Drywall installation and finishing.

Most installation work in the Portland metro is one of these jobs, and we do all of them:

• RemodelsNew walls and ceilings when a kitchen, bath, or living area is being redone. We work around the other trades and finish to match the rest of the house.
• AdditionsA bump-out, a new bedroom, or a closed-in porch. We hang, tape, and texture the new drywall and blend it into the existing house so the addition looks like it was always there.
• Garages and basementsWe take bare framing to a finished surface ready for paint, including the fire-rated board that code requires. There's more on our garage and basement drywall page.
• New constructionFull drywall for new homes and businesses, from hanging the board to the final finish.

Patching a hole and finishing a whole room are different jobs, and we do both. A finished room has to look flat even at night with the overhead light off and one lamp on, which is when uneven seams show.

The drywall industry grades finishing on a six-level scale, from Level 0 to Level 5. The level you pick decides how the wall looks once it's painted. It's also where a careful install and a rushed one look the most different.

• Level 0 and 1are unfinished or barely taped. They're used behind cabinets, above ceilings, and in spaces nobody will see.
• Level 2is taped with one coat of joint compound. It's right for garages, utility rooms, and walls that will be covered with tile.
• Level 3adds a heavier coat and suits walls that will get a heavy texture.
• Level 4is the standard for most living spaces. The joints and screws are smoothed over and ready for flat or eggshell paint or a light texture.
• Level 5adds a thin skim coat of compound over the entire wall. Use it on walls where low afternoon sun hits at a sharp angle, under glossy paint, or on long walls you see from across a room. At any lower level, seams and screw spots show through when light hits the wall from the side. Drywallers call that raking light.

Most Portland homes want Level 4 in the living areas and Level 5 where the light is harsh. We'll tell you which level each room actually needs. We won't sell you a Level 5 skim coat on a hallway where nobody would ever see the difference. Higher-end projects, such as Lake Oswego finish work, often call for Level 5 in every room.

Drywall installation usually happens in the middle of a bigger project. We work with your remodel and time the hanging and finishing around the framing, electrical, and plumbing, so the drywall goes up when it should and the schedule holds. If the framing needs work before the board goes on, we tell you before we start. We won't cover it with drywall and leave it to become your problem a few years later. When we're done, the new walls match the rest of the house, either by matching the existing texture or by giving the whole space one new, even finish.

Drywall installation cost in Portland depends on a few things, so there's no single per-sheet price. These are the things that change the estimate:

• Square footage and sheet countHow big the space is and how many sheets of drywall it takes to cover it.
• Ceilings versus wallsCeilings are slower and harder to hang and finish than walls.
• Finish levelA Level 5 smooth wall takes more coats and more labor than a Level 2 utility finish.
• Framing conditionStraight framing that meets code is quick to hang on. Framing that is crooked or damaged needs prep work first.
• Texture and paintMatching an existing texture or applying a new one, and priming for paint.

We don't publish flat rates, because a real number depends on the room in front of us. Every install gets a free written estimate instead. Send photos of the space or your plans with your ZIP code, and you'll get a clear, itemized number back before any work begins, usually within one business day.

On new builds, we handle all of the drywall, from hanging the first sheet to the final coat, on homes and light commercial projects across the metro. On a new build, problems with framing, taping, or the finish level repeat in every room. That's why it pays to hire a crew that only does drywall instead of a general contractor who subs it out.