Drywall Installation in Houston, TX
From Heights bungalows to the slab ranches off Bissonnet, we replace whole walls and ceilings, never small patches. Beaumont Formation clay swells and shrinks beneath your slab all year, and the board above it shows that movement first.
- Full wall and ceiling replacement
- Level 3, 4, 5 finishes
- Orange peel and knockdown matching
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Quick Overview
Houston Drywall at a Glance
- Scope: Full wall and ceiling replacement only, with no small patch jobs.
- Installed price: $2-$6 per sq ft hung, taped and finished.
- Texture: Texturing $0.80-$2.00 per sq ft; skim coat $1.00-$1.30 per sq ft.
- Project minimum: Work starts at $500.
- Permits: Houston permitting is trigger-based, and non-fire-rated gypsum repair is exempt.
- Reach us: Call 512-290-5153 to set up a walkthrough.
Direct Answers
Straight Answers for Houston Homeowners
New drywall runs $2 to $6 per square foot hung, taped and finished, with texture and skim coat priced separately by the square foot.
Hairline cracks under 1/8 inch at opening corners are cosmetic, while wider diagonal cracks radiating from those corners indicate slab movement underneath.
No, our crews handle full wall and ceiling replacement with a $500 project minimum, so a single hole belongs with another contractor.
Why Houston Is Different
Why Houston Walls and Ceilings Give Out
Neighbors in Meyerland and Oak Forest call us about the same three things: cracks fanning out of door corners, crown miters pulling open, and a soft brown ring on a bedroom ceiling. None of that is random bad luck. Houston’s ground and Houston’s attics cause most of it.
The ground moves twice a year
Under most of the city sits Beaumont Formation clay, with Lissie material showing up toward the northwest. That clay is smectitic, so it swells when the rain finally arrives and contracts through a dry August, lifting and dropping slab edges differentially across the seasons. Your walls keep the record. Cracks fan diagonally from door and window corners, crown and baseboard miters open, brick veneer stair-steps outside, and tile grout splits in long straight runs. Hanging fresh board without reading that pattern first only resets the clock on the same failure.
Fault traces nobody mapped for you
Over 300 active surface growth faults cross this metro, and folks in Spring Branch already know the Long Point Fault by name. These move slowly, tied to deep salt withdrawal rather than anything seismic you would feel. Where a house straddles a trace, the slab tilts along that line and every repair above it reopens in exactly the same place. We say so plainly when that is what we see in your rooms, because new drywall over an active trace is money a homeowner ends up spending twice.
Ceilings usually fail from above
Flat terrain, roughly fifty feet of elevation downtown, and low-permeability clay mean rainwater sheets across Houston instead of soaking in, and deed restrictions rather than zoning shape how lots drain. Indoors, the recurring ceiling culprit is closer: the attic air handler's condensate line. A clogged or disconnected line wets gypsum quietly, and the stain or sag appears long after the dripping began. Board wet longer than roughly 48 hours comes out for mold risk, and remediation is a separate trade we do not perform, so we coordinate instead of overlapping.
Houston: 77002 · 77006 · 77007 · 77008 · 77036 · 77084
Typical Drywall Installation Scopes in Houston
Most Houston work lands between $2-$6 per square foot hung, taped and finished. Texturing adds $0.80-$2.00 per square foot and a skim coat runs $1.00-$1.30. Ceiling height, finish level, access and demolition decide where you sit in that spread.
Ceiling Replacement
Condensate stain and sag under the attic air handler
A browning hallway ceiling fed by the attic condensate line. The line is corrected by the HVAC trade first, then the affected ceiling plane comes out, new board goes up, and the existing knockdown is matched.
| Rooms | Hallway and kitchen ceiling |
| Duration | 3 days on site |
| Lead time | About 1 week out |
| Products | USG Sheetrock, paper tape, joint compound, knockdown texture |
Full Room Wall Replacement
Diagonal cracking over 1/8 inch at every door corner
Seasonal clay movement opens diagonal cracks and pulls crown miters apart. Wall board comes off to framing, corner bead is re-set, the plane is finished to Level 4, and trim is re-hung square.
