Drywall repairs

[Chuckanut]

I am looking to get an idea as to what is a fair price to pay to repair a hole in my ceiling. I had a plumbing leak upstairs and it was necesary to cut a hole into the downstairs ceiling to ge to the leak and repair it.

I now have a section of ceiling about 3x4 feet that needs replacing. It will need a new piece of drywall, taping, mud work and some light texturing. I will paint it myself.

I realize prices vary quite a bit depending on where one lives and the cost of doing business in that area, but I would like to get some idea of what such a repair will cost.

 

[Just_Steve]

That repair would cost about $200 in my area of NY.

 

[Brett_Cameron]

That repair would cost about $200 in my area of NY.

same here

 

[gerntz]

I haven't replace anything that big, maybe a 1' square max a couple times. You can add cross support 1x2's to back up the drywall & cut a piece to near-size & nail. Then mud in the gap & sand. If the edges aren't tapered as on full sheet, taping could leave an uneveness shadow.

 

[Music Lover]

The problem with drywall repairs is that it normally takes 3 coats
(if you're good), so someone has to come by 3 separate times. Or, use quick drying mud and hang around for 2-3 hours while it dries between coats.

The job is easy...the issue is finding someone willing to do such a small job. Finding someone that lives close would be an ideal solution as they can stop in for 5-10 minutes on their way to or from home over a few days.

 

[Jerry1]

You'd probably get a better price if you're willing to do the finish work. The problem isn't so much the cost or time, but that it will take a couple visits to the house. If it takes three visits, one for the main work, second for a second coat of mud and third for the final finish work, I'd say it would be had to get someone to do for less than $300 ($100 per visit), unless it's someone very close by.

 

[Ronstar]

You'd probably get a better price if you're willing to do the finish work. The problem isn't so much the cost or time, but that it will take a couple visits to the house. If it takes three visits, one for the main work, second for a second coat of mud and third for the final finish work, I'd say it would be had to get someone to do for less than $300 ($100 per visit), unless it's someone very close by.

I agree

 

[wolf]

Check out you-tube video. Very, very, simple repair. Unless, you are not mechanically inclined. All you need is, 4 x 8 sheet of dry wall, gallon premixed mortar, paper/fiberglass tape, drywall screws, various putty knives. Material costs excluding paint, should not be more than $ 25-30.

To make repair easy. Get a piece of cardboard larger than hole. Place Cardboard over the hole and trace on ceiling. Cut out the ceiling following your trace.

Put cardboard on drywall. Cut the drywall. Now just put the drywall in the "cut out" hole on the ceiling and screw in with drywall screws.

Of course. you may have to add a couple of 2x4 in the ceiling opening, so you can attach
you drywall patch to them. (Screw 2x4 to exiting ceiling joists.)

Also, if you do not want to wait for the drywall to dry, you can put on thin layer, and us hair dryer to speed up the drying. Not recommended. But it does work.

So simple.....

 

[Amethyst]

You'll want to paint the ceiling afterward.

 

[NW-Bound]

Or you can redecorate in the Bohemian style, and hang some tapestry from the ceiling to cover up the hole.

It's so easy, even a cat can do that.

 

[sheehs1]

I recently paid $450. But it was a problem area in my kitchen for years. It was first created by an ice dam in a roof valley and water leaked thru. All the regular repairs with tape and mud never held and it always "cracked again". Those cost me around $200 to $300 each time. I finally found an extremely good sheet rock guy who cut out large sections of sheet rock, found out there was a thin metal support strip between the two pieces of original sheet rock, which is why the tape and mud would not stick and that there was little to nothing to nail the sheet rock to. So he cut our large sections of sheetrock on either side the width of the room, put up several cross joints of 2 x 4's between the original joists, replaced the sheet rock, mudded, primed, etc. I'm doing the painting. And he had to drive an hour to get here....three trips.That area of the kitchen will not crack again! I am thrilled as it's hard to find people willing to do small jobs like this. It was only after a couple or three repairs that didn't hold that I knew that would not fix it again. Needed to find the reason the repairs were not holding. Most just wanted to tape and mud again.

 

[brucethebroker]

You'd probably get a better price if you're willing to do the finish work. The problem isn't so much the cost or time, but that it will take a couple visits to the house. If it takes three visits, one for the main work, second for a second coat of mud and third for the final finish work, I'd say it would be had to get someone to do for less than $300 ($100 per visit), unless it's someone very close by.

Yep.
Finish is a little dirty, but easy once you practice a little. Also easy to re-do if you mess up. Youtube it.

 

[Ronstar]

Yep.

Finish is a little dirty, but easy once you practice a little. Also easy to re-do if you mess up. Youtube it.

