How to Fix Bad Drywall
- 1). Cut out the damaged drywall using a razor knife.
- 2). Cover the hole with mesh drywall tape. If it's a large enough hole, you may want to consider a patch kit which contains plates to cover a larger area that may need extra support.
- 3). Mix your joint compound with enough water to make it easy to apply. There are instructions on individual containers since the consistency will change every time you apply a new coat.
- 4). Apply the joint compound with your 12-inch drywall knife. You will need to go over the area several times to make it smooth, so have a pan to put the compound in so you can recycle it.
- 5). Smooth out the first layer of compound with your drywall knife. To do this apply pressure on the top of the blade while running it over the mesh so the compound builds up in the center where it is needed most.
- 6). Repeat the smoothing process, applying pressure on the bottom side. Don't use too much compound on your first layer, just enough to cover the entire area.
- 7). Smooth the area one more time, applying even pressure across the whole blade. An easy way to make sure there's not too much compound is by lying the blade vertically across the area to see if it's flush with the rest of the wall.
- 8). Dry the compound with a house fan to speed up the process. This is helpful since you apply 3 coats of compound for the best results, and drying can be time consuming.
- 9). Add more water to the compound for the second layer. Follow individual instructions since compounds can vary in consistency.
- 10
Use the instructions above to add a second and third layer. The third layer will be the thinnest consistency of compound.