| Rooms | Den and adjoining dining wall |
| Duration | 4 to 5 days |
| Lead time | 1 to 2 weeks out |
| Products | USG Sheetrock, corner bead, drywall screws, orange peel texture |
Plaster and Lath Conversion
Pre-1960 bungalow taken to modern gypsum
Plaster over wood lath cracking along every keyway. Demolition, dust containment and custom quoting come first, then new board is hung and the main rooms are finished to Level 5.
| Rooms | Living room, hall and two bedrooms |
| Duration | 7 to 9 days |
| Lead time | 2 to 3 weeks out |
| Products | USG Sheetrock, skim coat compound, sanding screens, Festool sander |
Site Conditions
What We Find Behind Houston Walls
Every house tells on itself once the trim comes off. Here is what shows up most often across the metro and what each condition actually calls for.
| Condition | Where you see it in Houston | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| Diagonal cracks wider than 1/8 inch at door and window corners | 1950s-60s slab ranch in Meyerland and Westbury | Wall replacement to framing, with the slab assessed before we start |
| Crown and baseboard miters opening with the seasons | 1970s-80s tract housing in Alief and Sharpstown | New board, fresh corner bead, trim re-set square |
| Ceiling stain or sag directly below the attic air handler | Oak Forest, Garden Oaks and Spring Branch | Condensate line corrected first, then full ceiling plane replacement |
| Board that stayed wet longer than about 48 hours | Ground-floor rooms and post-Harvey elevated builds | Removal for mold risk; remediation is a separate trade we do not perform |
| Plaster over wood lath cracking along the keys | Pre-1960 bungalows in the Heights and Montrose | Demolition, containment and custom quoting before any install |
| Repairs that reopen on the same line year after year | Houses straddling a trace such as the Long Point Fault | A frank read on slab tilt before new board goes up |
Materials
Materials and Tools on the Truck
We hang USG Sheetrock and finish it with joint compound, paper tape, corner bead and drywall screws, then sand with screens or a dust-extracting sander. A screw gun, laser level, taping knives and stilts keep long Houston ceiling runs flat and true.
| Product | Brand | Why it earns the spot |
|---|---|---|
| Bosch 360° laser level | Bosch | Used for alignment and ceiling/wall reference lines. |
| DeWalt 20V MAX Drywall Screwgun | DeWalt | Speeds drywall fastening and improves consistency. |
| FibaTape or paper drywall tape | FibaTape / USG | Paper tape for seams; mesh tape for specific conditions. |
| Grip-Rite drywall screws | Grip-Rite | Used to secure drywall to framing. |
| Marshalltown taping knife set | Marshalltown | Used for mud application and smoothing. |
| USG All Purpose Joint Compound | USG | Used for seams, corners, and final finish. |
| USG Sheetrock 1/2 in. drywall | USG | Standard interior wall and ceiling panels. |
| Festool drywall sander | Festool | Improves finish quality and dust control. |
Material grades are specified per substrate after the on-site walkthrough. Material prices are carried in the project scope.
Pricing
Houston Drywall Pricing
Square footage drives the number, and finish level drives the spread. These are the ranges we quote inside the metro.
| Scope | Typical Houston range | What drives the spread |
|---|---|---|
| New drywall hung, taped and finished | $2-$6 per sq ft | Ceiling versus wall work, finish level, access and board thickness |
| Texture application, orange peel or knockdown | $0.80-$2.00 per sq ft | How tight the match has to be and how far it must blend |
| Skim coat toward a Level 5 finish | $1.00-$1.30 per sq ft | Raking window light, paint sheen and total wall area |
| Plaster and lath removal with gypsum conversion | Quoted after walkthrough | Pre-1960 framing, lath keys, dust containment and haul-off volume |
| Project minimum | $500 | Smallest scope we take, since patch-only calls are not our work |
Minimum project size is $500. Every figure is confirmed on site before work starts.
Process
How a Houston Install Runs
- 1Phone call first. Tell us the rooms, the ceiling height and what the cracks look like. Five minutes on the phone at 512-290-5153 tells us whether the scope fits our $500 minimum.
- 2On-site measure and crack read. We measure square footage and read the crack pattern against the 1/8 inch threshold. If the cause is slab or fault movement, you hear that before a quote.
- 3Protection and demolition. Floors and openings get covered, trim comes off carefully, and old board or plaster goes out to the trailer. Wet board is bagged separately and flagged for remediation by others.
