Easy drywall damage fix

Hole in your drywall that needs to be repaired? Do you have an energetic dog who likes to enthusiastically play tug of war with the curtains to the point of pulling them off the wall like I do? Follow these steps for an easy and quick fix for holes in your drywall. 

The reason there is a hole in my wall. My dog decided to play tug of war with the curtain and pulled the bracket out. She looks a little guilty.

There used to be a curtain bracket on this wall. Now there are holes from ripped out drywall anchors.

Close up of the damage. Holes are too big to put drywall anchors back in. This area of the wall needs to be fixed.

Tools and Material Required: Utility knife and/or drywall saw, small piece of thin wood (I used 1/2" plywood), replacement piece of drywall.

Step 1

Mark a square around the damaged area. Go big enough to contain all the damage but small enough that the patch will be as inconspicuous as possible. Use a utility knife or a drywall saw to cut along the lines.

Step 1: Mark a square and cut with a drywall saw.

Step 2

Carefully remove the damaged piece of drywall and save for later. 

Step 2: Remove the piece of damaged drywall. Try to keep it in one piece so you can use it for a template for the repair piece.

Step 3

Cut a piece of wood to fit the hole. You will use this as a backer piece for the repair. The wood needs to be just a bit thinner than than the width of the hole and long enough to extend past the top and bottom by about an inch each way.

Step 3: Backer piece. I used 1/2 inch plywood cut just a bit narrower than the hole in the drywall. Needs to be long enough to have room for screws above and below the hole.

Step 4

Drive a drywall screw into the middle of the piece of wood to use as a handle. Insert the wood through the hole and center it as best as possible. 

Step 4: Place the backer piece in the hole and center it.

Step 5

Secure the backer piece with drywall screws above and below the hole. Use the drywall screw in the middle as a handle to hold the wood in place as you get the first screw in.

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Step 5: Secure the backer piece in place with drywall screws.

Step 6

Cut a piece of drywall to match the hole. Use the piece you removed as a rough template to size the replacement piece correctly.

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Step 6: Cut a replacement piece of drywall using the saved damaged piece as a template.

Step 7

Fit the replacement piece in place. It may take a bit of shaving and final trim cuts with a utility knife to get a good fit.

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Step 7: Trim the replacement piece to fit the hole snugly. Try to minimize gaps.

Step 8

Use joint compound to fill in the gaps between the replacement piece and the wall. You can use drywall tape if the piece or gaps are big enough. I chose to just use the compound in this repair as it will be hidden behind a curtain when finished. Thin coats are better and dry to a more pleasing look. It may take 3 or 4 coats to get a smooth surface.

Step 8: Drywall joint compound time. Use multiple thin coats and allow each to dry before the next one.

Step 9

Wait for the compound to dry and prime/texture/paint to match the surrounding wall. 

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Step 9: Make it match. Wait for the final coat of drywall compound to dry then prime/texture and paint to match the wall.