Patch is visible from across the room
Texture and sheen matching is the skill in this trade, not the board. On a large or highly lit wall, painting the full plane is what makes the repair disappear.
Building Fabric3,860 businesses licensed for it
Drywall and ceiling repair
Drywall repair is the visible half of every other problem: the ceiling that came down after a roof leak, the wall a delivery cart went through, the partition cut open to reach a pipe. Work covers patching and reskimming, replacing water-damaged board and the insulation behind it, ceiling grid and tile replacement, texture matching, and reinstating fire-rated assemblies properly, which is the part most often botched after another trade has been through.
Enter your ZIP to see the businesses listed for this trade nearest to your site, with their phone numbers.
- Free to searchno account, nothing to submit
- Public registersevery listing names its source
- License numberswhere the state publishes one
- Directyou call the business yourself
- Our estimate
- $250-$7,000
- Time on site
- 2-24 hrs
- Fault patterns covered
- 2
- Licensed for this trade itself
- 3,860
What drywall and ceiling repair costs
Most of these jobs land near $650. The full spread runs $250 to $7,000, and the gap between those two ends is diagnosis against replacement rather than one business being dearer than another.
What moves it: how much of the job is parts, whether the fault is found in the first hour or the third, access to the equipment, and the hour of the day you call. We never speak to the businesses listed here, so there is no rate card behind any of this. It is our own band for the category, and there is no regional index: the figure does not change with your metro.
| How soon you need it | Typical | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled visitBooked in advance, no urgency multiplier applied | $650 | $250 to $7,000 |
| Same dayOur band multiplied by 1.12 | $730 | $280 to $7,840 |
| Emergency calloutOur band multiplied by 1.35 | $880 | $340 to $9,450 |
Our estimate from national cost bands, not a quote from any business. Every row is the same band with the urgency multiplier the site applies everywhere else, so this table can never contradict the headline number. Ask for a written price before the work starts.
Who is licensed to do this work
In California the classification that squarely covers this is C-2 insulation and acoustical or C-9 drywall, and the register says who holds it. Every listing on this site shows the classification, the license number and the date we read it, with a link back to the register entry so you can check it against the state rather than against us.
Overlapping classifications exist and are labeled as overlapping rather than as a match: B general building, C-35 lathing and plastering and D-65 weatherization and energy conservation. A general building contractor may hold the job and subcontract the trade, which is a real answer and a different one, so the card says which of the two you are looking at.
One thing worth being plain about: CSLB classifications do not distinguish commercial work from residential. There is no separate commercial license to hold and no register field that would prove one. That is why this page describes the equipment rather than the contractor, and why nothing here says a business has been checked out. We read a public record on a stated date. That is the whole claim.
Before you pay for a callout
Two minutes of checks that sometimes end the problem
We would rather you did not need a callout at all. These are the checks that end the most calls for this fault.
Try a quick fix first
Some issues resolve without a truck roll. Two minutes now can save the callout.
- 1
Fix the leak before the ceiling. Board replaced under an active leak fails again and you pay twice, which is the most common sequence on this service.
- 2
Check whether the wall is fire-rated. Walls between tenancies, around stairs and around plant rooms usually are, and reinstating one needs the right board and the right detail, not just a patch.
- 3
Photograph the damage and keep the invoice if a delivery or a contractor caused it. Recovering the cost is much easier with both.
- 4
Ask whether painting is included. Patch and paint quoted separately is where most disputes on this job come from.
What the visit actually includes
- Removal of damaged board and any wet insulation behind it
- New board fixed and taped to match the existing assembly
- Texture matched to the surrounding surface
- Ceiling grid and tile replacement where affected
- Fire-rated detailing where the assembly requires it
Diagnosis
How drywall faults usually present
Written from how these faults actually present on a working premises, not from a manual.
Mold behind a repaired ceiling
Wet insulation left in place. The board looks fine and the smell arrives a month later. Anything wet has to come out, not dry in situ.
Listed for this trade
Businesses listed for drywall
Read from public license registers, so there is no ranking here and no distance: this page has no location to measure from. Enter your ZIP to sort by who is nearest to your site.
By location
Drywall and ceiling repair near you
Local pages show which businesses are listed for that metro, how far out they sit, and the local conditions that drive demand.
Counted from the businesses we have imported for each metro center inside a 25 mile radius, and counting only those whose own license classification names this trade. General contractors licensed widely enough to take it on and subcontract it are excluded here, and still appear in a search. A metro reads “none yet” until we load a register that covers this trade there.
All coverage areasQuestions owners ask
Drywall FAQs
Short, specific answers. If yours is not here, ask the business you call before you agree to the visit.
Do I need to close to have this done?
Usually not for a small patch, but drywall sanding is dusty and it is not compatible with a food or treatment area in use. Most of this work is scheduled overnight or over a closed day.
Who is licensed for this?
C-9 drywall in California, with C-2 insulation where insulation is being replaced and C-35 for lath and plaster. A B General Building contractor genuinely performs this work, so B appears here as a partial match.
Is a water-damaged ceiling always a replacement?
If the board sagged or the paper delaminated, yes. A stain from a single small leak that dried quickly can sometimes be sealed and painted, but a sagging board never recovers.
Related work
Often booked in the same visit
Batching jobs into one mobilization is the cheapest way to buy this kind of work.
Roof leakActive leaks, ponding water, failed flashing and buckets in the middle of the floor.from $350Commercial doors and locksDoors that will not close, failed closers, automatic doors, locks, keys and panic bars.from $180Storefront glassBroken shopfronts, cracked panes, failed seals and emergency boarding up.from $260FlooringLifting tiles, trip hazards, water-damaged floors and slip-resistant kitchen surfaces.from $300
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Ready when you are
Need drywall sorted?
Search your ZIP to see the businesses listed for this trade nearest to your site, with the license numbers and phone numbers we hold, then call them yourself.
- Cost to search
- Free
- Account needed
- None
- Who you call
- The business