That time I patched a hole in drywall with a piece of cardboard and it lasted 2 years.

The renter in my duplex in Tacoma put his fist through the wall in the hallway, right near the light switch. I didn't have any drywall scraps on hand and it was a Sunday evening. So I cut a square out of an Amazon box, shoved it in the hole, and covered it with spackle and paint. Honestly it looked okay and nobody ever noticed, but I'm wondering if I should have just done the mesh patch kit from the start. Has anyone else gotten away with a hack like this?

3 comments

3 Comments

perez.patricia26d ago

Wait, did you really just use spackle on top of cardboard without any mesh or tape? Tbh that's actually pretty impressive it held for two years. But ngl, the cardboard can absorb moisture from the spackle and start to warp or grow mold if there's any dampness in the wall. I've seen it happen in a friend's bathroom where they used a cereal box and the patch started bubbling after a year. Honestly, a mesh patch kit is like five bucks and takes ten minutes, so it's worth just doing it right from the start. Still, respect for making it last that long with a cardboard fix.

benc5327d ago

Buddy of mine used a pizza box to patch a hole in his garage and that thing is still holding up five years later.

jennyp1926d ago

Remembered I had a similar issue in my old apartment in Portland where the neighbor's kid threw a toy truck through the wall. Used a flattened cereal box and some joint compound. @benc53 that pizza box story is gold, honestly cardboard is way tougher than people give it credit for. But yeah after two years that patch was still solid, even survived a coat of paint that didn't quite match. Only reason I finally fixed it right was because I moved out and had to do a real patch for the deposit.