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Not only do holes in your walls look unsightly, they also can let in cold air, especially if they are along exterior walls and your house has no wall insulation or balloon framing.

How to patch drywall holes

Patching 2 diameter or smaller holes
Energy savings per decade: Up to $48 and 384 lbs. CO2 per 2 hole Level of difficulty: Easy Cost: $7 How long it takes: 20 minutes Tools & materials: 3 wide putty knife, 2 wide putty knife, Plaster of Paris, a plastic container youre okay with destroying, and water in a portable container

drywall holes

1. Combine two parts Plaster of Paris dry compound with 1 part water in an old plastic container you are okay with recycling afterward. Start by making a little less plaster than you think youll need, so you can adjust the mixture as needed. 2. Mix the water and powder together to get a peanut-butter-like consistency. If you need to, add either more powder or water. Work quickly to blend the mixture so there are no dry pockets because the plaster will dry in a few minutes. 3. Push the plaster into the hole with the putty knife so the hole gets filled. Indent the plaster slightly with your putty knife

Patching a 2 hole in drywall

pound is nice in that it wont dry for a long time, allowing you more time to work and you can sand the compound afterward to create a flat surface. However the joint compound is mixed with so much water that if its layered more than thick, it can crack as it dries. Patching holes with diameter of 2-5

See our photos showing how to patch a 2 drywall hole.

so that it mushrooms inside the wall to create a better bond. 4. Wait five minutes until the first coat is dry enough to hold the second. 5. Mix a second batch of plaster up because the first batch is probably too dry to work with. 6. Use the plaster to fill the indent and create a flat smooth surface. You can't sand plaster, so make sure you scrape off any excess plaster while it is still soft. Use a wide clean putty knife to scrape the area flat. A moist rag will also clean off small plaster remnants.

Energy savings per decade: Up to $121 and 960 lbs. CO2 per 2 to 5 hole Level of difficulty: Easy Cost: $12

Mixing plaster

Cleaning up and repairing a mediumsized drywall hole

See our photos of how to mix plaster.

7. Wait 12 hours before painting. Note: Alternately, you can use joint compound instead of plaster. Joint com-

See our photos showing how to repair a medium-sized drywall hole.

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 How long it takes: Five minutes each day over five days Tools & materials: 3 and 6 putty knives, a quart of joint compound, an aluminum wall patch big enough to fit over the hole, 150 or 180 grit sand paper 1. Prep the hole: Gently knock any loose plaster or drywall pieces out of the hole. Make sure nothing protrudes that could interfere with the aluminum patch. Wipe off the dust really well with a dry cloth. 2. Peel the adhesive backing off the aluminum mesh and apply this wall patch smoothly over the hole. 3. With a 3 wide putty knife, apply a very thin and even coat of joint compound over the mesh tape. Tip: Use the 6 putty knife to pull the joint compound to the tip of the 3 putty knife. This will give you the best control of the compound. It tends to ride up toward the handle of the knife but the tip is where you can best apply it. 4. Wait overnight for the first coat to dry. 5. Scrape the 6 putty knife over the coating to scrape off any bumps or ridges. Then apply a second thin and even coat that is a bit bigger on all sides than the first coat. Try to taper the coat so that it gets thinner past the patch. This is to cre-

ate a smooth transition from the patch to the drywall. 6. Wait overnight for the second coat to dry. 7. Again, scrape the 6 putty knife over the coat to scrape off any bumps or ridges. Then apply a third thin and even coat that is a bit bigger and is feathered out a bit to make a perfectly smooth transition to the normal drywall. 8. Wait 24 hours. Sand with fine sand paper to get rid of any ridges and bumps. 9. Clean off the dust and its ready to paint.

and 6 putty knife, drill and Phillips head drill bit 1. Most holes this size have very uneven sides. To fix a hole this big, you need to make the hole into a neat rectangle. Use a drywall square to draw a rectangle around the hole in the wall. Make sure the rectangle you draw is bigger than the hole on all sides and that the sides of the rectangle are straight and the corners are 90. 2. Cut out the rectangle carefully with a drywall saw. Tip: You can use a drill to make a hole for the point of the drywall saw to t into in order to start cutting the rectangle. 3. Cut two pieces of the 1 x 3 wood to be a few inches taller than the new hole. 4. Feed one of the pieces of lumber into the hole and hold it in place along the left side of the hole so its upper and lower ends are behind the wall and the middle of the lumber is just peeking out, half visible all the way along the left side of the hole. 5. Drill the lumber into place through the drywall using two drywall screws, one screw at the top above the hole and one at the bottom, below the hole.

