Method Surprised 50-year-old Mason! Repair Drywall Hole in 5 minutes 

I’m glad you were able to school that 50-year old Mason on this basic and very well known method of sheet rock repair. Hopefully, you also showed him another “trick of the trade” where you put paint over it to make it look like the rest of the wall. I love these little secret tips.

I've been a painter for 35 years, I've watched a bazillion repair videos and FINALLY found the dude that does it the same way I was taught 35yrs ago. Right down to trimming off the edges before taping. Bravo!

holy smokes you mean you didn't turn this into a 20 minute video? THANK YOU for being short and to the point! So many people that watch these types videos are actually working and looking for a quick tutorial

Cut the piece of sheetrock first. Use the sheetrock to scribe (trace) your wall cutout. Always fits like a charm. Use a keyhole saw to cutout the sheetrock. Try to feather the edges of your joint compound. A larger blade (12") would be helpful.

I'm a professional sheetrocker and if you are going to patch a hole that way it's always better to scab a piece of scrap wood on both sides of the hole so it doesn't wobble or move.

I would love to see someone do this in 5 minutes.

Something i have started doing recently is oversizing the patch and using a multitool to cut through the patch drywall and the wall, perfect fit every time! I don't think the tape is needed for such a small fill but each to their own with that one.

Thanks for taking the time to show this to someone who has no clue. I've been doing drywall for 40 years. This trick has been around longer than that. There's a few more tricks even quicker than this one but it's nice to see someone take the time to share.

I always cut the piece bigger that I’m using, then peel the drywall off the paper. Leaving about 2" of paper from the edge of the drywall. The Paper then overlaps the seams making it for a better finish. In the field we call this a "hot patch" or a " California patch". And a good finisher always helps. They can hide a lot of things.

This is a great way to patch. Two things to add: mesh tape MUST be coated with Hot Mud ( quick setting) at least for the first coat. It looks like he did that because it comes in powder form. Second, if only hot mud is used to make the patch smooth, do your painter a favor and skim with all purpose joint compound, called Mud in the trade. Easier to sponge edges before texture and hot mud will “flash” when painted. The paint sheen won’t match. Oh, and be sure to always Prime new rock and/ or mud prior to painting. 23 years taping experience talking, 3 of which were in Iowa where all walls are smooth. Oh, Bonus tip: Using plywood instead of regular lumber as a backer will prevent the wood splitting due to too many screws in a row. I’ve had way too many 1x2’s split in half.

This changes my life. I fixed a hole in my wall that was significantly bigger than the one in the video following this method.

In High school I had a shop class on maintaining your home. It was taught right out of a textbook. It showed this process. I graduated in 1983.

Had the 50-year-old mason ever patched dry wall? This is the first way I learned to patch decades ago. Nothing new here. There seems to be some confusion. This is NOT my RU-vid post.

The vegetable peeler to smooth the sheet rock edges was a nice trick. Hadn't seen that one before.

Awesome job!! Thanks for sharing this video.

Pro Tip: I like that you tapered the edges on the wall and the patch. I have never done that, GREAT tip! !! !!!

Measure once.cut patch first.then use that as a pattern

каждый картонщик знает как это делать,совсем не новость

i am kind of amazed how they made the most simple drywall repair this complicated, can do this in three steps but turned it into 10, and when do masons do drywall lmaoo, as a carpenter this is just part of the job

Im amazed at how the plaster grew whist drying. It’s like there was another coat

Thanks for a informative to the point video! 👍

Same here. My father was patching drywall 40 years ago that way

Took a 5 min job and turned it into an hour. Great work.

My Mom had the carpenter show me these method to fix all the holes I punched in the walls as a teenager, works well👌

And I thought I was the only one using a hacksaw blade for this. I like to use a bone saw blade. It cuts smoother than the big tooth tools and cuts faster than normal hacksaw blades. Good job.

That’s the right way to do it. I’ll remember this excellent video. Thanks for sharing it with us all 👍

This looks great! Glad I found this trick.

Im an electrician and this is the way I've been doing it for years. Works like a charm.

5 minutes... right... also love how he didn't show that he had to put two coats of drywall on since the tape and gaps were showing on the first coat of mud

Was taught this by a old timer & it’s came in handy so many times.

Ive done this numerous times works like a charm.

That is a good idea. Never seen that done before. Another method is to cut the fill in square about an inch bigger all the way around. Then on the back side, cut the back paper and gypsum back the inch oversize all the way around so the remaining gypsum will fill the hole. Peel the surrounding inch of back paper & gypsum off. This leaves the front paper extending out 1 inch all the way around the hole filling part. You will then use the excess 1" of top paper all the way around as paper drywall seam tape. Put mud around the hole cut out on the wall. Place the filler square back into the hole & use a mud knife to squeeze the mud out from under the top surrounding paper, working from the middle area outward, sealing it to the rest of the wall. Then mud over the whole thing like normal. The mud under the 1" front paper overlay acts like glue preventing the hole from being pushed in, and you don't need any extra tape or other materials to complete the patch. Side note. If the original hole was made from a door knob hitting it, just get a stick-on soft door knob wall protector & put over the hole. They're like half a ball with stiff plastic on the back. The protectors spread the weight of the impact and prevent further damage. If you just patch it, it'll just keep tearing up the drywall. I've seen those protectors last over a decade just fine from continued door knob hits with no problems.

