Patching holes after a TV mount comes down

A properly mounted TV leaves surprisingly little behind: usually four holes about the width of a pencil. Fixing them well takes an hour of work spread over a day, mostly waiting for things to dry.

What you're likely to find

• Lag-bolt holes: ¼″ to ⅜″, into a stud. Easy.
• Toggle-bolt holes: ½″ or larger, with empty space behind. Need backing.
• Cable cut-outs: rectangles roughly 2×4 inches from in-wall plates. A real patch.
• Masonry anchor holes in brick or mortar.
• Paint shadow: the wall behind the TV may be a slightly different colour from the faded wall around it.

Small holes into studs

1. Knock down any raised paper around the hole with the handle of a putty knife so the surface is flat or slightly dented.
2. Fill with lightweight spackle, pressing it in and scraping flush.
3. Let it dry (it shrinks), apply a second thin coat slightly wider.
4. Sand lightly with fine paper, wipe off dust.
5. Prime the spot, then paint. Unprimed spackle shows through paint as a dull patch.

Larger holes with nothing behind

Spackle alone will crack or fall in.

• Up to about 1 inch: a self-adhesive mesh patch, covered with two or three thin coats of joint compound feathered out a few inches.
• Toggle holes: push the old toggle bar into the wall (it can't be pulled back out), then patch as above.

Cable cut-outs

• If you kept the piece of drywall that was cut out, screw a small strip of wood inside the wall behind the hole as backing, screw the piece back in, tape the seams and skim with compound.
• Otherwise cut a patch from scrap drywall the same thickness.
• Three thin coats beat one thick one. Feather each coat wider than the last.
• Or simply leave a blank wall plate over each opening — neat, and useful to the next tenant.

Matching texture

Smooth walls are forgiving. Orange-peel and knockdown textures need a matching spray texture from a can before priming; practise on cardboard first.

Paint

Touching up a small spot rarely blends, even with the original paint, because walls fade and sheen varies. For an invisible result, paint the whole wall panel from corner to corner. For a rental, ask the landlord for the paint name, or take a chip to be matched.

Brick and mortar

• Holes in mortar: fill with mortar repair caulk or a small batch of matching mortar.
• Holes in brick face: coloured mortar or brick-repair filler tinted to match; they never fully disappear, which is why some people prefer to drill mortar in the first place.
• Leave sleeve anchors in, tapped below the surface, and fill over them.

Plaster

Use setting-type compound or plaster patch, not lightweight spackle, and expect a little crumbling at the hole's edge.

For renters

Photograph the wall before and after, keep receipts, and check what your lease says about repairs — some landlords prefer to do them and charge a fixed fee. More in the renter's guide.

What not to use

Toothpaste, soap and caulk. They look fine for a week and fail inspection.

Planning ahead

If you know you'll move, a fixed or tilt bracket into studs leaves the least to patch, and a cord cover leaves almost nothing compared with in-wall plates.