How to patch drywall

It is almost inevitable that you will need to patch or repair drywall somewhere in your house. Your walls are subjected to moving furniture, children rough-housing or even boisterous party guests. Additional occurrences, such as your house settling, can cause cracks, nail heads to pop up and taped joints to loosen. Never fear. Drywall is easily repaired with virtually no evidence of any of the damage. If you have plaster walls, many of the techniques listed here can be used to repair plaster cracks and holes as well. If you have textured walls, you will first need to follow the procedures below to repair the wall. Then you can use texturing techniques to match the existing wall surface. Of course, you will have to paint the wall surface after you have repaired it to match the surrounding wall area.

Drywall repair falls into 5 categories: 1) Small holes; 2) Large holes; 3) Cracks; 4) Loose tape joints and 5) Nail heads. The materials and tools that are needed will vary depending upon the repair you are tackling. Determine what you need to do and proceed accordingly.