Great video, cutting a square piece of drywall and tracing it also works for a nice fit skipping the paper step to make the hole

Got it, don’t use silver screw instead use dark screws. After you screw the board in the middle of the hole you created, give it a knock to make sure no one knocks back before you patch the hole up.

Good stuff thanks. What grit sandpaper do you use?

I honestly appreciate this post. I’ve got a few door knob damage push-thru jobs I’ve been delaying for too long. This repair will be nice and strong, I just know it.

I really needed this video. Thank you so very much. Merry Christmas my fellow gentleman.

Rather than using one piece of would in the middle i use two , one on each side , overlap the tape at the corners for added reinforcement , and I " sand " between coats with a wet tile sponge to prevent dust .

This has to be one of the most (if not THE most) elegant ways to repair drywall I've ever seen! Thank you so much for sharing this absolute gem of a technique!

Spot on I have been using this technique for many years now, works a treat, smaller hole and you can mount towel rails etc on to the timber batten

This is basic day one drywall repair skill. I actually prefer to use a hole saw for this type of repair because you get an exact fit every time.

He welded that piece of drywall back into the wall. With that beveling technique he used. This is awesome

Useful technique I've used it several times after running romex

Thank you for this video, I can now do much needed repairs.

Great job. Same method I used for years!! Love the potato peeler trick!

Thank you very much !

I use the paper off the Sheetrock, torn around the edge to feather it. When you cut the patch, score it on the back and peel off the edges.

Thongs change scent from one end to the other. Knowledge is power. God bless

They have simpler kits where you place a mesh square over any irregular hole. Then putty, sand and paint. Easier then this way, especially if you don't have pieces of dry wall hanging around.

Trimming the edges is brilliant!

Great video. Top tip. Cheers fella

Never put the wood in the middle, it’ll wobble sometimes, always put wood on both sides. 😊

Instead of sanding it with a block, use a damp sponge... Rough side for sanding, soft side for smoothing but not flat so it maintains texture if the walls have some... Once it dries you can't tell the difference...

Beautiful work.

Just a trick, if you use the entire length (or as much as you can of it) of the saw if applicable you need way less force, since you have to overcome the natural friction and inertia less often on drawing the blade back and forth.

As an electrician I can certify this is definitely a trick to have in your bag forsure. My dad taught me this when I was about 14, 38 now.

GUESS WHAT!!! I played the video on double speed and I finished the patch in one minute and thirty-eight seconds! I'm so proud of myself!!!

Thanks for the tip!!

Great job my cousin showed me the trick with the floating board

Old fashioned but still like the plaster walls in old homes. Ours lasted 70 years and still going strong. Never needed to repair anything because someone bumped into the wall or a piece of furniture hit it too hard. No cracks from earthquakes either. The drywall areas didn't do as well. Lost art because it took a lot of time and skill.

That’s a great video never could think of a way to fix a hole without doing a giant hole to find the 2 by 4’s. Good stuff saved it in case I need it down the road. Thanks

I’m trying to teach myself to be handy and a beginner. What are all the tools and supplies that he has to pull all of this off? I want to practice this on a hole in the garage just to gain the confidence that I can do this. I just have no idea what all supplies and tools are in this video. That tool to spread the puddy substance looks like a spatula. Can someone list out the items needed with the time stamp?

This is exactly how it should be done, down to the perfection.

I've done basically everything the same, except to peal the surrounding paper, the width of the mesh, to compensate for its thickness before mudding. It's more work, but feathers in nicer, making the patch disappear better.

Thank you. 👋😊👍

QUESTION: What size are the screws used here?

There is no need to spend more time than necessary on this repair. Nice and easy quick

For those of us who have been doing this for decades, well, one good take on this is that maybe just one young drywall newbie will learn this "trick of the trade" by watching this.

I thought this was the normal most basic way of doing that, either way looking from the eyes of a newbie maybe they don’t know the specifics of the process, either way it’s accurate and effective so good video

Couple questions here from a home repair newbie.. 1, what kind of tape is that? And 2 what is the difference between the screws used? Thanks.

As a homeowner who is only working on my own stuff, I don't care about speed; I want it done RIGHT. This is by far the best video I've seen on patching walls, and I'm glad it came up in my recommended videos. Now go throw away every other wall repair video on your playlist with this one neat hack... 😉

Вот ничего себе, это же мастер на все руки! А я раньше сразу менял место жительство. А можно то было и так сделать.