- 4Hang and screw off. New USG Sheetrock goes up against a laser reference so ceilings and wall planes stay true. A screw gun sets every fastener to depth without breaking the paper.
- 5Tape, coat and sand. Paper tape and three compound coats build the joints, with corner bead set on every outside angle. Sanding happens with screens and a dust-extracting sander to keep the house livable.
- 6Texture match and final walk. Orange peel or knockdown is matched to the surrounding rooms so the repair disappears. We walk the space with you under a work light before the crew loads out.
Coverage
Houston Neighborhoods We Work In
Our crews run inside the Loop and well past 610 on a normal week. If your street is near one of these, we are already in the area.
Our Services
Specialized Services in Houston
Drywall is rarely the only thing a room needs once the trim is off. These crews work the same metro and the same calendar.
Handyman Services
Doors that stick, trim that has pulled away and hardware that no longer lines up all trace back to the same clay movement. We handle those items as scoped work rather than single quick stops.
Painting Services
Fresh board wants primer and paint while the room is already masked and empty. Finishing both together keeps the texture match from standing out under Houston's hard afternoon light.
Tile Installation
Grout splitting in long straight runs usually points at the same slab movement showing in your walls. We re-set tile with that movement accounted for instead of patching the joint again.
Flooring Installation
Baseboard-to-floor gaps over 1/8 inch often mean the floor system needs attention before new trim goes down. Flooring and drywall sequenced together saves tearing the same corner open twice.
Fence Installation
The clay that lifts your slab also heaves fence posts along the property line. Posts set with that soil behavior in mind stay plumb through the wet and dry swings.
Common Questions
Questions Houston Homeowners Ask
Will you patch one hole in my living room wall?
No. Our scope is full wall and ceiling replacement with a $500 project minimum, so a single hole or doorknob ding is better handled by a patch-focused crew.
What does new drywall cost per square foot here?
Houston installs run $2-$6 per square foot hung, taped and finished. Texturing adds $0.80-$2.00 per square foot, and a skim coat toward Level 5 runs $1.00-$1.30.
Do I need a permit for drywall work in Houston?
Houston permitting is trigger-based rather than value-based. Non-fire-rated gypsum repair, tile, cabinets, countertops and interior trim are exempt. Replacing plumbing or electrical fixtures does require one.
Why do my cracks reopen in the exact same place?
Over 300 surface growth faults cross the metro, including the Long Point Fault. Where a house straddles a trace, the slab tilts along that line and repairs keep failing there.
There is a brown stain on my ceiling. Now what?
Start with the attic air handler, since condensate lines cause ceiling stains and sags all over Houston. Once that line is corrected, we replace the affected ceiling plane.
Can you match the knockdown texture in my other rooms?
Yes. Texture matching is standard work for us, orange peel and knockdown alike, and we sample on a scrap board first so the finished plane reads as original.
Which finish level should I ask for?
Level 3 suits heavy texture, Level 4 covers most painted walls, and Level 5 is for gloss paint or raking window light. We will recommend one on the walkthrough.
My 1948 bungalow has plaster. Can you still help?
Pre-1960 Houston homes are often plaster over wood lath, which means demolition, dust containment and custom quoting. We convert those rooms to gypsum and finish them to your chosen level.
How We Work
We read the crack before we hang board
Measuring a crack against the 1/8 inch threshold tells us whether you have a finish problem or a slab problem. You get that answer in plain language before anything is quoted.
One crew from demolition to texture
The same people who tear out your old board hang, tape and texture the new work. Nothing gets lost in a handoff between subcontractors mid-project.
Dust controlled, floors covered, cleaned daily
Openings get sealed, floors get protected, and sanding runs through screens and a dust-extracting sander. The crew sweeps and hauls debris at the end of every working day.
Texture matched and walked with you
Orange peel and knockdown are sampled and matched to the adjoining rooms so the plane blends. We walk the finished space with a work light before loading out.
Let Us Get Your Walls Flat Again
Call 512-290-5153 and we will set a walkthrough around your Saturday, whether that is the Memorial Park loop or the Urban Harvest market on Richmond. Full wall and ceiling replacement, texture matched to the rest of your house.
Our Houston Homeowner Resources
Fence Installation · Flooring Installation · Handyman Services · Painting Services · Tile Installation