Whether it’s a dent in your wall, an errant screw hole you’ve been meaning to cover up, or nail heads that have popped off, drywall repair is something all homeowners will likely have to contend with.

Small Areas of Damage

Small areas of wall damage can easily be fixed with a few basic materials.

• • Use lightweight spackle and a putty knife, or even your finger, to fill in small dents or holes in the wall. Once dry, sand down the area and apply touch-up paint to finish.
  • To correct drywall cracks narrower than ½-inch, take a utility knife and widen the crack a small amount, then fill the void with light spackle, smoothing over with a putty knife. Again, allow time to dry, then follow up with a quick coat of touch-up paint.
  • For drywall cracks wider than 1/2inch you’ll need to use a self-adhesive fiberglass drywall tape applied to the crack. Then, apply a small layer of joint compound over the drywall tape, allow it to dry, and then sand smooth. More layers of the joint compound can be added if needed, then add that coat of paint to finish it off.
  • Popped nail heads mean the nail has come loose from the wall stud and needs to be reattached. Using a drywall screw, you can reattach about 2 inches above where the nail head was popped. Countersink both the screw and nail into the drywall a bit then cover the resulting indents with spackle, sand, and paint.

Larger Areas of Damage

Larger areas of wall damage require a little more patience and a lot more skills to fix than the smaller areas. In these cases, you’ll need a piece of drywall to help with the patch.

• • Cut it Out: First you’ll need to cut out the damaged area, which involves cutting into your wall, so you will want to identify any possible electrical wires in the area.
  • Install a Support: You’ll need to use a piece of wood as a support for the piece of patched drywall, so it doesn’t push through.
  • Finish it Off: Finally, you will go through the same steps of adding tape or compound to the surrounding cut-out, then sand and finish to your liking.

Most of this was basic information, but the implications of what could go wrong keep most people from trying to handle this on their own. We understand, and quite frankly, we’re ok with that. We know our expertise is what makes it look easy, but our years of knowledge also taught us the pitfalls to avoid.