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San Diego Drywall Contractor.

Drywall repair and installation across San Diego County, with texture matching on every job. Workmanship guaranteed, zero mess left behind.

  • Free Fast Estimates
  • Texture Matched, Not Just Patched
  • Local, Family-Owned for 15+ Years
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Why Call Us First

3 Reasons San Diego Trusts Us With Drywall

If you're comparing drywall contractors, here's the short version of what makes us different.

1

Drywall Texture Matching That Makes Repairs Disappear

Anyone can fill a hole. The job is making it invisible, and that means texture matching is included in every repair we quote. We test the match before committing, feather the patch wide, and check it under harsh angled light, the kind that makes every flaw cast a shadow. In the rare case that a perfect spot match isn't realistic on your wall, we tell you before we start.

2

Drywall Specialists for 15+ Years

We built this company on San Diego popcorn ceiling removal, and every one of those jobs ends in drywall repair, skim coating, and finish work, done overhead, where gravity punishes shortcuts. Thousands of ceilings later, wall repairs are the comfortable half of our week. Same crew, same dust-free containment, same zero mess guarantee.

3

Licensed & Insured Drywall Contractor, Firm Written Quotes

Licensed and insured, happy to show proof before work starts, and every job gets a firm written number instead of an hourly guess that grows. Small repairs get small-job pricing, not a big-crew minimum. And if something isn't worth fixing, or is genuinely a DIY job, we'll tell you on the phone for free.

What We Do

Drywall Repair & Installation Services in San Diego

Drywall, Sheetrock, wallboard, gypsum board: different names for the same walls. From a single nail pop to a whole garage hung and finished, if it involves drywall or a ceiling, it's what we do all day.

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Drywall & Sheetrock Repair: Holes, Cracks & Nail Pops

About to repair a doorknob hole in a San Diego home's drywall

Whether it's doorknob holes, furniture dings, anchor holes from a TV mount that moved, cracks above doors and windows, or those little circles that pop out of the wall as a house settles. Whether you call it fixing drywall or fixing sheetrock, it's the same repair, and it's the first thing your eye finds in an otherwise nice room.

We cut out the damage, patch with real backing so it never flexes or cracks again, then feather the compound out wide and match your texture. No bandaid patches, no bulges you can see in the afternoon light.

  • Hole in the wall repair with solid backing, from doorknobs to full punch-throughs
  • Drywall crack repair at the seam, so settling cracks don't come back
  • Nail pop repair secured with screws, not just spackled over
  • Wall patching before you sell, move out, or return a rental deposit
◍

Water Damage Drywall Repair

Water damaged drywall about to be cut out and replaced in a San Diego home

Once drywall gets wet, it stains, swells, and goes soft, and it doesn't recover on its own.

First thing to do is to fix the source of the leak first. Then we handle the rest: cut out everything that got wet, make sure the framing is dry, hang new board, and finish it so the room looks like nothing ever happened. And if we open a wall and find a problem for a plumber or a mold specialist, we stop and tell you. We don't seal trouble inside a wall. Got a stained popcorn ceiling instead? We do popcorn ceiling repair and can get that fixed in the same visit.

  • Water damaged drywall removal and replacement, walls and ceilings
  • Moisture checked with a meter before we close anything up
  • Water stains sealed so they never bleed through fresh paint
  • Drywall repair after a leak, flood, or plumbing failure, coordinated with your plumber
⌫

Drywall Removal (Tear-Out)

Drywall removed down to clean exposed framing during a tear-out in a San Diego home

Some projects start with taking drywall out. Maybe a slab leak or roof failure soaked the board, a ceiling needs to come down before a remodel, or a room has to go back to studs so the electrician or plumber can work. The demolition itself is straightforward. What matters is how much dust escapes, where the debris goes, and what condition the framing is in when we leave.

We handle all three. We cut the board out at the seams instead of smashing it, contain the dust the same way we do on repair jobs, and haul the debris ourselves. You're left with clean, exposed framing that's ready for new drywall, whether we hang the replacement or your GC's crew does. And if we find mold behind the board, we stop and show you before going further, because mold containment is a separate job, and you should approve it before anyone bills for it.

  • Water- and fire-damaged drywall removed under full dust containment
  • Ceiling tear-outs handled ahead of remodels and repairs
  • Debris hauled and disposed of, with framing left clean and ready to hang
  • Removal-only jobs welcome, since we never require the re-hang to take the work
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Drywall Installation: Garages, ADUs & Additions

New drywall installation in a San Diego garage conversion

Finishing a garage, converting one into an ADU, or adding a room? We hang, tape, and finish new drywall for residential projects all over San Diego. With the city's push for ADUs, a lot of our installation work lately is garage conversions and backyard units that need to feel like real living space, not a garage with paint.

We work with your GC or directly with you, use the right board for each spot (including Type X fire-rated drywall where the code requires it), and finish to whatever level the room calls for. Straight walls, crisp corners, no ridges at the seams. For pricing, timelines, and commercial build-outs, see our full guide to drywall installation in San Diego.

  • Drywall hanging, taping, and finishing for garages, ADUs, and room additions
  • Garage conversion drywall with Type X fire-rated board where code requires it
  • New drywall finished to the right level, from garage-grade to Level 5 smooth
  • Drywall subcontractor for GCs and remodelers, working from your schedule
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Skim Coating & Smooth Wall Finishes

Skim coating textured walls to a smooth finish in San Diego

Want the texture gone entirely? Skim coating buries old texture, damage, and decades of touch-ups under thin coats of compound, sanded flat. It's the same Level 5 finish work we do on smooth ceiling conversions, but made for your walls.

