Overview: Drywall & Plaster Contractors
Drywall crews hang board, but the trade lives in the finishing. Every seam and screw head gets coats of compound, each one wider and thinner than the last, sanded in between, with bead on the outside corners. Older Canadian houses still have plaster on lath, and patching it well is a separate skill worth asking about.
Before anyone opens a wall in an older house, think about what's inside it. WorkSafeBC tells British Columbia homeowners to have the home tested for asbestos before a renovation, and it names drywall and textured ceiling coat among the materials that often held it. Anyone you hire there to test for asbestos or remove it has to be licensed for that work in the province.
Winter leaves its own marks. Truss uplift opens a crack where the ceiling meets an inside wall during the cold months, then closes it by summer. Burst pipes and ice dams soak board, and wet board comes out.
Our listings show what each drywall and plaster company states on its own website. The province and city lists narrow things down to crews who tape, patch and skim in your area.
Frequently asked questions
What do finish levels actually mean?
They set how much compound goes on before paint. The low levels stop at taped joints, which is plenty for a garage or a furnace room. The middle levels add coats over joints and fasteners and suit most painted rooms. The top level skims the whole surface. Low winter sun through a big window shows every ridge, so name the walls it hits and get the level written into the quote.
Why does the same crack keep coming back?
Because whatever moves behind it is still moving. If the crack opens every winter along the joint between ceiling and wall and closes by summer, that's truss uplift, and filler won't hold it. Settling footings and joints with no room to flex do the same thing. Lasting fixes use tape or trim that allows movement, or they deal with the structure before the wall gets touched again.
Does finishing a basement need a building permit?
In Toronto, often it doesn't. The city says finishing a basement in a house needs no building permit when the work makes no structural or material alterations, adds no new plumbing and creates no second unit. Adding or removing walls and cutting new windows count as material alterations. Add a bathroom, change the heating, move a wall or build an apartment and you'll need one. Other municipalities keep their own lists, so call the building department before the framing and board go up.
Is water damaged board worth drying out?
Usually not. Health Canada's flood clean-up advice is to throw out drywall and insulation that flood water has touched if they can't be dried. Clean water from a burst pipe gives you a little more room, but the core still softens once it swells, and wet paper grows mould. Cut back to dry framing, dry the cavity, then board it again. Fix the pipe or the ice dam first, or you'll be buying the same wall again.
Could my old ceiling or wall finish contain asbestos?
In an older house, it could. Health Canada lists drywall, plaster and spackling among home materials that may contain asbestos. Left alone and in good shape, they carry little risk. Sanding, scraping, drilling and sawing are what set fibres loose. Health Canada's advice is to have a professional test before you renovate, and to hire a qualified removal specialist if it's there.
