Step-By-Step Guide to Fixing Walls
Most repairs to walls are generally small, such as nail hole, or holes from wall anchors, if these are the types of repairs you are doing, then these repairs are fairly simple. You will need a tube of joint compound, which can be obtain at practically any hardware store. The application is simple, apply the compound, by placing the tube over the hole you want to fill and gently squeeze the tube. A very small amount will be sufficient, using your index finger, smooth the compound over the hole, let dry 5 to 10 minutes, and then gently wipe with a wet rag or sponge to the desired finish.
If you have a hole over 1 inch in diameter, this technique will not be effective for the novice. This repair would call for a 21/2 gallon bucket of topping, it’s a very smooth verison of joint compound, or the same tube of joint compound previously used, wall tape, and a wall knife, and a can of spray on texture, if walls are textured. Using the knife, apply the topping or compound, the width of the knife over the hole. The application should be applied evenly, to get a smooth finish, lay the blade of the wall knife at a 20 degree angle. If you are not sure of the angle, place the wall knife in your hand, lay the flat part of the blade on the wall, or any flat surface for that matter, keeping the blade on the wall, rise your knocks a 1/2 inch above the surface, this is your angle. Drag in one direction, you will notice the compound has sunken into the hole. If this application does not completely fill the hole, do not be alarmed, any amount of compound inside the hole is sufficient, be sure that you have enough compound around the hole, at least the width of the blade of your wall knife, 1/8th of an inch thick.
The wall type will need to be applied next, cut a 2 inches piece of the wall tape, place the wall tape over the hole and the compound, at a 20 degree angle, drag your wall knife, with a reasonable amount of pressure, over the compound and the tape. The tape should lay smoothly over the hole and the compound, once you have accomplish this, apply more compound over the whole area being repaired, with a reasonable amount of pressure. If your wall is textured, you will still need a smooth finish over the work area, drag the knife, with a reasonable amount of pressure, from left to right and then top to bottom, your finish should be as smooth as possible. If you can visibly see the wall tape, not an outline of the tape, then you will need to add more compound, repeat the previous application. The compound will need to dry for approximately 2 hours, the compouind is dry when the whole area is white, if there is a grayish color look on any part of the area, then it is not dry. After drying, if your application is not absolutely smooth, then with a wet sponge, gently rub until smooth. In the event, the tape is visible, you will need to repeat the application process. After you have obtained a smooth finish on the repaired area with a sponge, let dry, usually about 10 minutes, if the walls are textured, apply texture, following the instructions provided on the container, paint repaired area. The above application is good for repairing holes up to 2 inches in diameter in sheet rock (drywall), If the wall you are repairing is plaster, the above application would be good for wholes up to 3 inches.
The above repairs require very little or no skills, the next step will require a certain amount of skill, the area to be repaired is larger and hand tools will be used in this application. You will need, drywall, wall tape, a wall knife, joint compound, 1 inch drywall screws, sponge, and a drill. A hole over 3 inches in diameter would require some type of backing, which means, something needs to be used to fill the hole, usually another piece of drywall, for either sheet rock (drywall) or plaster. The application for plaster is simple, basically because the plaster is generally 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick, plaster is apllied to 1 inch slats to hold it in place, cut a piece of drywall to the approximate size of the hole, sit the drywall inside the hole, and screw the drywall to the slats, counter-sink screws, 1/16 inch below surface. The drywall doesn’t need to completely fill the hole, gaps up to 1 inch can be filled with the compound, use the compound to fill any cracks, holes, and screws heads, after you have placed the drywall in the hole, and fastened it to the lats, apply enough compound to cover the seam and screw heads of the area being repaired, the width of your knife, 1/8th of an inch thick, at a 20 degree angle, with a reasonable amount of pressure, drag the knife the length of the seam and a single swap across screw heads. Apply wall tape, cut tape to length of the seam, if the seam is an angle, cut the tape from angel to angle, if the seam is a circle, cut short pieces, lay on compound, at a 20 degree angle, drag wall knife, in one direction, over the area, apply next piece and repeat process until seam and screw heads around the area are covered and smooth, tape is not neede over screw heads. Apply a second layer of compound, thoroughly covering the wall tape and screw heads, apply at a 20 degree angle, using a reasonable amount of pressure.
Let area dry, if after the compound has dry and the finish is not smooth, another application of compound could be used to acquire a smoother finish, or gently rub the surface with a wet sponge till smooth, if the wall tape is visible apply another layer of compound, and repeat finish process, to determine the smoothness of the repaired area rub finger tips over area after the compound has dried, if the surface fills rough, even though it may appear smooth, any roughness you feel with your fingers will appear once you apply the paint, if this is the case, repeat the process until the required finish has been accomplished, then paint.
Sheet Rock (drywall), requires a little more effort. The sheet rock wall normally will have a void behind the drywall, if the area needing repair has no means to attach your backing, then one has to be created. In order to do this, you will need all the above mentioned tools and some type of wood and a saw, plywood is the simplist to use, however you can use any reliable piece of wood that will fit inside the hole you are trying to fill. Cut a piece of wood that will either span the length of the hole, plus 2 inches, or across on corner of the hole, plus 2 inches,
Example: if your hole is 6 inches long or 6 inches in diameter, cut your piece of wood to 8 inches, and insert inside the wall to the back side of the drywall, so it is visible through the hole, you should be able to see the wood going across the length of the hole from outside of the wall, hold in place, if you insert the wood the length of the hole, you will need to insert a piece at the top of the hole and one across the bottom of the hole, if you are applying the wood across corners, then you will need to insert a piece across each corner, at a 45 degree angle, with your drill insert a drywall screws through the outside edge of the hole, approximately 3/4 inch from the edge of the hole, through the existing drywall, counter-sink screw head, be carefully not to let the screw penetrate the drywall more than a 1/16 of an inch, or the drywall will lose it’s ability to hold the wood in place when you insert your filler piece, if the screw is counter-sunk too deep.Once you have inserted your wood backing, cut your drywall to fit the hole, insert and fasten the drywall to the wood backing with the drywall screws, and follow the above application for the finish.
Outside corners, only requires the application of the compound in same manner explained above, with the exception that you would apply the compound to one side of the corner work to a smooth finish and then apply to the adjacent side, this procedure will likely cause a bead to appear on the edge of the corner, leave the bead in place until the compound has completely dried, after the compound has dried, place your knife on the edge of the corner, at a 20 degree angle, going in one direction, remove the bead, careful not to remove any of the compound from the sides of the corner, the metal edge of the corner may be exposed, do not be concerned, the paint will cover the metal and blend it into the wall.
Water Damage, a very simple procedure, you will need a can of primer, which can be purchased at all most any hardware store or paint store, apply the primer to the area that is stained, it will appear to be a yellowish color stain that shows through any regular paint that you may apply to it, apply the primer over the entire stained area, let dry and paint to desired finish, the compound is also subceptible to water staining, and will not prevent it from showing through, you must cover it with a primer