Fair warning: smooth is the least forgiving finish. Texture hides small flaws, but a smooth wall shows every one, especially in San Diego's afternoon light. So we build it in multiple passes, feather wide, sand carefully, and check the work under raking light before we call it done. The result is walls that look like glass under paint.

  • Skim coating over orange peel and knockdown to create smooth walls
  • Texture removal for walls, taken to a flat modern finish
  • Level 5 smooth finish for rooms with strong natural light
  • Primer-ready when we leave, or wall painting handled if you'd like
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Drywall Ceiling Repair & Replacement

Sagging drywall ceiling overhead in a San Diego home, about to be repaired

Ceilings are our home turf. Sagging sheetrock, cracks running along the seams, stains from an old leak, or a section that got soft and needs to come out. Overhead work is heavier and messier than wall repair, which is why a lot of handymen pass on it. We do it every week.

We contain the room, cut out the bad section, hang new board, and finish it to match the rest of the ceiling, whether that's smooth, orange peel, knockdown, or popcorn. Full pricing and every ceiling problem we fix, from water stains to sagging plaster, is on our San Diego ceiling repair page.

  • Sagging and water-damaged ceiling sections replaced
  • Seam cracks re-taped so they don't come back
  • Texture matched so the repair blends into the rest of the ceiling
  • Full dust containment, your furniture and floors stay clean
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Drywall Patching & Texture Matching

In most of the "bad patch" photos people send us, the repair itself is ok, but the texture around it gives it away.

We match orange peel, knockdown, skip trowel, hand textures, and popcorn texture, adjusting the compound mix and spray until a test patch blends into what's already on your wall. On older homes where the texture has been painted over a few times, we'll tell you honestly how close the match can get before any work starts.

  • Wall texture matching for orange peel, knockdown, skip trowel, and popcorn
  • We can fix bad drywall patch repair
  • Ceiling texture matching after leaks, patches, and past repairs
  • Whole-wall texture blending when a spot match won't cut it
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Popcorn & Cottage Cheese Ceiling Removal

Removing popcorn and cottage cheese ceiling texture is where our drywall skills came from, since every removal ends with repair, skim coating, and a clean finish.

Start on our popcorn ceiling removal page, and there's a full cost guide and calculator too.

  • Wet-scrape removal with full containment, zero mess
  • Smooth or knockdown finish, your choice
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Small Drywall Jobs & Move-Out Repairs

Not every drywall job is a project. Sometimes it's one patch before a deposit walk-through, a few touch-ups before listing photos, or the short list of dings your painter pointed out and declined. We run small jobs in batches, which keeps them quick for us and fairly priced for you.

For landlords and property managers, tenant-turnover patching is routine work for us. We slot in and keep the unit on schedule to show.

  • Small drywall repair jobs, from a single patch to a short punch list
  • Drywall touch-ups before selling, listing photos, or a home inspection
  • Rental turnover drywall repair, coordinated with your painter
  • Drywall repair after plumbing, electrical, and solar work, closed up and texture matched
What Your Walls Are Telling You

Common Drywall Problems in San Diego Homes (and What They Mean)

Half the calls we get start with a description. Here's what we see most around San Diego, what usually causes it, and how serious it tends to be.

Drywall Cracks Above Doors and Windows

The corners of doors and windows are the weakest points in a wall, so when a house settles, that's where the stress shows up first. On hillside and canyon lots in La Mesa, Del Cerro, and Mt. Helix we see these constantly, and they're usually cosmetic.

The fix that lasts is re-taping the joint, not smearing filler in the crack. Filler alone cracks again within a year. Quick test: if you can slide a fingernail into it, the tape underneath has let go and it needs a real repair, not another coat of paint. And if a crack is wide, growing, or paired with doors that stick, have us look at it in person. Nine times out of ten it's still just settling, and if it's not, we'll tell you to get a foundation opinion before we patch anything.

Nail Pops Showing Through the Paint

Those small round bumps or craters are the heads of nails backing out of the stud as wood framing dries and moves over the years. Mid-century homes in Clairemont and Allied Gardens are full of them, and new construction gets them too after the first couple of summers.

Pushing them in or dabbing paint over them doesn't work for long. Instead, we pull or sink the nail, add a drywall screw above and below so the board can't move, then patch and match. Done that way, they don't return.

Brown Water Stains on the Ceiling

A brown ring means water got to the drywall at some point. Upstairs bathrooms and water heaters are the usual suspects, and in condos it's often the neighbor's unit.

Once the leak is fixed, what happens next depends on the drywall. Still firm? We seal the stain with a stain-blocking primer, re-texture, and paint. Gone soft? That section comes out and new board goes in. Either way, don't just paint over it: an unsealed water stain bleeds right through fresh paint within weeks.

A Patch You Can See From Across the Room

Bad patches usually fail one of two ways: the compound wasn't feathered wide enough, so there's a bulge you can see, or the texture doesn't match the wall around it.

We fix other people's patches all the time. Usually that means widening the repair area, blending the texture further out, and repainting the whole wall so there's no flashing where new paint meets old. We can handle this from start to finish.

Soft, Bubbling or Bulging Sheetrock

Drywall that gives when you press it, or paint that's bubbling off the surface, means moisture got into the board at some point. We see it most in coastal homes around Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, and Point Loma, and in bathrooms without a good exhaust fan.

Soft drywall doesn't firm back up, so we first find and fix the moisture source, swap out the wet section, and finish it to match. On the rare cases where we find mold behind the board, we'll show you what we found and get it handled properly before we close anything up.

