Anything under a soda can: patch
Small holes from nails, screws, anchor pullouts, or a doorknob bang are all fast patches. We backer the hole, fill with two coats of joint compound (sometimes a setting compound for speed), sand flush, prime, and paint-match. The repair vanishes if the painter knows what they're doing.
Doorknob-sized: cut a square, drop in a piece
For holes 2"–6", we cut a clean square around the damage, screw in a small backer board, drop in a new piece of drywall flush with the surface, tape and mud the seams, sand, prime, paint. Twice as fast as trying to bridge a hole with mesh tape alone, and it doesn't crack later.
Anything wider than 12 inches: replace the section
Big holes, soft spots from old water damage, or sections with sagging tape should be cut out back to the nearest studs and replaced with a new piece of drywall the same thickness as your existing wall. Trying to patch a 2-foot hole with mesh and mud is how you end up with a wavy, cracked repair six months later.
Water damage: 48 hours is the line
If drywall has been wet more than 48 hours, replace it. Even dried, water-soaked drywall harbors mold inside the paper backing and gypsum, and the material loses structural strength. Patching over wet damage hides the problem until the ceiling falls. We always cut a small inspection hole if water damage is suspected.
The part homeowners skip: texture and paint match
A perfect drywall patch with a mismatched texture or paint looks worse than the original damage. We match orange peel, knockdown, or skim-smooth texture by hand, then blend the paint with a feathered roller technique. Whole-wall repaints are sometimes cheaper than trying to spot-match across a sun-faded wall.
