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You can repair holes and cracks in your walls in just a few easy steps. If your walls have holes from previous wall hangings or someone accidentally made a hole with a doorknob, you needn't fret anymore.
You will need a drywall knife, light coarse sandpaper or a sander, and a bucket of drywall repair compound. Buy the drywall compound according to the size of the project. Drywall compound comes in 5 gallon buckets and smaller buckets such a 1 gallon, quart, and pint size. This compound comes already mixed, so all you need to do is open the container and apply.
Sand down any excess drywall that is protruding from the hole edges so that it's flush with the wall. Remove any dust from the wall and apply the compound to the hole with the knife, making sure not to use too much. Then spread it, be sure not to leave any excess on the wall but a thin film while plugging the hole. The more you leave on the wall, the more you will have to sand off later. You might want to practice on an extra piece of drywall before proceeding.
When the compound is dry, sand the area, making sure you don't sand too much and sand off all the compound you just applied. Run your hand over the sanded area. If it is smooth and you don't feel any bumps or rough edges, you can now paint the area.
If you have kids and they slam doors open, and the doorknob went through the drywall, you will need to patch the area using drywall patch which is a light screening material. Cut an area of the patch a little bigger than the hole and apply some drywall compound on the wall. Then apply the patch over the hole. The compound you applied will make the patch stick. After you have applied the patch and it has stuck to the hole, proceed applying more compound until the hole is covered and you cannot see the patch. Again, make sure the compound is not applied too heavily.
When dry, sand the area with sandpaper or a sander. Be sure not to sand too much, just enough to make the area smooth for painting.
If you want to repair a larger area, buy a piece of SHEETROCK (R) or drywall. Remove the section of the old drywall, making sure that some of the studs in the wall are exposed, since you will need to attach the new drywall to the studs. If you have metal studs in your house, you will need to screw the drywall to the metal studs.
For this project, you will need to buy drywall tape, since the area will now have seams that need to be covered. After you have applied the drywall to the wall and fastened it to the studs, now you are ready to seal the seams with the drywall tape. Apply a thin amount of drywall compound along the seams of the patched area, and then hold the tape and run the drywall knife along the tape and apply. The compound will make the tape stick to the seams. Let dry for an hour and then apply drywall compound over the entire tape on the wall, again making sure not to glob too much on. Remember, the more you apply, the more sanding is needed when dry.
When dry, sand the area. Remove all excess dust off the wall and apply paint. If you are going to wallpaper the wall, use a wallpaper prep first, or paint the wall, then apply the wallpaper. The new wallpaper will need something to seal itself to, and fresh drywall without sealing it will cause the wallpaper to fall off. This is true especially in bathroom areas where there is moisture.
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