Cracked or Dented Corners

Corners in your home take many hits: moving furniture, kids, vacuum cleaners. Under the compound there's a metal or plastic corner bead, and once it's dented or cracked loose, no amount of filler keeps the corner looking straight.

In these cases, we replace the damaged section of bead, refinish, and match the texture. It's a small job that makes hallways and stairwells look years newer, and it's a favorite on pre-listing punch lists.

Not sure what you're looking at? Call (619) 825-1802 and describe it. We can usually tell you over the phone what it likely is, how urgent it is, and roughly what the fix costs. Estimates are always free.

Typical Pricing

Drywall Repair & Installation Cost in San Diego (2026)

Repairs, new installation, removal and retexturing are priced differently. Here's what projects typically cost in San Diego so you're not guessing:

Single Patch
$250–$550

One hole or crack, texture matched

Ceiling Repair
$350–$1,000+

Stains, sags, seam cracks

New Drywall Install
$2.50–$4.50+ per square foot

Hung, taped & finished, Level 4

ADU / Garage Drywall
$4,000–$12,000+

Full hang & finish, fire-rated where required

Drywall Repair Costs in San Diego
Repair What's Involved Typical Cost
Small repairs
Nail pops, anchor holes, dings		 Patch, feather, texture match, ready for paint. Priced as a batch, so a list of small repairs costs far less per patch than one alone $150–$350 per visit
Single patch job
Doorknob holes, one repair		 Cut out damage, install backing, patch, tape, texture match. Most single-repair calls land here $250–$550
Larger hole or multiple patches
Punch-throughs, patch lists		 Bigger cutouts need backing or framing attachment and wider feathering; multiple patches batch efficiently in one visit $400–$800
Settling crack repair
Cracks above doors & seams		 Cutting back and re-taping the joint so the crack doesn't return, not just surface filler $250–$600
Drywall ceiling repair
Seam cracks, stains, small sections		 Overhead work with containment, new board where needed, texture blended into the existing ceiling $350–$1,000+
Water damage repair
After the leak is fixed		 Remove wet board, verify dryness with a moisture meter, replace, seal stains, refinish. Size of the wet area drives the price $450–$1,500+
Drywall removal (tear-out)
Demo only, disposal included		 Board cut out at the seams with dust containment, debris hauled, framing left clean and ready for new drywall. Ceilings run 20–40% more than walls, and mold-affected board is quoted separately after we see it $0.75–$2.50 per sq ft
Skim coating walls
Texture to smooth		 Multiple thin coats over existing texture, sanded flat. Priced by square foot, higher for Level 5 finish $2.00–$4.50/sq ft
Drywall Installation Costs in San Diego
Project What's Involved Typical Cost
Hang & finish, Level 4
The standard finish		 New board hung, taped, and finished smooth and even in normal light. Materials and labor included $2.50–$4.50/sq ft
Level 5 smooth upgrade
For strong light & dark paint		 A full skim coat over the entire surface on top of Level 4. Worth it in San Diego's raking afternoon light +$0.50–$1.00/sq ft
5/8" Type X fire-rated board
Garages & ADU shared walls		 Code-required between attached garages and living space. A small upcharge now versus a demolished wall after a failed inspection +$0.25–$0.50/sq ft
Moisture-resistant board
Bathrooms, laundry, coastal		 Green board and cement board where steam and humidity live. Standard practice for us near the coast +$0.15–$0.30/sq ft
Standard room (12'×12')
Walls and ceiling		 Roughly 530 square feet of surface once every wall and the ceiling are counted, finished to Level 4 $1,300–$2,400
ADU or garage conversion
Full hang & finish		 Complete drywall for the unit, fire-rated board where code requires it, coordinated with insulation and your inspection schedule $4,000–$12,000+

Ranges cover labor and materials. A useful rule of thumb when comparing per-square-foot quotes: your drywall surface area is usually 3–4x your floor square footage once every wall and ceiling is counted. Painting, mold remediation, and plumbing are separate, and every job gets a free specific estimate before work starts.

What Makes One Quote Higher Than Another?

  • Texture matching. Orange peel matches quickly, but an older hand texture under five coats of paint takes real time to do properly so it looks seamless.
  • Access. A clear first-floor wall costs less than a vaulted ceiling, a stairwell, or a tight hallway where everything needs protecting.
  • What's behind the damage. One water stain sometimes turns out to be a wider soft spot once the wall is open. We check with a moisture meter and quote what we find, before we start.
  • Older construction. Pre-1960s homes in North Park, Kensington, and South Park often have plaster instead of drywall, which repairs differently and usually costs more. We can handle plaster and drywall.
  • Finish level. Level 5 costs more than Level 4 because it's a full skim coat over everything, not spot work. Our finish levels guide explains which one your room needs.

What does a drywall contractor charge per hour in San Diego, CA?

Drywall contractors who bill hourly typically charge $50-$100 per hour. We quote per job instead, because hourly billing puts you in a strange spot: you're paying for time you can't see or control. Compound has to dry between coats, so a proper repair is often two visits, and on an hourly clock you'd wonder what each trip is costing you. With a per-job quote, none of that is your problem. You know the exact number before we start, it doesn't change if the repair needs an extra pass, and we have every reason to work efficiently. The estimate you approve is the check you write.

Bundling tip: the most cost-effective time to fix walls is when we're already there for ceilings. For example, many of our popcorn ceiling removal projects add a wall repair list for a fraction of what a separate visit would cost, since containment and setup are already done.

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What to Expect

How Our Drywall Repair Process Works

Whether it's one patch or a whole garage, you'll know the price before we start, the room stays clean while we work, and the schedule we give you is the schedule we keep.

