What you need.
Included in the quoted price
- Lightweight spackle (small holes)
- All-purpose joint compound (everything bigger)
- 6-inch and 10-inch taping knives
- Self-adhesive mesh patches
- 120 and 220 grit sanding sponge
- Utility knife and a drywall saw
Quoted separately
- Scrap drywall for plugs
- Wood furring strips for backing
- Paper joint tape for cracks
- Aerosol or hopper-gun texture
- Primer and matching paint
Nail and screw holes.
Anything under about a quarter inch is a two-minute job. Press lightweight spackle in with a putty knife and scrape it flush in one pass. Do not mound it up — extra spackle just means extra sanding, and sanding is what tears up the surrounding texture.
Let it dry, hit it with 220 grit for a few seconds, and paint. If the hole was made by a screw that had an anchor in it, tap the anchor into the cavity or cut it flush first; spackle will not bridge over a plastic collar sticking out of the wall.
Doorknob-size holes.
Anything from about an inch to six inches across needs something behind it. You have two good options.
Mesh patch: stick a self-adhesive aluminum mesh patch over the hole. Skim a thin coat of joint compound across it with a 6-inch knife, let it dry, then apply a second coat with a 10-inch knife spread wider, and a third wider still. Three thin coats, each feathered further out, is the whole trick.
Drywall plug: square up the hole with a utility knife, cut a scrap of drywall to fit, slide a wood strip in behind and screw it to the existing board, then screw your plug to the strip. Tape the four seams and coat as above. This is stronger and the right call anywhere the wall gets bumped.
Large holes.
Once a hole is bigger than a dinner plate, cut back to the studs on each side. Square the opening, screw in a new piece of drywall to those studs, tape every seam with paper tape bedded in compound, then coat and feather. The reason for cutting to the studs is simple: an edge fastened to framing will not crack again, and a floating patch eventually will.
If the damage came from water, stop. Find and fix the leak first, let the cavity dry completely, and check the insulation. Patching over a wet cavity buys you a stain and a mold problem in six months.
Cracks.
Hairline cracks at the corners of doors and windows are the classic Arizona slab-movement signature. Spackle alone will not hold them; the crack will telegraph back through within a season.
Widen the crack slightly with a utility knife to give the compound something to key into, embed paper tape over it, and coat in three passes. For a corner crack, fold the tape along its crease and use a corner knife. Then texture and paint.
Matching the texture.
Nearly every home in Gilbert and Chandler is finished in orange peel, with some knockdown and skip-trowel in the older and higher-end builds. A perfectly smooth patch on an orange peel wall is just as visible as the hole was — your eye reads the flat spot instantly.
- Orange peel: aerosol texture in a can works well for small areas. Shake it properly, set the nozzle to fine, and spray from about 18 inches in short passes.
- Knockdown: spray heavier orange peel, wait until it loses its shine, then drag a wide knife lightly across to flatten the peaks.
- Skip-trowel: thinned compound applied with a curved trowel in skipping strokes. This one takes practice — it is the texture most worth handing off.
Always test on a scrap of cardboard first and compare it to the wall from a few feet back. Build up in light passes; you can add more texture but you cannot take it off without sanding the whole patch down and starting over.
Painting the patch.
Prime the patch first. Bare compound drinks paint differently than the surrounding wall, and without primer the patch shows through as a duller spot — that is called flashing.
Then decide honestly: touch up, or repaint the wall? If you have the original can and the wall is not sun-faded, a feathered touch-up with the same roller nap can disappear. If the paint is more than a few years old, or the wall gets afternoon sun through a window, repainting corner-to-corner is the only way to avoid a visible halo.
FAQ.
What is the easiest way to fix a small hole in drywall?
For nail and screw holes, press lightweight spackle in with a putty knife, scrape it flush, let it dry, sand lightly, and paint. No tape or mesh needed under about a quarter inch.
How do you fix a doorknob-size hole in drywall?
Use a self-adhesive mesh patch or cut a drywall plug with backing behind it. Cover with three thin coats of joint compound, feathering wider each time, then sand, texture, and paint.
How many coats of joint compound does a drywall patch need?
Three thin coats beats one thick one every time. Each coat should extend a few inches wider than the last so the edge feathers into the wall instead of leaving a visible ridge.
How do you match orange peel texture?
Use aerosol orange peel texture, or thinned joint compound through a hopper gun. Always test on cardboard first, adjust the nozzle until the spatter matches the wall, and build up in light passes rather than one heavy one.
Can you paint over a drywall patch without repainting the whole wall?
Sometimes. If you have the original paint and the wall is not sun-faded, a feathered touch-up can disappear. On older or faded walls the only way to avoid a visible edge is to repaint corner-to-corner.
How much does professional drywall repair cost in Gilbert?
Small patches under six inches start at $150, medium patches are $225, and ceiling patches are $300. Texture matching adds $112.50 and a single wall repaint is $375.
Not interested in owning three sizes of taping knife? See flat-rate drywall repair in Gilbert, AZ