Drywall Repair

We close the ceiling after the roof is fixed and the cavity is dry, not before.

Most of our drywall work follows a roof leak, which means it is the last job rather than the first. Closing up a ceiling over a cavity that is still wet, or over a leak that has not actually been stopped, guarantees you pay for the same repair twice.

The order that matters

1. Stop the water. Tarp or repair.
2. Open enough to see. The damaged area is almost always larger than the stain, because water spreads along the top face of the board where you cannot see it.
3. Dry the cavity properly, with air movement and time. Insulation that has been wet holds water and will not dry in place, so it comes out.
4. Assess what has to go. Board that has been wet loses strength permanently even after it dries. If it is soft, sagging, crumbling at the fasteners or has visible growth, it comes out. Board with a stain that is dry, firm and sound can often be sealed and repainted.
5. Check the framing and the insulation above it while it is open, because this is the only chance.
6. Then close it up.

Where we stop

Matching a textured ceiling

This is where most drywall repairs become visible. Houston ceilings are almost never flat. They carry a knockdown, orange peel, splatter or in older houses an acoustic popcorn finish, and matching an existing texture is a skill rather than a step.

A patch that is structurally perfect and texturally wrong is obvious from the doorway forever. We match wet, adjust and test on a board before it goes on the ceiling, and where a texture genuinely cannot be matched we will tell you up front that the honest options are retexturing the whole ceiling or living with a visible patch.

A word about popcorn ceilings

Acoustic popcorn texture installed before the early 1980s can contain asbestos. It is safe undisturbed and it is not safe to scrape, sand or demolish without knowing. If your house is of that era and we are working on a popcorn ceiling, we will stop and recommend testing first. It is a cheap test and it is not a thing to guess about.

What we repair

• Water-stained and sagging ceilings after a roof or plumbing leak
• Holes, cracks and damaged corners
• Nail pops and seam cracking, which in Houston are often foundation movement telling you something rather than a drywall fault
• Full board replacement where water damage is extensive
• Texture matching and repainting

Cracks that are not a drywall problem

Recurring cracks at the corners of door and window openings, doors that have started sticking, and cracks that reappear in the same place after being repaired are usually the house moving on Houston's clay soil rather than a drywall failure. We will patch them, and we will also tell you plainly that a patch treats the symptom. If the pattern suggests movement, a foundation assessment is the right next call, and it is not one we make.

What it costs, and how you can check

Every job on this page is priced Cost Plus. You see the supplier invoice for the materials, the crew hours at our published rate, the permit and disposal at what they actually cost, and one service fee of 20 to 30 percent set by job complexity and locked before anything starts. There is no second number and no change order conversation after the fact. The full breakdown is here.

Common Questions

Should I repair the ceiling before or after the roof?

After, always, and after the cavity has dried. Closing up over a wet cavity or an unrepaired leak means doing the whole job again.

Can a water-stained ceiling just be painted over?

If the board is completely dry, firm and sound, a stain-blocking primer and paint can be enough. If it is soft, sagging or crumbling at the fasteners, the board has lost its strength permanently and needs replacing.

Will the patch be invisible?

On a flat ceiling, usually. On a textured ceiling it depends on the texture, and we will tell you honestly before we start whether we expect to match it. Sometimes the right answer is retexturing the whole ceiling.

My ceiling has popcorn texture. Is that a problem?

If the house predates the early 1980s it may contain asbestos, which is safe undisturbed and not safe to scrape without knowing. We will recommend a test before disturbing it.

Do you handle mould?

No. We will find it, photograph it and tell you, and then you need a remediation contractor. We will not board over it.

Related Services

• Roof Leak Repair
• Roof Repair
• Emergency Tarping
• Tile Flooring
• Insurance Claim Help