Looking for: California patch Click here to ENTER California Drywall Patch. The piece of drywall that you cut should be the same shape as the hole you are repairing but be larger all around. See the diagram beside for a better understanding. Break the drywall along all four sides where you just scored the backer paper. As you pull the small strips from each side it should tear away from the paper that is on the front of the piece of drywall. Pull the gypsum completely from the paper leaving only gypsum in the center of your patch with paper flaps extending on all four sides. Click to enlarge the photos for more details. Now you are ready to prepare the hole the wall that you are trying to repair. Score the paper on the surface surrounding the hole to be repaired. Remove the paper from around the hole. This provides an area for the paper flaps to be placed and makes the final patch flatter in relation to the surrounding drywall rather than sitting on top of the surround