Patching holes larger than 5

Energy savings per decade: Up to $435 and 3,456 lbs. CO2 per 6 hole Level of difficulty: Moderate Cost: $15 to $45 depending on if you have spare paint and lumber How long it takes: 90 minutes spread out over 5 days Tools & materials: Pencil, 1 quart joint compound, a piece of or 5/ 8drywall that is bigger than the hole, a piece of 1x 3 lumber or strapping at least three times taller than the hole, saw, measuring tape, 150 or 180 grit sand paper, fiberglass drywall mesh tape, drywall square or a flat edge, utility knife, drywall saw, a few 2 coarse drywall screws, 3 wide putty knife

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Tip: Drill the screws in slowly so their heads are slightly below the surface of the drywall, but not so far they crack the drywall.

b. Draw a straight line connecting the two marks. c. Hold a straight edge to the line, and run the utility knife along the drywall two or three times to score the line. d. Move the drywall to the edge of the table so the line you scored is right on top of the edge of the table. Press downward on the piece of the drywall thats off the edge of the table to snap the piece along the edge. With a utility knife cut the paper holding the pieces together. 9. Follow the same steps to cut this new piece of drywall to be as tall as the hole. Tip: Rather than guess what is exactly 90, use a drywall square or some other object with a 90 angle to trace the corner. 10. Check to make sure the drywall piece fits in the hole. If its over-sized, cut down the edges with the drywall saw. 11. Put the drywall piece into the hole and screw it into the lumber pieces on either side with drywall screws every few inches. Drill the screws in slowly at the end so their heads are slightly below the surface of the drywall. 12. Apply mesh tape all the way around the hole to cover the crack between the wall and the patch.

13. Cover the mesh tape with a thin and even layer of the joint compound, pressing the compound into the mesh tape and the crack beneath. Tip: Use one knife to pull the joint compound to the tip of the other knife. This will give you the best control of the compound as you apply it. It tends to ride up toward the handle of the knife but the tip is where you can best apply it. 14. Wait overnight for the first coat to dry. 15. Scrape the 6 wide putty knife over the coat to scrape off any bumps or ridges. Then apply a second thin coat that covers a bit more area than the first coat. This second coat will ease out the transition from the wall to the drywall patch. If the patch is slightly inset from the existing wall, apply a thin even coat over the patch. 16. Wait overnight for the second coat to dry. 17. Scrape the 6 wide putty knife over the coat to get rid of any bumps or ridges. Then apply a third thin and even coat that is a bit bigger and is feathered out a bit to make a perfectly smooth transition to the normal drywall. 18. Wait overnight. 19. Sand with fine sand paper to get rid of any ridges and bumps.
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Repairing a large drywall hole

See our photos showing how to repair a large drywall hole.

6. Install a piece of lumber on the right side in the same way. 7. Measure how wide the hole is, going from drywall edge to drywall. 8. Cut a piece of spare drywall to be that wide. a. Use a pencil and measuring tape to mark the width at the top and bottom of the spare drywall.

20. Clean off the dust and its ready to paint. Wash your hands, and pat yourself on the back.

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Before you seal up large holes in a home, you might want to count all the animals in the home. Once I sealed up a large hole under a bathtub. The hole led to a space that turned out to be the cats favorite hiding place. After I was done, the homeowners didnt see their cat for two days, until one of them was taking a bath and heard a muffled meow. The cat was fine, but Im still traumatized. Audrey

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