Repairing Large Holes in Drywall

Drywall is tough, but it can be torn, chipped, cracked, or even punctured accidentally, especially when moving furniture around. Large holes require more time and effort to fix, but you can make minor repairs quickly with only a few simple tools.

For example, a deep scrape sometimes tears the surface paper on the wallboard. The first step is to remove any loose or frayed paper facing by neatly trimming the paper to a straight edge with a utility knife. Then fill in the shallow paperless section with compound.

Chronic cracks
Many house frames move enough seasonally to disrupt drywall joints on a regular basis. If standard taping hasn't held in the past, try another approach. Instead of using fiberglass mesh tape (popular with do-it-yourselfers because it is easier to apply) and conventional all-purpose joint compound, use paper reinforcing tape and setting-type joint compound (powder).

Although it's tricky to mix correctly and harder to work with because it dries so fast, joint compound will provide you with a harder and more durable bond, which reduces the chance of the crack reoccurring.

Start by removing any reinforcing tape and scraping out the crack. Fill the crack, and embed the tape with setting compound. Then, if you want, use ready-mix for the next two coats. If cracks like these persist at the ceiling-wall joint, consider installing crown molding.

1) Fixing large holes
Cut out the damaged area, leaving a clean-edged rectangular shape. Cut 1x3 braces to fasten inside the new cutout. (Fig. 1)