Most drywall damage can be patched. But the size, the cause and whether the board got wet change the approach.
Usually patchable
- Nail and screw holes, anchor holes.
- Doorknob-sized holes and dents.
- Hairline cracks at seams and corners.
- Popped nails or screws.
Usually needs a section replaced
- Large holes where the board is broken across a wide area.
- Drywall that is soft, crumbling or swollen from water.
- Board with mold growth on it.
- Sagging ceiling sections that have pulled away from framing.
Water changes everything
If drywall got wet, two questions come first: is the water source fixed, and is the area dry? Patching over a stain that's still getting wet just means doing it again later. See why ceiling stains keep coming back.
The patch is half the job
A repair has to blend with the wall around it — flatness, texture and paint. On older paint, touching up a patch often leaves a visible spot, so painting the whole wall corner to corner is common.
Cracks that come back
Cracks at the corners of doors and windows sometimes return because houses move with temperature and humidity. A crack that keeps widening or comes with doors that stop closing is worth mentioning, since that can point to more than a cosmetic issue.
More: drywall patching and ceiling repair.