What affects the price of drywall repair

Size and number of holes

Nail holes and small dings are simple fills. A doorknob hole needs a patch, several coats and sanding. A hole larger than a hand needs a new piece of drywall screwed to backing. Several holes in one room take less time each than separate visits, because compound coats can dry together.

Walls versus ceilings

Ceiling patches take longer than wall patches. Working overhead is slower, compound sags, and the light across a ceiling shows every flaw. Ceilings with water damage also need the cause fixed and the area dried before patching. See leak repair.

Texture

Smooth walls need the most careful finishing, because every ridge shows. Orange peel and knockdown textures need to be sprayed or troweled to match. Matching texture takes practice and sometimes a few test passes. Popcorn ceilings are a separate question entirely; see popcorn ceiling removal.

Drying time and visits

Joint compound needs time to dry between coats. A large patch might need two or three coats, with drying time between them. Quick-setting compound speeds things up for small patches. The number of visits drives cost more than the material does.

Paint

A patch is not finished until it is painted. If you have leftover paint and the wall has not faded, a touch-up can blend. If not, painting the wall corner to corner makes the patch disappear.

Whether paint is included changes the quote, and we say which option we are pricing. See painting and touch-ups.

Hidden problems

Cutting out damaged drywall sometimes reveals more: wet insulation, a leaking pipe, rot, pests. We stop, show you, and price any extra before going further.

Garages and fire-rated walls

The wall and ceiling between an attached garage and the house are usually built with fire-rated drywall. Patches there should use the same type. It is a small detail that matters.

What to send

A photo of each hole with something for scale, a wide photo of the wall or ceiling, and a note on texture and paint. See drywall repair.

Corners and edges

Outside corners have metal or paper corner bead. Dented or cracked bead needs to be replaced or reinforced, which adds time compared with a flat patch. Inside corners take careful taping so they stay crisp.

Cracks that come back

Cracks at the corners of doors and windows often return because the framing moves slightly. Taping them with mesh and setting compound reduces that, and a flexible finish can help. If cracks keep growing, the cause may be structural, and we will say so.

Tape that peels

In older homes, drywall tape can lift and bubble along joints. Each bubbling section needs to be cut out and retaped. A long run of failing joints in a room takes more time than a single patch.

Anchor holes

Removing shelves, TV mounts and heavy anchors leaves large holes with torn paper. Torn paper needs to be sealed before compound, or it bubbles. We include that step in the quote.

Rental turnovers

Turnovers usually have many small holes from pictures and anchors across several rooms. Doing all of them at once, with a single round of paint, keeps the cost reasonable.

Outlets and switches in the patch

When a patch surrounds an outlet or a switch, the cover plate comes off, the box edges get finished neatly, and the plate goes back on. If the box itself is loose or broken, it needs repair before patching, which we note in the quote so it is handled first.

Small holes versus a whole wall

At some point, many patches in one wall take as long as skimming the entire wall. When a wall has dozens of holes, dents and old tape lines, a full skim coat gives a cleaner result and may not cost much more than spot patching. We point out when that is the case.

Access and furniture

Patches behind heavy furniture, above stairs or on high ceilings need furniture moved or taller ladders. Clearing the area before the visit helps. We cover floors and nearby furniture either way.

Doorknob holes and stops

A doorknob hole usually means the door has no stop. Adding a door stop when patching keeps the patch from being punched again next week.

Matching old plaster

Some older homes in the valley have plaster walls, not drywall. Plaster patches use different materials and techniques, and texture can be hard to match. A plaster wall with a large crack network may be better skimmed over a whole section. We tell you which walls are plaster when we see photos.

Bathrooms and kitchens

Patches near tubs, sinks and stoves use moisture-resistant board and compound. In wet spots, the paint finish matters too, so the patch is painted with a satin or semi-gloss that matches the room.

Quote format

We list each patch, whether texture and paint are included, and how many visits it should take.