1

Free Drywall Repair Estimate

Call us and we can give you a ballpark range. For anything beyond a simple patch we come out, check what's behind the damage, and give you a firm written number. If something's not worth fixing, or worth fixing differently than you expected, we say so.

2

Dust Containment & Room Protection

Floors covered, furniture moved or wrapped, plastic where sanding will happen. Drywall dust travels if you let it, so we don't let it. This is the same containment habit we built doing ceiling work, where the mess potential is far worse.

3

Patching, Taping & Backing Done Right

Damage cut back to solid material, backing installed so patches can't flex, seams re-taped instead of smeared over, screws where nails failed. Then compound in thin coats, dried and sanded between passes. Rushing this step is how patches crack again, so we take time and care.

4

Texture Match, Final Check & Cleanup

Texture matched to the surrounding wall or ceiling, primer-ready or painted depending on what we agreed. Then we vacuum, wipe down, and haul out everything we brought. You should be able to use the room that evening.

What Some Contractors Get Wrong

Texture Matching: Why Some Repairs Disappear and Others Don't

Here's a secret about drywall repair: the patching is the easy half. San Diego homes carry sixty years of different wall textures, and matching yours is what separates an invisible repair from a wall that forever says "something happened here."

How to Identify Your Wall Texture

Orange peel is the fine, slightly bumpy spray texture on most San Diego tract homes from the 1980s onward, think Mira Mesa, Rancho Peñasquitos, and most of Chula Vista's newer neighborhoods. Knockdown is flatter and mottled, sprayed then lightly troweled, common in 1990s and newer builds. Skip trowel and hand textures show up in custom and Spanish-style homes in Point Loma, Kensington, and Rancho Santa Fe. Smooth is what everyone wants now, but it's the least forgiving to repair, since there's no pattern to hide in. And popcorn lives on ceilings in most pre-1990 homes, which we service as popcorn ceiling removal.

Why Spray-Can Texture Patches Never Match

Aerosol texture cans are the number one reason we get called to redo repairs. The droplet size is wrong, the pattern is wrong, and it goes on in a perfect circle that outlines the patch it was supposed to hide. Real matching means adjusting compound thickness, air pressure, and technique until test patches blend, and on some textures it means blending across the whole wall rather than spot-matching. It takes patience and experience to get it perfect so the repair disappears.

Matching Texture That's Been Painted Over

Every layer of paint softens and rounds a texture. A 1975 orange peel wall with five paint jobs on it doesn't look like fresh orange peel anymore, so a textbook match will look too sharp and out of place. We match what your wall looks like today, not what it looked like when it was sprayed.

Why Quotes Don't Match

Drywall Finish Levels 0–5, Explained Simply

This is a common reason two "smooth wall" quotes come back with different prices. When you know which level your room needs, you can compare bids apples to apples.

Drywall Finish Levels 0–5
Level What It Looks Like Where It Belongs
Level 0–1 Bare board with visible seams and screw heads. Looks unfinished. Temporary walls, attics, spaces nobody will ever see
Level 2 Seams taped and roughly coated. You can still see every joint, think unfinished garage walls Garages kept as garages, storage, behind cabinets and tile
Level 3 Joints hidden well enough for heavy texture to cover the rest. Looks patchy until the texture goes on Walls getting heavy knockdown or spray texture
Level 4 Smooth and even in normal light. What you're probably looking at right now in most rooms of your house The standard finish in most San Diego homes, under orange peel or flat paint
Level 5 Perfectly flat even in harsh light, no shadows, no seam ghosts. The "glass under paint" look Smooth-wall remodels, dark or glossy paint, and San Diego's sun-drenched west-facing rooms

San Diego lighting: our light is strong and direct most of the year, and raking afternoon sun exposes every seam that a Level 4 finish would hide in a dimmer climate. If you're going smooth, going dark, or using anything glossier than flat paint on a west-facing wall, ask for Level 5. It's the finish we default to on our smooth ceiling conversions for exactly this reason.

The Right Board for the Job

Types of Drywall: Which One Does Your Project Need?

Not every wall needs the same board. The wrong choice means paying for an upgrade your wall doesn't need, or failing an inspection with board that doesn't meet code.

Standard 1/2 Inch Drywall for Walls & Ceilings

This is the default for interior walls and ceilings in dry areas, and the right answer for the vast majority of a home. It's also inexpensive, roughly $12 to $18 per sheet before labor. That matters when you're comparing quotes: if a bid specs premium board for an ordinary bedroom wall, that's upselling. Knowing this can save you a lot of money on a larger job.

5/8" Type X Fire-Rated Drywall for Garages & ADUs

Building code requires fire-rated drywall on any wall or ceiling that sits between an attached garage and the living space, and on walls shared between two units. So if you're converting a garage or building an ADU, those specific walls must get Type X board. Here's the good news: it only costs a few dollars more per sheet than standard board, so doing it right isn't expensive. What is expensive is tearing open a finished wall to swap the board after a failed inspection. Inspectors check for it; casual installers skip it.

Moisture-Resistant Drywall & Cement Board for Bathrooms

These are the boards for bathrooms, laundry rooms, and anywhere else that sees steam or humidity every day. Cement board goes behind tiled showers and tub surrounds, and moisture-resistant drywall covers the rest of the room. In coastal homes around Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, and Point Loma, we use both more often than inland homes need, because salt air eventually gets into ordinary board.

Soundproof Drywall for ADUs & Shared Walls

Soundproof drywall is worth considering when noise crossing a wall actually matters: an ADU you'll rent out, a home office, or bedrooms that share a wall. The specialty sheets run $60 to $100+ each, four to five times the price of standard board, and they're not magic on their own, though paired with proper sealing they make a difference you can hear. When we quote, we'll tell you whether it's worth it for your wall, or whether standard board with insulation gets you most of the way there for a lot less.