And don’t clean up the mess with a shopvac. It’ll spread drywall dust throughout the house

 

[Music Lover]

And don’t clean up the mess with a shopvac. It’ll spread drywall dust throughout the house

Less is more. It's better to use less mud and apply an extra coat or two which will eliminate almost all the sanding except on the final coat. In between coats you can knock off any high spots with the edge of the compound applicator.

I mudded my entire basement (800 sq. ft.) and only had to sand a little bit on the last coat. Unfortunately, some dust is unavoidable.

 

[calmloki]

I'm impressed by all you sheetrock repair types. While I have plenty of tricks for cutting patches and filling holes my finish work suuuuuucks. I can see it. I don't want to see it. Instead I happily pay our painter, who is a marvel with hot mud. Agree with MusicLover that a local who can stop by on his way past would be the best person for the job.

 

[Hermit]

And don’t clean up the mess with a shopvac. It’ll spread drywall dust throughout the house

Depends on shop vac. I have a HEPA filter in my shop vac. No dust.

 

[Ronstar]

Depends on shop vac. I have a HEPA filter in my shop vac. No dust.

I gotta get one of those - but hopefully I’ll never have to do any more drywall work. I just need to watch my step when I’m up in the attic.

 

[brucethebroker]

Less is more. It's better to use less mud and apply an extra coat or two which will eliminate almost all the sanding except on the final coat. In between coats you can knock off any high spots with the edge of the compound applicator.

I mudded my entire basement (800 sq. ft.) and only had to sand a little bit on the last coat. Unfortunately, some dust is unavoidable.

Less is best-you are correct. No shame in taking 4-5 tries to get it right. Also, lower dust mud will cost a little more but is well worth it.

 

[foxfirev5]

If you get it done for less than $500 I would hire a pro. If you DIY, Nine times out of ten you will still see the repair. This is particularly true if "light texturing" is involved to match the existing area. I've done numerous building projects but will not bother with drywall or roofs.

 

[Bamaman]

I have the exact repair to make in my garage ceiling. The ceiling is 10' high and not so easy to deal with.

If there is a smooth finish, it is an easy repair. If textured, it sometimes takes a pro.

 

[zinger1457]

I have the exact repair to make in my garage ceiling. The ceiling is 10' high and not so easy to deal with.

If there is a smooth finish, it is an easy repair. If textured, it sometimes takes a pro.

I did a few drywall repairs recently when I repainted my family room. The walls and ceiling have a knockdown texture so not really sure how it compares to the OP's 'light texture' but I found the texturing actually helps to hide the repair work. I used Homax brand spray wall texture that can be found in most home centers. It worked good for me but does take some practice beforehand to get the hang of it, I used old cardboard boxes to practice on. After painting I couldn't tell where the repair work was done.

The difficulty I had with the textured walls and ceiling was painting it afterwards, in my case the ceilings and walls are painted a different color. Very difficult to get a straight line cut in between the walls and ceiling, painters tape by itself just doesn't work in this case.

 

[Freedom56]

I am looking to get an idea as to what is a fair price to pay to repair a hole in my ceiling. I had a plumbing leak upstairs and it was necesary to cut a hole into the downstairs ceiling to ge to the leak and repair it.

I now have a section of ceiling about 3x4 feet that needs replacing. It will need a new piece of drywall, taping, mud work and some light texturing. I will paint it myself.

I realize prices vary quite a bit depending on where one lives and the cost of doing business in that area, but I would like to get some idea of what such a repair will cost.

It should not cost more than $150-$200 dollars. The material cost would be about $12. If I were you I would buy the the drywall piece and install it yourself with drywall screws. If you are not comfortable doing your own taping, plastering, and texture coating, hire someone to do that part. They would probably charge about $75-$100. What every you do, don't call a general contractor. Most painters can do the work.

 

[HadEnuff]

It it were I, I would scour the YouTube videos, and see if there aren't a few "how to" videos on doing such a repair.
You might not want to do it yourself after watching a few, but you might. I have found, on a few occasions, that doing smallish repairs, after learning a bit on YouTube about how to do it, was less work than trying to find someone to do a reasonable job.

Good luck!

 

[zinger1457]

I have found, on a few occasions, that doing smallish repairs, after learning a bit on YouTube about how to do it, was less work than trying to find someone to do a reasonable job.

I would agree, just take your time and you'll likely learn a useful skill in the process, and get a lot of satisfaction when it's finished. The worst that could happen doing it yourself is that it ends up looking like s*** and you're back where you started looking to hire someone to do it.

 

[Senator]

I have the exact repair to make in my garage ceiling. The ceiling is 10' high and not so easy to deal with.

If there is a smooth finish, it is an easy repair. If textured, it sometimes takes a pro.

A popcorn ceiling is very easy... The ceiling part makes it difficult.