Accidentally punched a whole in the wall...Help!

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lloydkirk

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So I was just doing some shadow boxing and I guess I got carried way. Pics attached.

I'm renting and so I'm wondering if this a DIY sort of repair, or would it be cheaper to just have the landlord take care of it?

Thanks for your help.

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I use a far simpler method and fewer tools.

It's called a butterfly patch.

Remove the debris from the hole, saving a large enough piece for a paint sample.

Cut a piece of 1/2" DW an inch or so larger than the hole. on the reverse side, cut the shape of the hole, cut from that shape out to the edge of the piece. The piece will crack when bent slightly so you can peel the drywall, outside of the previously cut patch, off of the finished surface paper.

Mix some mud and butter-up the edges of the hole the edges of the center of the patch and the flaps, insert the patch into the hole and smooth the mud out to the edges, fill and smooth and indentations.

As for matching the texture there are a number of aerosol cans of texture products sold, with adjustable spray which can be either troweled or sanded close to a match.

Then just prime and paint.
 
There are any number of ways of doing, but rather than trying to do it with words I chose to give him a video.
 
This actually describes it to a "T";[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7gOZTyFYiU[/ame]

This is the california patch that I used when repairing insulation holes in SSM on the USC Campus, 25yrs. ago.

The hole doesn't need to be any particular shape, just a hole.
 
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To answer your real question, yes it is a DIY repair, but the bigger question is would it be worth it to let the landlord just fix it and charge you for it by taking it out of your security deposit? What would it be worth to you to not have to pay up at the end?

If I was your landlord and saw the damage was caused by ether stupidity or anger and not an accident I would charge you $500 bucks to fix it and would have you over the barrel if it ended up on judge Judy. In reality the landlord wont have to be near as fussy the repair is done perfect and cant be seen. If it isn’t perfect he will still see it and ask what happened here and say that patch isn’t acceptable and has to be redone. Chances are he has a tub of compound and scrap drywall and matching paint. And the repair will take a few hours out of his day. You could hire it done and pay a pro. Or buy all the material and tools and learn the trade on the fly.

Every now and then when you are punching holes in drywall you hit a stud and break a bone in your hand. That’s when it starts costing big bucks.

Hire a pro and get it done right. Come back when you get your own home and we can help you make it nice.
 
Talk to the landlord. he may want to fix it for a price or he may have a handyman on speed dial. If he approves the fix then it is, end of story.
 
I have nothing helpful to contribute, but I hope you didn't hurt your hand.

I once cracked a window while practicing a finger jab/punch (basically a punch with fingertips out like you would do when jabbing someone in the throat), so I know that "oops" feeling of doing damage while practicing martial arts.
 
One late night, while working with clients (who were way too fussy) I vented my frustration by punching the wall in the hall in the office......Very tough to justify to my boss the next day.
 
The only other thing to mention is to keep some of the bigger broken pieces to take to a paint store. They will be able to match the paint pretty close.

You still cant paint over only the patch. The color match won't be perfect. You will need to paint the entire wall from corner to corner.

That's where talking to the landlord might help out. He might have left-over paint.
 
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