When we quote, we spec the board each wall actually needs and tell you why, so you can hold any bid, including ours, to the same standard.

Honest Advice

Is it Cheaper to DIY or Hire For Drywall?

For small repairs, DIY is cheaper, and we'll talk you out of hiring us. But for most repairs beyond that, hiring out is cheaper than it looks, because the sticker prices you're comparing aren't the true costs. The $40 patch kit is just the entry fee. A real repair also needs a drywall saw, a mud pan, taping knives in a couple of widths, sanding blocks, a dust mask, joint compound, primer, and paint, and if it's a ceiling, something sturdier than a kitchen chair. Price it all out and a "cheap" DIY repair is often $150 to $200 in tools and materials before your first weekend is spent.

Patching the hole is genuinely easy, which is why DIY guides make the whole job look easy. But the patch is step one of three. Matching texture is a spray-rig technique that aerosol cans fake badly, and blending paint into a wall that's aged for ten years is a color-match problem even pros take a long time to learn properly. Most failed DIY repairs we see aren't sloppy work. They're a well-done patch wearing the wrong texture and a paint rectangle that's half a shade off, sitting in San Diego's raking afternoon light, which shows every edge that would hide in a dimmer room. When we're called to redo one, removing the first attempt adds time, so that visit quotes higher than the original repair would have. In a market where homes often list for $1M+, that's the math that makes hiring a drywall contractor the cheap option.

Can I Repair Drywall Myself?

For some repairs, absolutely. Nail holes and small dings: spackle, sand, touch-up paint, done. A single small hole on a smooth wall with leftover matching paint is also very doable with a patch kit and patience. If that's your situation, you don't need us, and we'll tell you that on the phone.

Where DIY Drywall Repair Usually Goes Sideways

Four situations account for most of the DIY redos we get called about:

  • Textured walls. The patch itself usually comes out fine. The trouble is the spray-can texture: the can sprays in a round burst, so you end up with a circle of texture that doesn't quite match, outlining the exact spot you were trying to hide. This is the most common redo we see.
  • Ceilings. Spreading joint compound over your head is much harder than it sounds. It wants to fall as you smooth it, every coat fights you, and an uneven ceiling patch ends up being the most visible flaw in the room.
  • Water damage. The patch is the easy part here. The real question is whether anything inside the wall is still wet, and closing it up too early traps the problem. Worth a phone call before you seal anything.
  • Settling cracks. These cracks follow the seams in the wall, and the wall flexes slightly as the house settles and the seasons change. Surface filler is rigid, so the next time the wall moves, the same crack opens right through it. The fix that lasts is re-taping the seam underneath, which is built to move with the wall.

Our rule of thumb: if the wall is smooth, the damage is smaller than your palm, and it's not a ceiling, try it yourself first. If it's textured, overhead, wet, or bigger than that, one professional visit is usually the cheapest path to a wall you never think about again. Handling ceiling textures has its own tradeoffs, which we cover in our DIY vs. professional popcorn removal comparison.

Before You Hire Anyone

How to Choose a Drywall Contractor in San Diego

Drywall attracts a wide range of operators, from excellent specialty crews to whoever answered the handyman ad first. A few minutes of checking saves a lot of regret, whoever you end up hiring:

Ask how they'll match your texture. This is the question that separates drywall people from patch-and-dash. A good answer mentions test patches, blending, and what happens if the match isn't close enough. A shrug, or "we spray it from a can," tells you what the finished wall will look like.

Doing an ADU or garage conversion? Ask about fire-rated board. Their answer should mention Type X drywall on walls shared with living space without you prompting it. San Diego's ADU boom has pulled a lot of casual installers into conversion work. Here's what a failed inspection over the wrong board costs you: the finished wall gets demolished and hauled away, the right board goes up, and then all the taping, finishing, and texture you already paid for has to get done a second time, while the project sits waiting on re-inspection. You end up paying for that wall two times over, plus demolition. It's a four-figure mistake on most conversions, but a thirty-second question up front.

Ask what's included, and what's warrantied. "Drywall repair" means different things on different quotes. The big one is paint: many drywall quotes end at "primer-ready," which means you're hiring a painter afterward or doing it yourself, so ask which one you're getting. Other details that add up: Is texture matching in the price or an add-on? Who moves the furniture and covers the floors? Does cleanup include hauling the debris, or does it stay in your driveway? On water repairs, is stain-blocking primer included, or will the ring bleed through your new paint? And on the warranty, ask what it actually covers and for how long. A year against cracking and the patch showing through is reasonable to expect, and it belongs in writing, not a handshake. Two quotes that look hundreds of dollars apart are often identical once you fill in these blanks.

Beware the too-small and the too-big. Some big outfits won't return calls for a patch, and some solo operators take on garage-scale finishing they can't deliver cleanly. Ask what size jobs make up most of their work, and listen for whether yours fits.

Then verify the license. Look the contractor up on the CSLB site (search "CSLB license check"). California requires a license for any job over $1,000, labor and materials combined, which covers nearly all water damage and multi-room work. Watch for the classic dodge: an unlicensed operator offering to split a big job into several small invoices to stay under the line. The CSLB page also shows whether their workers' comp is current, which matters more than people think, because an uninsured worker hurt on a ladder in your home can become your homeowner's policy's problem.

Drywall Repairman vs. Drywall Contractor: Is There a Difference?

People search for both, so it's worth clearing up: a drywall repairman and a drywall contractor do the same work. The label mostly signals what you're picturing. "Repairman" sounds like one experienced guy who shows up, fixes the hole, and leaves the room clean. "Contractor" sounds like a crew, paperwork, and a minimum charge that makes a single patch feel silly to call about.

