Did you know that drywall crumbles when it gets wet? I didn’t. Of course, there are plenty of things I didn’t know about drywall. For instance, you do not cut drywall with a circular saw. If you hit drywall with very much force, say when moving furniture, it will knock a hole in the drywall. That goes for doors that get pushed against the wall as well. That will make a round hole the same size as your doorknob.

Let me impress you with my expertise now. You will have to admit when you hear what I have learned that it is not bad for someone that didn’t know you couldn’t cut drywall with a circular saw.

All of these things mean that either you have to replace the drywall or repair it or cover it with a picture. Since I move things around quite a bit, covering it with a picture just didn’t seem like an option. Trust me you will rest easier if you just fix the hole. Besides, your picture arrangement might start to look funny after a while.

Drywall is used in thousands of homes. It is easy to paint, wall paper or put decorated wall board over. The thing is – it is not as strong as you might think. There are always repairs that will need to be made because sooner or later you will end up with a hole in your drywall.

When the worst happens and a hole is staring back at you, don’t panic; the first thing you will need to do is see how bad it really is. Is it a hole that almost went through to the other side of the wall or is it just a tear? I was hoping and keeping my fingers crossed for just a small spot to repair. This is the easiest to fix as long as you do not end up having to paint the whole room over one tiny spot.

A small surface tear can be repaired by putting joint compound over the tear. Once it is totally dry, sand lightly and then paint. But, as I said, sometimes you will have to paint the whole wall or the spot will stick out like a sore thumb.

If there is a giant hole in the wall, which of course there was, you are going to have to take out the damaged drywall, cut a square out that attaches to the studs underneath. Cut the sides so they are in the middle of the stud so you will have something to which you can attach your new drywall. This can be attached with drywall screws and then tape the seams.

Next I had to apply the joint compound and make sure that it got into the cracks where the drywall met. Then the next coat goes over the whole thing and you can sand this after the compound is totally dry. Getting everything smooth is important; if not you will have a large lump sticking out of your wall. This has happened to me a couple of times, so I just had to start over.

So, what do you think? I learned how to repair drywall mainly because it was usually me that was responsible for the holes. Now, instead of panicking when something accidentally hits the wall I know how to fix it. However, I really do wish they would make drywall out of something a little harder.