Patchin' It Up

Here is a great technique I learned from This Old House on patching walls. Which I do every few months or so. This particular hole in the wall was caused by Malena, as she kicked her heels - literally - against the wall. Whoops!

Sophie, as always, wants to help.

So I start by taking a piece of drywall and cutting it into a rough square that is big enough to cover the patch. Instead of cutting through the paper on the front of the drywall, though, I peel away the board from the back, so that there is a fringe of paper all the way around. I also mark which side is up.

Then I place my patch over the hole and trace it.

Notice the cuts from the center of the hole to the edges of where my patch will go - this is how I start my cuts, because it seems to go so much easier this way. Then I use a utility knife to cut out the patch shape on the wall.

And then (hopefully), the patch fits right in - with the paper overlapping. This piece was actually from the wall that we tore down, so it's painted. Just FYI: don't use painted wallboard for patching - it doesn't like to peel away from the board to make that nice fringe. See how it's torn in places? Not the best. But, after plastering...

You can't tell anyway. So there.

By the way, I didn't actually use a utility knife. I used a long, serrated knife from my kitchen drawer. And whoo-ee, did I get in trouble. Not with this hole - this one was fine. I fixed another one after this and accidentally sawed through a large cable. Doug is not thrilled, and even scolded me for using a long knife instead of a utility knife. So, to avoid sparks of all kinds, don't use the serrated bread knife from the kitchen when patching. : )