If it's the repairman you're after, that's still us. We do not have a big-crew minimum. But you still get the license, the insurance, and the written workmanship guarantee, and California requires a license on any job over $1,000 anyway, including materials. So whether you searched for a drywall repairman near you or a drywall contractor, you can call us: (619) 825-1802.

Local Knowledge

Drywall Repair Across San Diego County Neighborhoods

Sixty years of building booms left every San Diego neighborhood with its own wall quirks. Knowing what era you're in usually tells us half of what we'll find:

Sheetrock Repair in Clairemont, Allied Gardens & La Mesa

Homes from the 1950s and 60s mean nail-fastened drywall (hello, nail pops), settling cracks on the hillside lots, and popcorn ceilings that often predate 1980. The great news is that original drywall repairs beautifully once it's fastened properly.

Sheetrock Contractor for Mira Mesa, Rancho Peñasquitos & Chula Vista

The 1970s and 80s tracts are orange peel country, and production-speed original finishes mean seams and corner bead show their age around year thirty. These are our bread-and-butter repairs, and our texture matching here is seamless.

Plaster & Drywall Repair in North Park, South Park & Kensington

Craftsman-era houses often have plaster, or plaster patched with drywall from decades of remodels. The two materials meet badly when repaired casually. We repair both and know where each one wants a different touch, the same approach we use on older coastal cottages up in Encinitas and Leucadia.

Coastal Drywall Repair in Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach & Point Loma

Salt air and marine moisture are hard on drywall: soft spots, corner rust bleeding through paint, and bathroom walls that never quite dry out. We use moisture-appropriate materials near the coast and seal repairs so they hold up, the same battle we fight on coastal ceilings in Carlsbad.

Smooth Walls & Level 5 Finishes in La Jolla, Del Mar & Carmel Valley

Remodels here usually mean taking texture out entirely: skim-coated walls, Level 5 ceilings, and finish work that survives designer lighting and ocean-facing glass. It's the most exacting drywall work we do, and the neighborhoods where a visible patch costs the most at resale.

ADU & Garage Conversion Drywall in Encanto, College Area & City Heights

San Diego's permit numbers put Encanto and Southeastern San Diego at the top for new ADUs, with College Area and City Heights close behind, and a lot of those are garage conversions. The drywall rules are different on these jobs. Type X fire-rated board goes on any wall shared with the main house, and if a tenant's moving in, it's worth putting real insulation and sound control in the shared wall while it's open. We hang and finish it the way the inspector expects to find it, so you don't need to worry about expensive redos.

We cover all of San Diego County, from San Ysidro and Chula Vista at the southern end, up the coast through Carlsbad and Oceanside, inland to Escondido, Poway, and San Marcos, and east through El Cajon, Santee, and Lakeside. If you don't see your neighborhood, call anyway.

Why Choose Us

Local Drywall Company with 15+ Years of Experience

Hi, I'm Dave. My dad did drywall in San Diego for years before I took over, so I grew up hauling sheets and cleaning mud pans in garages from Clairemont to El Cajon. Popcorn ceilings are how many people find us, but the craft underneath is the same for any drywall job: repair what's hiding under the surface, match the texture, and leave a wall or ceiling that looks like nothing ever happened. We take great pride in every job.

We Plan for What's Hiding Behind the Wall

After this many years in San Diego, the surprises are no longer surprises to us. A 1962 Clairemont ranch will have nail pops and maybe pre-1980 texture that needs testing before anyone sands. A North Park craftsman probably has plaster under there somewhere. A Mira Mesa tract home has orange peel we can match in our sleep, and a garage conversion has an inspector coming with a fire-rating checklist. We quote with all of that in mind from the start, which is why our jobs don't grow surprise line items halfway through.

Serving Homeowners, Landlords & Property Managers Across San Diego County

Much of our week is spent doing drywall work for homeowners. The rest is landlords and property managers we've worked with for years, turning units on tight schedules, and sometimes the full ADU hang-and-finish. We always give a firm written price, the same crew from estimate to walkthrough, and a phone number that gets answered.

  • Free, Fast Estimates
  • Fair, Upfront Pricing
  • Written Workmanship Warranty
  • Zero Mess Guarantee

What Customers Say About Our Work

★★★★★

"We hired Dave's team to hang and finish the drywall for our garage ADU after our GC's drywall sub fell through. They slotted in that same week, flagged that our shared wall needed fire-rated board, and the inspector signed off first visit. No drama, which after this whole ADU process was such a relief."

Trevor D., College Area
★★★★★

"My son put a scooter handle through the hallway wall two weeks before we listed the house. I called Monday, Mike patched it Wednesday, painted Thursday. Our realtor walked right past it without ever noticing there was an issue. Appreciate the quick and reliable turnaround!"

Amy R., Rancho Peñasquitos
★★★★★

"Our dishwasher line leaked and ruined the drywall on both sides of the kitchen wall. Dave's guys came out after the plumber finished, put a moisture meter on everything before they'd close it up, and found one section that was still damp that we would have sealed right in. Wall looks like it never happened. Really thorough work, and they explained what they were doing as they went."

Marcus T., La Mesa

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Questions We Hear Every Week

San Diego Drywall Repair & Contractor FAQs

Is there a drywall contractor near me in San Diego, CA?

