Last Updated on February 24, 2021 by
A hole in the house from the outside opens up a chance for intrusion by insects and unwanted moisture. Fixing such holes depends on their sizes. You can buy some spackle and mesh patches to repair a small hole or use available substances like toothpaste, homemade sealant, or flour. Some methods used can leave the wall as smooth as new.
Various Methods Of Fixing A Hole
Drywalls may be durable but not indestructible. During tenure, homeowners end up with at least one or more unwanted holes in the house’s interior or exterior. There are so many ways of repairing such holes. Some of the methods include:
Using Toothpaste To Fix The Hole
Toothpaste is used when a small nail hole is involved. The process is as simple as squeezing in some white toothpaste gel into the hole. Smoothen with a knife or any flat item available, and the process is done. Dry toothpaste forms a sparkling finish similar to the wall and may go unnoticed sometimes.
If white toothpaste is not available, you could use bar soap as an alternative. It involves dampening the surface of the soap and rubbing it over a shallow hole until it is filled. Avoid blue toothpaste as it does not work the same as white toothpaste.
Using A Homemade Sealant
This method involves creating a stronger sealant than toothpaste and soap since it is more effective and durable. The adhesive is made by adding baking soda to super glue, forming a super-strong bond. The amount to be created depends on the size of the hole to be sealed. A small nail hole will require a few drops of super glue and a pinch of baking soda.
Before application, wear protective rubber gloves to avoid the fast drying and strong sealant from coming into contact with your hands. Apply the mixture immediately to the wall as it is fast-drying. After the glue has dried, sand the hard plastic-like finish until it flushes with the main wall. This method is not only effective for small holes but also for minor cracks in the wall too. The use of superglue makes it long-lasting and very effective.
Using Flour To Fix The Hole
This method applies to holes of doorknob sizes with diameters of two to four inches. It involves making a simple patch using simple kitchen items and recycled cardboard. To create a patch and to fix the hole, you can follow these steps:
1. Cut a small sizeable cardboard which is larger than the size of the hole one is intending to fix.
2. Make two holes at the center of the cut-out piece of cardboard. Thread a short string through one of the spots and come out through the other.
3. Push the cardboard into the hole, with the strings facing away from the wall. One should ensure all corners of the cardboard are intact with the wall.
4. Ensure the cardboard is intact by pulling strings tightly.
5. Form a flour paste by mixing one tablespoon of flour with one tablespoon of salt and some water.
6. Apply the mixture to the cardboard on the wall with some oozing outside the square. It will ensure all edges of the cardboard are bound to the wall.
7. After the paste has settled and dried, one can pull out the string.
8. Finally, apply a second coat of the paste and smoothen it and ensure that it flushes with the surrounding wall to give a finished look.
How Can You Cover Large Holes And Openings Outside Your House?
There are two significant ways to fill large gaps and holes outside the house.
Using Steel Wool And Foam For Holes And Gaps Around Pipes
You can fill the holes with steel wool and copper mesh to create a base layer. Later on, use expandable polyurethane foam to fill the gaps. After the polyurethane foam has cured, you can trim it to flush it with the house. Some people prefer to strain and paint the patch to match with the walls. This method is effective since gnawing rodents cannot pass through the mesh even if they chewed and scratched the foam.
Use Of A Fine Mesh
You can use a fine mesh to cover holes and vents that cannot be closed completely, such as chimneys and attic vents. Since these areas cannot be covered entirely, a barrier to their entrance needs to be created. One can cover these openings with fine wire mesh that prevents large animals such as raccoons and squirrels from entering the house while still serving their purpose.
Where Does One Look For Holes Outside The House?
Some holes may be difficult to notice at first, only to find rodents and insects roaming inside the house. You should always be on the lookout for gaps by checking areas such as; around windows and doors, around the foundation, attic vents and crawl vents, under doors, on the roof among rafters, gables, and eaves.
The most common places people ignore are areas around the holes for electrical, plumbing, and gas line cables. Such spots can be temporarily sealed by using steel wool and caulk. You can use a lath screen or lath metal, hardware cloth, and cement for large holes. Failure to seal up such holes around one’s house will make rodents to be a regular nuisance. Sometimes, cases worse than rodents and pests may happen, such as leakages by water and gas pipes.
Fixing holes outside the house will be useless if there are holes inside the house as well. Therefore, one should consider checking inside the house to ensure no spots where rodents and other dangerous insects can hide. Some dangerous animals such as snakes could accidentally creep into the house and hide in small caves inside the house. Some of the most common areas where one can find spots inside the home include;
1. Inside, behind, and under kitchen cabinets stoves and refrigerators.
2. Near the floor corners and inside closets.
3. Areas around the pipes, under sinks, and washing machines, these areas snails could easily crawl in due to the moist environment creating a health hazard.
4. Between the wall and floor juncture.
5. At the basement and laundry room floor drains where there is little movement.
Why Fix Holes And Gaps In And Outside My House
Sealing holes and openings in a home can have many benefits. Some of these benefits include;
It Helps To Keep Away Pests And Rodents
By blocking all holes and openings to a house, pests and rodents will have no access to the inside. It is one of the best defenses to prevent insect infestation. Sealing helps in removing their possible habitats near one’s house. It also prevents them from breeding near one’s home, which could lead to property destruction if their population increases.
Fixing Holes And Openings To The House Saves One Time And Energy
Eliminating rodents and pests from your house can be very tedious and time-consuming. In severe cases, people get services from pest control to help eliminate them. Why undergo all the trouble to pay for pest control when one can prevent them from entering the house. Preventing entry is better than eliminating them. In some cases, they may cause damages to clothes, foods, and furniture, which may require replacement or repair, and can be very expensive.
Helps To Keep Away Unwanted Moisture
Openings and holes near water pipes can lead to leakages, for example, under sinks. A hole in the sink or pipes leading water to the house can cause damages in a household. Some household items require a dry environment, and leakages give the opposite of that. Moisture encourages the growth of mold and attracts crawling animals such as snails which may be a health hazard in a house. One can easily prevent this by fixing holes both inside and outside the home.
Fixing Small Holes Helps In Preventing Further Damage
For example, rodents may gnaw on a small hole to form a bigger one. Such spots encourage even bigger animals such as raccoons to gain access to the house. Holes near water, electric, and gas pipes and cables may lead to leakages. Gas leakage is hazardous as it could cause explosions. Such damages can be easily solved by fixing simple holes identified both inside and outside the house.
Conclusion
Fixing holes found on the outside of the house can be made in many ways. Some methods are temporary, whereas others are permanent. Repairing small holes such as nail holes can be easily fixed using a quick method such as the toothpaste method. Some are set using long-lasting but homemade sealants made from super glue and baking soda. Large holes in such areas as the attics, ventilation, and chimneys can only be partially blocked using wire mesh to keep away large rodents such as raccoons. It is essential to fix holes to prevent one from incurring extra costs associated with further damages.
