How to repair cracks or holes in drywall

There are few things more frustrating than a crack or hole appearing in your drywall, and while there are certain steps you can take to reduce the likelihood of either taking shape, sometimes they are simply inevitable. When cracks or holes do arise, most are fairly easy to repair in not much time – if you know what you’re working with. The way you’ll want to repair the damage will depend primarily on the size, type, and location of the crack or hole. Here’s a trio of step-by-step breakdowns for patching surface cracks, deep cracks, and holes in your drywall.

Patching a surface crack

When a crack takes shape, it is most often along a seam where two separate sheets of drywall come together. If this is the case, you should first determine whether or not the crack extends entirely through the paper covering the seam, in addition to determining if the tape has pulled loose from the wall. To take a look, widen the crack with a utility knife and assess the situation.

If the tape is still well intact with the wall, the crack is most likely due to the old drywall compound drying and shrinking. You should fill in the crack with fresh compound and then let it dry completely. Sand the area and then wipe away any dust before finally laying down the new coat of paint.

Patching a deeper crack

In any case where the crack does extend through the paper – or if the tape has come loose from the wall – you should use a knife to cut the tape about six to 12 inches from both ends of the crack. Remove the tape without tearing off the paper covering and then scrape away any loose compound that remains. Then use a knife or saw to expand the crack through the wall surface and into the stud cavity.

From here, fill in the crack with fresh compound and apply some compound to the wall surface from where the tape was just removed. While the compound is still wet, place a strip of fiberglass tape over the seam. Once the compound is dry, add a second thin coat over the taped area, spreading the compound out onto the surrounding surface. Once that coat dries, sand to smooth it out and apply a final coat of compound. Let that coat dry and then sand, wipe, and paint as you would for a surface crack.

Patching a hole

There are numerous drywall patching kits available for holes up to six inches in diameter. In most cases, these kits come with a reinforced center panel surrounded by self-sticking tape requiring you to simply adhere the patch to the wall and cover with drywall compound. For holes larger than six inches, however, you’ll have to create your own patch to repair.

If the hole doesn’t extend to studs on either side, you’ll need to reinforce it yourself using a piece of drywall slightly larger than the hole. Once you’ve cut a drywall piece to the right size, place it over the hole and trace around it with a pencil. Then cut out the area along the traced line and cut two pieces of 2x4 slightly larger than the hole. These are for reinforcement.

Place the 2x4s vertically inside the hole on each side and secure them to the drywall with screws, then place your piece of drywall into the hole and secure it to the 2x4s with screws. Trim the rough edges around the patch and place strips of fiberglass tape over the area for additional reinforcement. Cover the area with a thin coat of compound and sand, wipe, and paint as in the previous walkthroughs.

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