The Art of Drywall Repair

I patched a hole in a wall today. I have to go back and sand it, then put drywall compound on it again to smooth out the spot.

Know what the secret is to doing a good job? You have to have the right tools. Then you gotta know how to use the tools.

I read up on how to repair the patch. It was a 4" x 6" spot and quite indented, a large enough hole that I needed to square it off and cut a piece of drywall to fit into the square. The instructions call for me to insert a piece of wood in the hole so that the wood sits inside the wall. Then I screw the wood to the wall so that the wood is secured. Next I insert the square of drywall and screw that to the wood. It was quite simple really.

But I realized after a bit of struggling I didn't have the right drill bit for my screws. So I ran down to the hardware store and bought one. Then I had the worst time trying to drill the screws into the wood. It just wouldn't go in no matter how hard I pushed on the drill. I even had mom hold the wood steady while I tried to blast my way in. We decided the wood was too hard. And here I thought pine was a soft lumber.

After a while, having made more holes in the wall than was necessary, I gave up in frustration and disgust. It was when I cooled down that I fiddled with the drill and somehow, drilled a screw into the wood. I repeated the action to see what I did. Turns out I had to reverse the drill direction to get the screw into the wood. The problem was, I just didn't know how to use the drill.

But now that I figured it out, I am ever pleased with myself. So the patch went in, the drywall tape went on, the compound went over.

Encouraged by the progress, I tackled a second spot, which I thought just needed some compound smeared on top. But when I pressed on the wall, it crumbled in my hand. The more I touched the wall, the more of the wall fell off. That section of the wall had gone soft and moldy. When I pulled the rotten parts out, I could see that the wood under was still damp. This was now a large hole. More accurately, it was a 3 ft x 1 ft opening to the wall studs.

I left it to dry and will tackle it another day. I am fearless now.