how to fix a small hole in the ceiling

Kim

A quick tip for small patches in homes with textured ceilings: you CAN do it yourself with materials you probably already have in your house.

I ran into this job while prepping our guestroom to be painted. The prior owners had swagged lamps hanging from hooks on the ceiling in that room. Not our style. So I got rid of the lamps and took down the hooks, but it left me with round holes.

Here's how I fixed them.

Editors Note: Hanging drywall and making drywall repairs is a popular topic here on OPC, and if you're looking for more information, I'd encourage you to check out the "Related Content" section at the end of the post. There you'll find a few hand-selected articles that we think you'll find helpful.

Tools and Materials Needed

Fast-drying Drywall Patch Compound
Putty Knife
Paint Brush
Painter's Tape

Step 1: Using Drywall Compound, Put a Layer in and around the Hole

(I prefer the "goes-on-pink" kind because it's fast-drying as well as making it pretty obvious when it's dry enough to be painted.)

Step 2: Using Tape, Bind the Bristles of an Old Paintbrush into a Round or Oval Shape

(I used a 3″ this time because I found one that was all "crispy" and no longer useful for painting, but ordinarily, I wouldn't have chosen one that wide for this small a space.)

Step 3: Load up the Bristles with More Compound

Step 4: Apply the Compound from the Bristles in a Quick Up-Down Manner around the Whole Newly-Patched Area

Turn the brush different ways to keep the texture from being too uniform and adding more compound as you move around.

Step 5: (Extra Step if You Don't Want Sharp Points.) Gently Graze the Tips of All the Points with a Spackling Knife to Take Them Down

(Note: if you mess up and scrape it too flat, just immediately re-do step 3 and try again.) You can skip this step if the "pointy" look is what you have everywhere else. We sanded everything else, so that's why I added this step.

Step 6: When Dry, Paint the Whole Area to Blend to the Rest of the Ceiling

That's it! It cost me nothing to do: used very little compound, a bit of tape, and a brush that was headed for the trash anyway. (Though if you don't have an old brush, you can also clean the compound off any brush you plan to use again. Just clean it immediately after use, so nothing clumps up in your bristles.)