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Drywall is safe to cut as long as you follow proper procedures, such as wearing personal protective equipment and using the right tools to score and cut the drywall. When cutting new drywall, it can release dust with silica and other compounds that could pose health risks. Leave cutting drywall to the pros, or wear a high-quality respiratory mask, goggles, and other PPE when handling drywall.

If your home was built before the 1940s and was not remodeled in the past 50 or so years, you probably have plaster walls. Aside from assuming, there are some practical ways to tell if you have plaster walls, including the following: If you knock on the wall and it feels solid, not hollow, if you can’t insert a thumbtack easily, if there are cracks that look like spiderwebs, or if your home has curved, arched, or swirled walls, doorways, or window openings.

If you have an unfinished basement or attic, you could examine the backs of any finished walls to check, too.

When used correctly, drywall patch kits can work well. However, there are limitations. Specifically, these kits can only cover holes up to 5 inches in diameter. For anything larger than that, you’ll need to cut out the affected section of drywall and replace it with a new piece. That’s a far more complicated process that involves buying the right type of drywall, finding the wall studs, cutting into your wall, and screwing the replacement drywall in place.

Beadboard is a decorative element and lacks the structural integrity of drywall. It cannot hold much weight and is not meant to be used as an insulator or moisture barrier, like drywall is. In almost all cases, beadboard is placed over an existing wall surface which, in modern days, is usually drywall, but decades ago could have been wood paneling.