How to Repair Ceiling Holes With an Orange Peel Texture

Place a ladder under the hole in the ceiling and climb up onto it. Place the putty knife at a 45-degree angle with the ceiling and scrape the edges of the hole to remove loose ceiling texture.

Insert a drywall knife into the hole and cut the hole into a square shape. Do not enlarge the hole more than necessary since the goal is simply to create even edges that are easier to repair.

Place a piece of white paper over the hole and tape it to the ceiling using painter's tape. Use a felt tip pen to trace around the perimeter of the hole to transfer the shape onto the paper.

Cut out the shape from the paper using scissors then lay it on a piece of drywall. Trace around it with the pen and cut the shape out of the drywall using the drywall knife.

Cut a wooden board 4 inches longer than the width of the ceiling hole. Turn the board on its end and insert it all the way up inside the hole. Turn the board parallel with the ceiling and lower it until it straddles the top of the hole. If the hole is wider than 6 inches, use two boards. Reach into the hole and pull down on the board while you insert a drywall screw through the ceiling to hold the board in place. Insert two screws at either end of each board.

Place the drywall patch into the hole and insert two to four drywall screws through it so they penetrate the wooden boards above it.

Open a tub of joint compound and apply a 1/4-inch thick coat over the entire repair so that no seams or screw holes are visible. Allow the joint compound to dry overnight and sand it smooth with a fine-grit sandpaper. Wear safety glasses and a dust mask while sanding.

Cover the underlying floor with tarps and shake up a can of ceiling texture. Aim the nozzle at the repaired area, holding it at least 12 inches away and spray in side to side motions to create new orange peel texture.