Yes, we're a family-run drywall company serving San Diego County for 15+ years: we handle drywall repair and installation from Chula Vista up through Pacific Beach, La Jolla, Carlsbad, and Encinitas, east through La Mesa, El Cajon, and Santee, and inland to Poway and Escondido. Estimates are always free. Call us at (619) 825-1802 and we can usually tell you same day whether it's a quick repair or something bigger, and what it'll roughly cost before we come out.

What does a drywall contractor charge per hour?

Drywall contractors typically charge $50-$100 per hour in San Diego. We quote a firm price per job instead, and that's better for you because the number you approve is the final number you pay. Drywall needs drying time between coats, so a proper repair often takes two visits. On an hourly clock, that extra visit is your cost. On a firm quote, it's ours, so we have every reason to work efficiently and get it right the first time. We also give you a written workmanship warranty. Full breakdown in our San Diego drywall cost by service type.

How much should it cost to install drywall?

In San Diego, it costs ~$2.50–$4.50+ per square foot for hanging, taping, and finishing new drywall, which works out to roughly $80–$145 per sheet installed. Ceiling height, finish level, and fire-rated board push the number toward the top of that range. For a sense of scale, a typical two-car garage has about 1,000 square feet of wall and ceiling surface, so it usually lands in the $2,500–$4,500 range finished. We'll give you a free, accurate estimate once we see the space.

How do I choose a drywall contractor?

Five checks tell you a lot: first, ask how they handle texture matching. Ask exactly what the quote includes, because many end at "primer-ready" and leave the painting to you, and ask what's warrantied in writing. If it's an ADU or garage conversion, ask about fire-rated board. Our full guide to choosing a drywall contractor in San Diego goes deeper on each of these.

We're a second-generation San Diego drywall company, 15+ years in, texture matching is included in every repair, and we extend a zero mess guarantee on every job. You get a firm written price and a written workmanship warranty.

How much does it cost to re-drywall a 2,000 sq ft house?

A 2,000 square foot house has far more than 2,000 square feet of wall and ceiling surface, usually 7,000-8,000 square feet once you count every wall and ceiling. At San Diego rates, a full re-drywall typically costs ~$15,000-$35,000 range, depending on how much demolition is involved, ceiling heights, and finish level. The question is whether you actually need it: full re-drywalls make sense after major water or fire damage or during a gut remodel. But many times, skim coating or targeted repairs get a like-new result for a fraction of the cost. Our estimates are always free, and we can come out and give you an honest assessment of the best bang for your buck.

How much should a drywall repair or patch job cost in San Diego?

For a typical patch job, think doorknob hole or a patch the size of your hand, most San Diego homeowners pay between $250-$550, including texture matching. Very small stuff like nail pops and anchor holes is cheaper, especially as a batch, and we usually handle a small-repair visit for $150 to $350 total. Ceilings and water damage run more. We give a firm number before starting, so the estimate you approve is the price you pay.

What is the most effective way to repair drywall?

For anything bigger than a nail hole: cut the damage back to a clean rectangle, install solid backing (wood strips or a California patch), screw new board to the backing, tape the seams with paper tape and setting compound, then feather two or three widening coats before texture and paint. The two steps DIY guides skip are the backing and the wide feathering, and they're exactly why patches flex, crack, or show a bulge in side light.

Whether to do this yourself comes down to the wall. On a smooth wall with damage smaller than your palm, a patient DIYer can follow those steps and get a good result. On textured walls and ceilings, the patch is the easy part and the texture matching is where DIY attempts fail, usually right at the end, after the work's been done. Our DIY vs. hiring a drywall contractor covers the tradeoffs and how to decide.

Drywall Repairs & Common Problems

Can you match my existing wall texture so the repair is invisible?

Almost always, yes. Orange peel and knockdown, which cover most San Diego homes, match very reliably. Hand textures and heavily painted-over walls are harder, and once in a while the honest answer is that a spot match will always be slightly visible, in which case we'll recommend blending the texture across the whole wall instead. Either way you'll know before we start, not after.

My ceiling has a brown water stain. Can you just paint over it?

Please don't just paint it. Water stains bleed through ordinary paint, sometimes within weeks. The right fix is confirming the leak is actually fixed, making sure the drywall is dry and solid, sealing the stain with a stain-blocking primer, then re-texturing and painting. If the drywall went soft, that section needs replacing. Done in that order, the stain is gone for good. Full walkthrough of stains, leaks, and what to fix first in our ceiling repair guide.

Does wet drywall need to be replaced, or can it dry out?

Depends on how wet and for how long. Drywall that got lightly damp and dried quickly can often stay. Drywall that soaked, sagged, softened, or stayed wet for days needs to come out, because it loses structural integrity and can grow mold inside the wall where you can't see it. We check with a moisture meter rather than guessing, and we only replace what actually needs replacing.

Why does the same crack keep coming back after I fix it?

This happens when the crack is a symptom. Cracks along seams and above doors mean the joint tape underneath has let go or the framing moves slightly with the seasons. Filling the crack with spackle just puts a rigid patch on a moving joint, so it cracks again. The lasting fix is cutting back and re-taping the joint, which is a normal repair for us and the reason our crack repairs stay fixed.

Are cracks in my walls a sign of foundation problems?

Usually not. Hairline cracks above doors and windows are normal settling, especially on San Diego's hillside and canyon lots. The patterns that deserve more attention are wide cracks (fitting a credit card in is a decent test), cracks that grow noticeably, stair-step cracking, or cracks paired with doors and windows that suddenly stick. Our on-site estimates are free, and we can tell you if it's worth having a foundation specialist look first.

What's the difference between drywall repair and drywall replacement?

Repair fixes a damaged section and blends it into the wall around it, which is the right call for most holes, cracks, and small water stains. Replacement means removing and rehanging a larger section or a whole wall, and it wins when damage is extensive, the board has been wet for a while, or years of overlapping patches have left the wall looking quilted. When it's a close call we quote both so you can compare the numbers yourself.

