I'm not proud of having a door with a hole in it, but at least it is not so noticeable now. Your eye does not go straight to it. --71.219.xxx.xxx

With hollow core doors with holes, you can stuff them with news paper then use regular wall joint compounds to fill in the hole. Let it dry, sand, add one more coat. Sand then prime and paint. Or sometimes I'll use expanding foam, let it dry and cut off the excess, spackle, sand, prime and paint. --47.155.xx.xxx

Thanks Robert. Another good idea if you have time. --71.219.xxx.xxx

I still have some hollow core doors. I just patched 2 holes bigger than my thumb w Adhesive backed spackle tape and feathered out compound over a 2 ft area. not noticible at all. I'm see how it holds up. bondo is also excellent for repair but way more involved process. --172.58.xxx.xx

Another ‘cheap patch’ we use is to give wood floors a very good cleaning, then simply add two coats of polyurethane. Not a complete refinish, or even a partial refinish, worn traffic patterns are still evident. But really brings back the beauty. One new tenant commented that she loved that the floors weren’t perfect, but still looked good. She said they will still be careful, but now they won’t stress with worry over dinging a perfect floor. (And, so far, so good, years later.) Key is to test the poly in a closet first. If it applies nicely, good to go. If it bubbles anytime in process, stop there, do more research. --70.92.xxx.xxx

They are usually punch or kick marks. We've found that if they are on the outside of the bathroom door, usually kick marks and it's domestic violence as one person locks themselves in the bathroom and the other tries to kick the door down. If on a bedroom door usually punch marks. --50.82.xxx.xxx

This was at the bottom, but a door that leads from a dining room into a bedroom (I know, these odd 30's bungalows, 2 bedrooms on left side of house & LR/DR on right side, kitchen on back side of house) so very noticeable. --71.219.xxx.xxx

Spray foam with a topping of joint compound works. --71.174.xx.xxx

I suggested to my partner that we should go to solid doors. He said no, if the door is solid and they kick it, then the frame will split. The frame is harder to replace than the door. He was right. We simply replaced the hollow core doors. We had it down to a science. Two "non-mortising" hinges screw it right up. Cut the holes for the knob and put it in. Done. Stopped bothering with any type of paint or stain, why bother? --73.141.xxx.xxx

I have patched hollow core doors with joint compound and tape.This is kind of pathetic,everyone of us has had multiple tenants punch holes in doors and walls but probably very few holes in doors or walls of our own residences.They are tenants for a reason --72.231.xxx.xxx

--96.241.xxx.xxx

I do what Busy does, albeit with a screw threaded into the strip of wood instead of a string. When the glue is dry, I just unscrew the screw and patch. --100.34.x.xx