How to Fix a Hole in the Door for Less Than $8

3 Materials

30 Minutes

Easy

The hollow core doors used in mass construction these days are very beautiful, but not very durable. I've repaired several holes using this method and that have all held up very well.

Hole in the door

Repairing a hole in a hollow core door.

These Hinge Pin Door Stops are great cause they don't make the stupid springy sound and they stay in place pretty good, but unfortunately, I've had to repair a number of holes cause our crappy hollow core doors simply don't hold up that well.

Note this pic above is just for reference. Unfortunately I forgot to snap a before shot.

Hinge Pin Door Stop

Hinge Pin Door Stop

Here is a close up of the culprit. These door stops fit between the hinge pin and the hinge, and are usually placed at the top of the door. There must not be much support around the door in this spot cause compared to the bottom of the door where baseboard or floor mounted door stops are usually placed.

how to fix a hole in the door for less than 8

Materials: Great Stuff Expanding Foam

This foam is about $4 at home Depot. Although it says no drips and no mess, it is sticky, and impossible to get off fabrics and carpet, so be sure to tarp off your work area.

Materials: Plaster or Drywall Compound

I had a box of Plaster of Paris already so this is what I used, but any drywall compound will work. I prefer mixing mine so I use power and water. Pre-mixed compounds will work just as well.

*Note - I moved the door stop to the bottom hinge where the door was undamaged to reduce the risk of ruining my repair job.

Step 1 - Fill the hole with Expanding Foam

Once you've got your spray foam can all shaken up and ready to go, fill the hole with expanding foam. It expands 2-3x the original size after a few seconds, so start small.

Once you've got enough foam in the hole, your door should look something like this.

Let the expanding foam cure, then use a knife or razor blade to cut the foam back to just below the wood surface of the door.

Step 2 - Fill with drywall compound/plaster

After cutting back the expanding foam, mix (or apply premixed) drywall compound or plaster over the hole. Feather it out beyond the edges of the hole so its easy to blend the repair in with the final finish.

Plaster dries in about 20-30min. Once its dry enough to sand, lightly go over the surface with 220 grit sandpaper or a fine sanding block.

It should look like the picture above when its finished

Step 3 - Paint over the repair

Paint over the drywall compound with a thin layer of primer, then paint.

I used a paint and primer mix as we had some left over from a previous job.

There you have it, you cant even tell there was ever a hole here.

Check out the full post and more at AugustDecemberHome

*Tip - If the hole is too big for this method, you can slide a thin piece of wood or stiff cardboard into the hole and allow the expanding foam to hold it into position. This works better if you can glue or tape something onto the wood patch to hold it in place while the foam expands and cures.

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4 comments

Loretta
on Nov 22, 2020

Thanks. I have a conspicuous crack in my door from an angry teenager kicking it. I’m hoping to give this a try. Have the exact door.

1
Reply
- August December Home
  on Nov 25, 2020
  
  Hahaah, great story Thomas. I should create a project for repairing door frames. I've had an entire door slam right out of the frame before (also an angry teen).
  
  Like
  Reply
Jane Lucero
on Nov 25, 2020

Thanks for sharing this! I have three doors I need to patch. I will definitely try this before replacing them.

2
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How to Fix a Hole in the Door for Less Than $8

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