Do you repair drywall after a plumber or electrician cuts into a wall?

All the time. Plumbers, electricians, HVAC techs, and solar installers open up walls and ceilings to do their work, and closing them back up correctly is a different trade. We patch access cuts, match the texture so the hole disappears, and restore fire-rated assemblies to the original spec where that matters, like garage walls. If your other contractor is still mid-project, we can schedule right behind them.

Hiring, Permits & Insurance

What's the difference between hiring a drywall contractor and a handyman?

A good handyman is the right call for a nail hole or a small ding on a smooth wall. A painter will often patch a tiny hole before painting, and that's fine too. But neither is the right first call for textured walls, water damage, or a ceiling, because those jobs are mostly finish work: matching texture, feathering compound wide, re-taping seams instead of filling cracks, and knowing when a stain needs sealing or a wet wall needs opening up. That's what a drywall contractor does all day.

One more practical difference: California requires a contractor's license for any job over $1,000 including materials, which covers most water damage and multi-repair projects. A handyman working unlicensed above that line is breaking the rules on your job, so whoever you hire, check the license. For our part, you won't have to chase any of it: we share our license number and proof of insurance up front, before any work starts.

Do I need a permit for drywall repair in San Diego?

Short version: most repairs don't, but structural or code-driven work does.

Usually no permit:

  • Patching holes, cracks, or water damage in existing walls
  • Retexturing or skim coating an existing room
  • Replacing damaged drywall in the same location with the same material

Usually needs a permit:

  • New walls, room additions, or anything structural
  • ADU and garage conversion drywall (it rides on the ADU permit)
  • Anywhere fire-rated assemblies are required
  • Jobs where electrical or plumbing work happens alongside the drywall

Not sure which bucket you're in? Tell us what you're doing when you call and we'll give a quick answer, plus what the inspector will likely look for.

Is drywall repair covered by homeowners insurance?

Sometimes. Sudden, accidental events like a burst pipe are often covered, while gradual leaks, normal settling cracks, and accidental holes usually aren't. If you're filing a claim, we're happy to document the damage and the repair with photos and a written scope, which adjusters appreciate.

Drywall Installation, Finishes & Materials

Can you skim coat my textured walls smooth?

Yes, skim coating covers orange peel or knockdown with thin coats of compound sanded flat, typically $2.00 to $4.50 per square foot in San Diego depending on the wall's condition and how perfect a finish you want. Rooms with strong natural light benefit from a Level 5 finish, which adds a final tight coat over everything and sits at the top of that range.

Do you finish garages and ADUs?

Yes, garage finishing and ADU conversions are a growing share of our installation work. Building code requires fire-resistant assemblies between an attached garage and living space, which typically means 5/8-inch Type X drywall on that shared wall and ceiling. It's a detail casual installers miss and inspectors don't. We hang the right board in the right places and finish it to whatever level your space calls for.

Can you fix plaster walls, or only drywall?

Both, which matters a lot in San Diego's older neighborhoods. North Park, South Park, Kensington, and Golden Hill homes often have original plaster, or plaster patched with drywall from past remodels. Plaster wants different techniques, and treating it like drywall is how those repairs end up cracking out. We stabilize loose plaster, patch properly, and blend where the two materials meet.

Is sheetrock the same as drywall?

Same material, different names. Drywall is the generic term, Sheetrock is a brand name that became shorthand (like Kleenex for tissues), and wallboard and gypsum board are the older trade terms. So a sheetrock repair company, wallboard contractors, and drywall contractors all do the same work. Whatever you call it, we repair it, hang it, and finish it.

Scheduling & What to Expect

How long does drywall repair take?

Most single repairs take one visit of a few hours, plus drying time between compound coats. That's the catch with drywall: compound needs to dry before the next coat, so a proper repair often means a short return visit rather than one marathon session with heat guns. Small patch lists are usually done same-day. Water damage and hang-and-finish projects run from a couple of days to about a week depending on size. One thing the timeline never changes is your price: we quote by the job, not the hour, so a repair that needs an extra visit or an extra day costs exactly what we quoted. The schedule is our problem to manage, not your bill.

Do you paint the wall after repairing it?

Every repair leaves primer-ready at minimum, and we're happy to prime and paint the repaired area or the whole wall if you'd like it fully finished. One thing to flag: touch-up paint on an older wall can "flash," meaning the sheen doesn't quite match even when the color does. When that risk is real, we'll suggest painting the full wall corner to corner so everything matches perfectly.

Will drywall repair be dusty? We're living in the house.

Drywall sanding creates fine dust that travels everywhere if it's not contained, so containment is non-negotiable for us: floor protection, plastic where needed, and vacuum-assisted sanding on bigger jobs. We built these habits on popcorn ceiling removal, where the mess potential is ten times worse, and we bring the same standard to a single wall patch. You should be able to use the room the same evening.

Do you work with landlords and property managers on rental turnovers?

All the time. Tenant turnovers usually mean a list of wall repairs on a deadline before the painter comes, and we're used to slotting into that schedule, batching the repairs efficiently, and coordinating directly with your painter so the unit shows on time. If you manage multiple properties, we can set up simple recurring scheduling so turnovers don't require phone tag.

Get a Free Drywall Estimate

Call us or send the form and we'll follow up, usually same day.

Phone: (619) 825-1802

Service area: All of San Diego plus Carlsbad, Encinitas, Oceanside, Chula Vista, El Cajon, Poway, and everywhere in between.

Hours: Mon–Sun, 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM

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