, and sand it down.
Wipe down the area with a slightly damp cloth or sponge.
Apply texture spray to the areas with the compound so your wall is an even stippled texture all the way across your patched zone.
Paint over the patched area with a paintbrush or paint roller. With a patch this large, you will likely find it necessary to paint the entire wall so it blends in better—especially if it has been a while since it was first painted and there has been some fading.

Need Help to Repair a Hole in a Wall? Save Yourself the Hassle and Call Your Fairfield County Handyman!

If you've read through all these instructions on how to fix a hole in a wall and thought to yourself, "This sounds really time-consuming, laborious, and difficult to get right on the first try," that is completely understandable. Whether you are in Ridgefield, Darien, Westport, or another part of Fairfield County, CT, you can save yourself a lot of time and stress by calling the drywall repair pros at Mr. Handyman of Upper Fairfield County to fix your hole-in-a-wall.

Get in touch with us by picking up the phone and calling us to book a convenient appointment time, or to chat with our knowledgeable customer service staff and find out more about our reliable Fairfield County handyman services.