DIY and Professional San Diego Drywall Installation

Unless you have a background in construction or home improvement, it can be difficult to tell which projects around the house really require professional equipment and a seasoned hand, and which are truly do-it-yourself friendly. One of the most common projects in remodeling of any kind is drywall installation. San Diego, and the country at large, is no stranger to this task; in fact, over the last few decades, using drywall to form interior walls has been vastly more popular than using any other material. In a way, this job is perfect for a serious DIY, as a large portion of the cost comes not from the materials, but from labor. On the other hand, once homeowners understand the finesse it requires to do this job, many are happy to spend a little extra money hiring a pro.

Basic San Diego Drywall Installation
Hanging, the foundation of San Diego drywall installation, is relatively simple. Hanging drywall involves cutting your sheetrock boards to the appropriate dimensions and then screwing them solidly into the wall joists. While this part of the process should be done as precisely as possible, there's still a bit of leeway. You want to get everything as close to exact as you can, but a few small mistakes aren't too difficult to fix later. With a little patience and elbow grease, most homeowners with the right materials and equipment will be able to handle this part of the process. If you're working on an out-of-the-way area, and don't need it to look perfect, this will be the most time consuming part of the project.

San Diego Drywall Finishing
Next comes the hard part: drywall finishing. San Diego residents that are inexperienced with this step will need some practice to get it right. All you have to do is spread joint compound (or "mud") in such a way as to fill in any gaps and create a smooth, continuous surface. Your local San Diego drywall finishing professionals will make this look easy, but it is actually a job that requires exceptional skill and technique to do right. Unless you have plenty of time to practice, or prior experience working with mud, it's likely that your first several attempts will result in less than perfect surfaces.

If and when you create your continuous and cohesive surface, you'll then be able to apply the paint. Though a professional hand and top of the line equipment will probably make this job go a bit faster, too, painting is often something that homeowners can do themselves and still get good results.

Duration and Costs of Drywall Installation in San Diego
According to the records we keep here at ServiceMagic, professional San Diego drywall installation is likely to run you around $2,000 or $2,500 on average (which is about on par with the national average of $2,050). We have, however, seen prices for this kind of work range from $1,500 all the way up to $5,000. In most cases, the project is finished in about five days, with especially quick jobs finishing in one or two days, and more involved ones going more than a week in length.

Even the most experienced do-it-yourselfer will have a difficult time completing a moderate drywall installation as quickly and beautifully as a professional crew, though the money saved and the satisfaction of a job well done are certainly perks worth considering. For less experienced DIYs, the best course might be to do the grunt work yourself and leave the finishing to the professionals.