Best way to fix this hole in the wall?

Question

we are new houseowners, and the previous owners left a TV we didn't want so we asked them to remove it and they left this big hole in the wall in the process. We've been looking for a contractor that would patch it up, but nobody will even come up to get a quote because the job is "too small". We figured we might as well see how big of a project it would be to patch it up ourselves, so I have a couple questions there: what would we look up to find some information on how to fix this? The hole is around 4 by 6 inches, is that something we should be good fixing ourselves? What kind of tools/materials would we need to patch it? I can provide more pictures/details if need be, any help is much appreciated!

$700 = "patch this and any other spots on the wall that need patching, come back next day - sand, prime entire wall, come back next day - paint coat 1, come back next day, paint coat 2." Each piece takes an hour or two, plus a few $ for paint and materials. Patch it yourself, put a picture in front of it. Done. $50-$100 will get you patch, sand, slap some white paint on it - it will be functional and smooth but the paint won't match the rest of the wall - i.e., the same thing you could do yourself but pay someone else who already has the tools to do it faster. — manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact, Jul 12 '23 at 15:53
Or this? What is the best method to patch a large hole (2-3 inches) in drywall? — isherwood, Jul 12 '23 at 18:15
This is a pretty cheap and easy fix. You can do it. This question is likely to be closed as a duplicate judging by the links added, but check them out for information. If you're more of a visual learner, there's hundreds of videos on YouTube (and of course, elsewhere) that will walk you through the process. Watch more than one or two. — gnicko, Jul 12 '23 at 22:58

Ray Butterworth · Answer 1 · 2023-07-12T17:31:10.577

Assuming you aren't going to be repainting the whole wall, the hardest and most expensive part will be matching the paint colour.

Watch a few YouTube videos about patching drywall.

Meanwhile, in a nutshell, here's what you'll do.

For the hole itself, buy:

Non-shrinking spackling.
A small drywall spatula.
A drywall sanding pad.

Then:

Scrape away all the loose paint, plaster, and resulting dust.
(If you can also peel off a large piece of the existing paint, that will help immensely when matching the colour.)
Jam a small piece of wood or cardboard or wadded up drywall tape into each hole, ensuring it is recessed from the surface. It doesn't have to fill the hole; it's to prevent the spackling from falling through.
Push spackling into the holes.
Spread spackling smoothly over the area, slightly overlapping the good painted area.
Wait at least as long as suggested on the spackling package for it to dry.
Use the sanding pad to remove the excess spackling, leaving a smooth and even surface.
Unless you are even more experienced at this than I am, it won't be even, so repeat the spackling and sanding until it is good enough (it will never be perfect).

You can probably get away without priming for such a small area, but if you have some primer, use it.

Then paint it.
You might get a very close color match, but it will almost certainly still be a visible patch to a certain extent.

You'll be surprised how soon you'll learn not to notice it though. Hanging a picture or other decoration over or near it isn't a bad idea either.

As new homeowners, you'll likely be patching and painting other rooms, if not now then in a couple of years. Your skills will improve with practice. Just don't expect a professional appearance the first few hundred times.

Yeah, your biggest issues will be matching the paint color, sheen, and texture. — Huesmann, Jul 13 '23 at 13:14

Best way to fix this hole in the wall?

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