you can hide the damage with one of the many types of screen patch is currently available or you can make a permanent repair using the dry wall plug or fire guard plug depending on the area that has been damaged the drywall plug and fire guard plug come in two sizes there is the small three and seven eighths inch diameter and the larger six and seven eighths inch diameter both are a round piece of either half-inch or five eighths inch thick drywall adhered to a special type of taping paper the paper is sanded on both sides exposing the fibers to allow the compound to grab and hold on to it the paper is also perforated with hundreds of small pin sized holes to allow the joint compound to soak through it together these features ensure a stronger bond to a new drywall and painted drywall surfaces you will need a cutting tool trowel drywall joint compound have a writing tool drywall sandpaper and spray texture and it can take the foam packaging template and trace a circle using your writing tool use a drywall saw and cut along the outside of the circle drawn apply a generous amount of compound along the edge of the drywall circle insert the plug into the hole and trowel out the excess compound moving from the center of the plug to the outer edge until the paper is smooth against the surface of the wall no need to wait immediately apply more compound covering the entire paper of the plug allow to dry sand smooth texture if needed and then paint the once damaged area of the wall will now be a structurally sound as it was prior to being damaged customers have asked why cut such a large hole when my hole is smaller the easiest way to answer is to let them know that drywall fractures when being broken or smashed even though the damage on the front may look small on the back of the board the damage is much larger all of the damaged drywall needs to be cut away this not only includes the obvious hole but the fractured drywall that can't be seen yes the dry wall plug may cost a few dollars more but the intent should be to make a permanent repair that will bring back the integrity of the wall and not just hide the damage finishing the top coat is also easier with the drywall plug most mesh screens need more than two coats to hide the thickness of the screen the drywall plug only needs one this is a plastic drywall anchor great for securing pictures and heavy objects to the wall should the circumstance arise where an anchor is attempted to be inserted into an area that was repaired with the wall patch the damage will reveal itself and most likely increase in size the plastic anchor cannot penetrate the metal screen inserting an anchor into an area where the drywall plug is used has no effect on the damaged area the area can be used as if it had never been damaged before the fire guard plug has a specific market besides residential garage and ceilings between floors and multi-story homes five-eighths inch drywall is used in all commercial locations such as hospitals apartments townhomes office buildings schools dorms restaurants and resorts the fire guard plug works anywhere that a commercial application is required so what this means to someone living in an apartment condo dorm or townhome is now instead of repairing the area from stud to stud a small hole repair using the fire guard plug now minimizes the work and stays within the building code good for the contractor to increase production great for the do-it-yourself who is usually unfamiliar with the state code and the need to maintain the fire rating in a commercial building the drywall plug for residential walls made of half-inch-thick drywall such as bathrooms entryways bedrooms family rooms game rooms home offices and more the fire guard plug good for commercial locations such as hospitals hotels apartments condos townhomes restaurants schools city halls and more only the drywall plug and the fire guard plug are made of real drywall to fix drywall permanent drywall repair that brings the structural integrity back to the damaged area remember that be PMI is based in Oregon and all of our products are made in the USA with american-made materials and packaging you