How to Fill Holes in a Wall for a Seamless Finish

We live in them day in, day out, so our homes can take a knock. Walls are bound to be damaged at some point, by screws leaving unwanted holes, doorknobs slamming into walls or other accidents. But it’s heartening to know that fixing holes in walls is relatively easy work, especially if the holes are small.

In this guide we’re going to walk you through how to fill holes in a wall, whatever the size. And if your holes are in drywall – or plasterboard – we’ve got you covered for that too. Read on and find out how to get the job done. 

Small holes that have been created by screws or nails are quick and easy to fix. Simply follow these steps:

1. Scrape away any loose debris with a filling knife or sandpaper.

2. Apply a small amount of filler to fill the hole and leave it to dry.

3. Sand it and paint over it.

To fill large holes, you need a deep-gap filler or joint tape. 

If using a deep-gap filler, which is the easiest option for holes up to roughly 2cm deep, simply follow the steps above for small holes but use more filler. 

If using joint tape, follow these steps:

1. Stick the joint tape over the hole.

2. Use a filling knife and filler to cover the tape in a criss-cross pattern, and smooth it down.

3. Feather the edges so that it blends in with the wall and leave to dry.

4. Repeat if necessary, sand with sandpaper or an electric sander, and then paint over.

If your walls are made from drywall, you can either follow the same steps as above with the filler or, if the hole is quite large (up to six inches), use some spare drywall to cut a patch from. 

1. Use a utility knife to cut a square of drywall that’s about two inches bigger than the hole.

2. Score the back roughly an inch in from each side with your utility knife and snap off the loose end pieces, leaving the backing paper behind. You should end up with a square of drywall bordered by an inch of backing paper.

3. Hold the square of drywall over the hole in the wall and draw around it with a pencil to mark out the area.

6. Paste on jointing compound to the back of the paper and fit the square into the hole that you’ve cut out, pressing down the paper around it onto the surrounding wall to affix it. It should be a perfect fit. If you’ve fitted wooden strips inside the hole, secure the patch of drywall to these by drilling in some screws, so that the patch sits against them and can’t be pushed in. Cover with a coat or two of jointing compound or filler, sand it when dry and then it’s ready to paint. 

If you need paint brushes for that final lick of paint or other DIY essentials, browse our vast DIY range in-store and online. Whether it’s for this job or the next, we’ve got plenty of products to give you a helping hand.

Now go ahead, tackle your task and enjoy that ‘job done’ feeling.