How to Repair Walls With a Joint Compound

Drywall is used in many homes as an inexpensive building material for walls. Consisting of plaster between two pieces of paper, drywall is not the most resilient of building materials. When a house's weight begins to shift, cracks may appear in the walls. As long as the cracking is not extremely severe, you can fix it with joint compound. If done correctly then painted over, many drywall patches disappear completely.

Putty knife
Vacuum
Joint compound
Mud pan
6-inch taping knife
Drywall tape
Sanding block
Rag
Primer
Brush
Paint

Instructions

- 1
  Scrape the edges of the crack with a putty knife to remove any dust or crumbling material. Vacuum out the crack to remove further dust particles.
- 2
  Pour a generous amount of joint compound into a mud pan, available from most hardware stores.
- 3
  Lift some joint compound onto a 6-inch taping knife and smear the compound into the crack. Make a thin layer of compound.
- 4
  Place drywall tape over the crack and the compound. Smooth the tape, moving from one end to the other to prevent bubbling. Press the tape into the compound on the wall with the tape knife.
- 5
  Apply another layer of joint compound over the tape using the 6-inch putty knife. Feather the compound out away from the crack to prevent large cakes of joint compound. Let the compound dry.
- 6
  Repeat the compound application process two more times, feathering out the compound.
- 7
  Sand the patch smooth with a sanding block. Clear away the sanding dust with a rag.
- 8
  Paint over the patch with a primer, then paint over the primer with a paint that matches the color of the surrounding wall.

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