First time I have seen it done this way! Outstanding! This goes in my bag of tricks for home repairs.

Yep that’s how I always fixed them. Can even use the wood from the paint stirrers which are light but still do the trick

I have over 30 years of drywall experience. Small patches like this can use what is called a hot patch. A piece of sheetrock is cut bigger than the hole and then marked the size of the hole from the back. Score the marks into a square then pull off the pieces of drywall off the back side, leaving the bigger piece as the plug for the hole. The excess paper on the front acts as tape and mud is applied to the area and the excess paper is wiped tight from the corners outward. Cover patch with a coat of mud and one more the next day. Sand, paint and done. The mesh tape is a joke. More than 30 years experience says paper tape is best.

This looks really promising. I know nothing about sheetrock repair, but the video is so clear and shows each step very well. The trick of screwing on a piece of backing wood is so simple. Very well done video.

All prepping and drying took whole weekend but its repaired in 5 minutes. btw leave the hole as it is, take a stick wood and glue to stick it on the back side trough the hole and blow it full with PUR foam. is done in 2 minutes. only cut the bulge flat on the suface when dry

Very skilled restoration work.👌 after drilling two holes in the middle through the board and the backing wood, you did not fix any screws. Why were the holes drilled? I am curious.

9.5/10!! I’ve been painting houses for 27 years and the only thing I do differently is fill the gaps with a bit of DuraBond hot before I put the mesh on then finish with 20 min hot. I also like how you showed the beveling on the cut edges, super important. This is a great vid for the diy’er.

5分とはいったい…

I use a different technique where I use glue like Liquid Nails rather than screws. You just pull the piece of wood tight using some fishing line (if the hole is too small to get your hand in there) and hold it in place for 2-3 minutes.

I'm glad you schooled a MASON on a drywall repair. I did basically the same repair when I was 16 and had never once ever touched drywall before. 30 years later.... I don't know what that old repair looks like... but I bet the mason's concrete work is still holding up as they don't deal with drywall. You may want to rename this video.

What a skill 👏

My dad taught me this when I was 13. As electricians, people appreciate repairing a hole you make to run a wire.

Thank you 👑 👍🏽

That fiber tape is actually for large cracks and using fast drying durabond 90. Paper tape is the best way to tape things like this as it is smoooooth.

スッゲーな建築関係で仕事してたら常識なのにこんな驚かれるとは

Ale sztuka.!! 15 lat temu tez sie tak robiło.Poza tym najpierw w szczeliny daje sie gips jak juz,dopiero potem siatke,fizeline.

Glorious Idea

Can someone please tell me the necessity of the mesh and why you couldn't just straight spackle then sand? Thanks!

Nice video for novices to learn from. It's basic like most drywall work. Doing drywall fast with a professional finish is where the tricks of the trade, and especially developed skills come to play. Simple fixes like this have been around since the 50's. BTW, this fixe took way more than 5 minutes. Maybe if you were already working on a drywall job and all the tools and supplies are already in hand at the job site. For a novice getting everything together and start to finish the project will take at least a 24 hour period. Hot mud will still take an hour or more to finish the job.

Good Lord, Im a longtime painting contractor and there’s been a much quicker and better way to patch holes in drywall available for years and cost about $6. Allpro makes an 8” flat aluminum screen that is peel and stick. Use 20 minute mud and apply a thin coat. When dry lightly sand and apply a 2nd thin coat of mud and when dry, lightly sand and you’re ready to prime/paint. The aluminum screen is as hard as a regular drywall patch. Just make sure on the thin coats of mud that you spread it out on the wall a few inches past the screen patch in all directions. Actual work time is about 45 seconds which includes vacuuming up the dust. You’re welcome!

Why didn’t I think of that ? Great tip . Ty .

on stuff that short I never even bother with the mesh, just over-paste the joint then sand it back flush when dry. the hardest part of this job is always matching the texture.

Instead of dry sanding, use a wet sponge. No dust mess, take the edges off faster, and works between texture so it does the transition lines better.

For small holes like this I use a coffee can to draw a circle around the hole, then use the coffee can as a template to draw a circle on the new piece of sheetrock. Use the keyhole saw to cut out the hole on the wall and the new piece where I position the coffee can on the corner of the new piece where I have two flat sides to start the cuts. The repair is the same as shown but with a circle not a square.

Nada nuevo bajo el sol!!!!!! Hace años q vengo haciendo este tipo d reparaciones. Saludos desde Argentina pais d lokitos

Thank you.

That shouldn't have "surprised" anyone. It's how patches have been done for years. Want a useful tip? Trim back and remove the top layer of paper out to the width of where the mesh tape will cover on the existing wall so the tape sits slightly indented. This will avoid a build up or "hump" in the finished compound.

Cut square hole, oversize square drywall patch. Cut paper backing to fit hole which will give you front paper overhang. Mud edges, place in opening and squeeze edges which will mud overhang edges and you are done. Use hot mud and it's really quick.