Property How to fill holes in plaster or plasterboard
Decorating · Beginner
How to fill holes in plaster or plasterboard
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Old picture hooks, rawl-plug holes and hairline cracks all show once you paint. Filling them is a calm, unglamorous job: rake out anything loose, press in filler in thin layers, let it dry, and sand it flush. The same idea works on solid plaster and on plasterboard, but larger holes in plasterboard need a patch, not just a blob of filler.
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At a glance
Your call
Go or no?
Fancy giving it a go, or would you rather call in a plasterer? There’s no wrong answer.
Right then. Here’s the kit, then the steps.
No problem. We’ll show you how to find a local plasterer.
Shop the full kit
You can pick up the items below as you need them. Prices vary by shop and country, so we have not invented a figure here — check the live price before you buy. Shop links go to a product search on a local store for your country. Until a tracking tag is in place they are ordinary store links, not tracking URLs.
All-in-one kit
There is not usually a single boxed kit for this job. Buy the items below as you need them, and skip anything you already have.
Free printable
Get a free printable fill holes in plaster checklist
A one-page list of tools, prep and the order of work, emailed once this is live.
Before you start
Safety
Stop and get a pro: Use a cable and pipe detector before you dig out a hole or drill a new fixing. If you hit a cable or a pipe, stop immediately and call a qualified electrician or plumber. Do not pack filler around a damaged socket or switch — that is electrical work. If a crack is wide, stepped, or keeps growing, or the wall feels damp or loose, get a plasterer or a surveyor rather than hiding it.
- Wear a dust mask and eye protection when you sand. Keep the room ventilated.
- Keep children and pets away from wet filler and from dust.
- Do not assume the wall is empty. Cables and pipes often run vertically or horizontally from sockets and switches.
- Work off a proper step if you are filling high up. Do not stand on a dining chair.
Prep that is worth doing
- Wipe or vacuum loose dust from the holes so the filler can key.
- If you plan to paint afterwards, finish the filling and sanding before you wash or prime the wall.
- For plasterboard, check whether you can still see the paper face and the cavity behind. A hole that goes through needs a backing or a self-adhesive patch, not filler pushed into the void.
Tools and materials
Check the live price at a shop you trust. Typical prices on this site, where they appear, were checked in the UK and may be out of date. Do not invent or assume a figure from this table. Shop links go to a product search on a local store for your country. Until a tracking tag is in place they are ordinary store links, not tracking URLs.
| Item | Why you need it | Typical price | Shop link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ready-mixed filler, or a powder filler mixed as the pack says | All-purpose filler is fine for most hook holes and hairline cracks. Use a flexible or masonry filler only if the pack is meant for that surface. | check price | |
| Filling knives (a narrow one and a wider one) | The narrow knife presses filler in; the wider one levels it with the wall. | check price | |
| Self-adhesive plasterboard patch or a piece of backing, for holes larger than a coin | Filler alone will sag or fall through a hole in plasterboard. | check price | |
| Abrasive paper or a sanding block, medium then fine | To take the repair flush without digging a dish in the wall. | check price | |
| A cable and pipe detector | Used before you drill or open up a hole near sockets, switches or radiator pipes. | check price | |
| Primer or a mist coat, and your wall paint | Fresh filler is often more absorbent than the rest of the wall and will flash if you skip the primer. | check price | |
| Dust sheets and a dust mask | Filler dust goes everywhere. | check price |
Shop this list:
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Step-by-step
Clear the hole, choose the right repair for the wall type, fill in thin layers, sand flush, then prime the patch before you paint.
Rake out anything loose
Pick out crumbled plaster, broken plug remains and flakes of old paint. A firm edge is better than filling over a loose one. For a hairline crack, run the corner of a scraper along it so the filler has a slight V to sit in.
Deal with a hole through plasterboard first
If you can put a finger into a cavity, do not just pack it with filler. For a small hole, stick a self-adhesive mesh patch over it, following the pack. For a larger hole, a plasterboard repair patch or a piece of board behind the hole, screwed or glued to the sound edges, gives the filler something to sit on. Holes much bigger than a hand, or a crumbling area, are a plasterer’s job.
Press the first layer of filler in
Load a little filler onto the knife and press it into the hole so there are no pockets of air. Leave it slightly proud of the wall. On deep holes, fill no more than the depth the pack allows in one go, and let it dry before the next layer — a deep wet lump shrinks and cracks.
Let it dry, then add another thin layer if you need to
Drying time is on the pack and depends on depth and room temperature. If the patch has sunk as it dried, add a skim and let that dry too.
Sand it flush
Use medium abrasive first, then fine, on a block so you sand flat. Stop when the repair is level with the wall, not dished and not left as a lump. Wipe away the dust.
Prime the patch, then paint
A dab of primer, diluted emulsion, or the product the filler maker recommends will stop the patch grinning through the top coat. Then paint as you would the rest of the wall. A second coat of paint is usually needed over a repair.
General guidance only. Check our disclaimer.
Common mistakes
- Pushing filler into a hollow plasterboard hole with no backing. It falls into the cavity or leaves a soft spot that cracks when you hang something again.
- One deep, impatient layer. It shrinks, cracks and takes longer to dry than two thin ones.
- Sanding before it is dry. You roll the surface and make a mess.
- Painting straight over bare filler. The patch dulls or shines differently from the rest of the wall.
- Filling a crack that is still moving. A hairline settlement crack can be filled; a widening structural crack needs advice, not another tub of filler.
- Drilling or digging out a hole without checking for cables. Stop and get a pro if you hit one.
Upload a photo to see the finished job
When the mock-up is live, you can upload a photo and see an impression of the finished job — not a quote or an exact product match.
FAQ
What is the difference between plaster and plasterboard?
Solid plaster is a skim or a thicker coat on masonry or lath. Plasterboard is a board fixed to studs or dabs, with a paper face and a gypsum core. Holes in board often need a patch; holes in sound solid plaster usually just need filler.
Can I hang the picture back on the same spot?
Yes, once the filler is fully dry and, for a heavier frame, you use a fixing meant for the wall type — a proper plasterboard fixing, or a plug in masonry — not a nail in filler alone.
The crack came back after I painted.
The wall may still be moving, or the filler was applied over loose edges. Rake it out and try again, or get a plasterer to look if it returns.
Do I need to fill every tiny pin hole?
If you are repainting, yes — they show in a raking light. If you are not painting yet, you can leave them until you do.
Would rather not DIY? Find a local plasterer
If the plaster is blowing, the crack keeps opening, or you have a hole too large for a patch, a plasterer will make a neater, more lasting repair than more filler.
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