Getting a hole in the wall is inevitable and sometimes these holes are too large for a quick patch and repair – a large hole is more than approximately 10cm. Here are some simple steps to fixing those larger holes in your walls.

You will need:
• A trowel for cement
• A block of wood a bit bigger than your hole you are repairing
• A sandpaper block and fine sandpaper.
• 3 screws
• Wood glue (Selley’s Liquid Nails)
• Cornice cement as your base coat plaster  (also known as gyprock patching cement)
• Plaster Filler Top Coat
• Matching paint for your wall colour
Instructions:
• Firstly remove dags from around the whole with a Stanley knife, working at a 45 degree angle.
• Start with a piece of timber as a backing plate – slightly bigger than the hole (if the hole is small and doesn’t require a backing plate, you can skip these steps and go straight to plastering). Put a screw in the centre of the timber, this is to act as a handle to hold the wood in place later.
• Glue either side of the timber before you insert it into the wall. Once the wood is in the hole, fix it in either side with a cordless drill. Make sure the screw heads are below the surface so when plastered over, there is a smooth surface on the finished wall.
• Once the wood is securely fixed off – undo the centre screw and you are ready to fill it with a base coat plaster. It is very important that you follow the instructions on the packet for the plaster.
• Plastering – First mix up some base coat. The trick is to keep the base coat below the surface of the hole. It’s a very hard compound, very hard to sand down.
• Allow base coat to dry 100% before applying a top coat. This usually takes about 4 hours on a dry summer’s day, but drying time will depend on the weather. For a very big hole, you may need to apply 2 coats of base.
• Once the base coat is dry – apply the top coat over the hole and spread it right out. The top coat is easy to sand to give that perfect finish. The plaster instructions will advise the drying time.
• Using a sanding block, keeping it flat on the wall, work in circular motions on the plastered hole and into the centre continually moving the sanding block to create an even surface.
• Put a sealing coat of paint over the patch, then two coats of matching paint