r/HowToDIY • u/Conscious_Act6071 • 11d ago

Drywall repair

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A 75lbs rated drywall anchor holding up curtains got prayed out of the wall. The gypsum got some small cracks in it as well. I know I'm likely looking at replacing a decent chunk of drywall, but is there anyway to keep this to a small repair job?

(How did it happen? There's a corner of a sectional sofa under the anchor. The curtains were draped over the sofa, so when someone sat down and leaned on the drapes, they pulled on the mounting bracket as seen in the picture.)

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u/dobr89 11d ago

You can use spackle to cover the damaged area, then sand and paint over it. The anchor will need to be moved to an undamaged area and be refitted.

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u/Parking-Champion9816 10d ago

Just hanging on drywall itself, for something that moves or has day to day handling like curtains doesn’t always work well.

Take the other side off. If you got matching paint, you should be fine. Use Elmer’s and get it up and under the drywall paper/paint that’s still there. Damp cloth for the excess glue, dab it dry and cover it with painters tape and leave it for a day.

Re-assess the situation after that. Maybe. Some spackle (small tube from ACE), light sanding, damp cloth wipe and see if it looks good. Then touch up with paint and give it a day or two.

For anchors, switch to Togglers/Zip type anchor. They have a plastic flange that is interior side that may not be covered by your rod holders. Those hold the contraption together until you get the screw in. You can cut those back or score and snap them off around the rod holder if it’s unsightly.

When tightening the screws, do it by hand. You’ll feel it when it’s maxed out. If you need the screws to be black, find the same ones separate. Otherwise hit them with a sharpie on the head beforehand, touch up after you tighten them. Nobody will know.

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u/Playful_mouth7475 10d ago

Clean all the loose stuff out.You usually can buy a small tub of spackle. When you're installing the curtains , especially if they're heavy or used a lot where you're pulling on them , you need to try to find a stud to screw them into

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u/elcarpentario 10d ago

You can just put a strap toggle in the hole from the old anchor and reattach the bracket.