Filling hole in wall

[woger151]

I need to fill a 3/8 " hole I put in the wall.

I'm pretty new at these things...I had thought the walls were plaster (house is a brick colonial built in 1948), but there are no laths, and looking closely at a couple places in the house where there are larger openings in the wall, it looks something like 2 layers of drywall, totaling about an inch thick.

Looking online and in a DIY drywall book, seems like the hole is small enough that I could try filling it with joint compound and then (I guess...really new at this stuff) putting drywall tape/mesh on top of that.

Does that sound reasonable?

I want the patch to be reasonably strong, because SWMBO is insisting that we hang a picture there. (That's where the 3/8" hole came from...don't ask.)

[Doug Miller]

No. If it's only 3/8" diameter, just fill it with joint compound. There's no point in using tape on something so small. Use sandable setting-type joint compound that you mix with water -- one brand name to look for is EasySand.

[HeyBub]

Either the picture will cover the hole, or, with a long enough nail (or 3/8" dowell) you can hang the picture using the hole.

One light-in-the-leathers TV redecorating host recommends toothpaste for hole-filling. 'Course he probably uses toothpaste for any number of unspeakable things...

[hrhofmann]

The patch won't be strong enough to hold anything much bigger than a postcard. Use two hangers, one on each side of the mistaken hole or you will be picking up the picture from the floor.

[Colbyt]

Use the hole you already have, a toggle bolt and a molly hook. Adjust the wire slightly if needed to achieve the right height. Hang anything you like up to about 65 pounds and forget the patch.

A picture from a random site:

Molly hooks are sold at all real hardware stores. You might find them at the BORG.

[WW]

Install an expanding plastic plug that uses a screw to expand it. Leave a bit of the screw head exposed to hook the picture frame wire on. WW

[benick]

That is the "correct" way to do it but you end up with a bag of Easysand with a spoonfull removed and it doesn't store well...Just get a small tub of Red Devil One Time Lightweight Spackle and fill it a couple of times , sand and touch up paint...Good Luck....

[David Nebenzahl]

On 4/27/2009 7:55 AM HeyBub spake thus:

Toothpaste to patch holes in wall? The first (and only) time I ever heard that was from the lips of my erstwhile white-trash redneck girlfriend, many years ago. It still has bad associations to this day.

[HeyBub]

I swear I heard it. He even mentioned it might be possible to match the colors!