Drywall Repairs Surrey, BC
We enjoy bringing added information to our clients for when they are trying to really dig into how things will all work out. Please take a read through the drywall information below to help educate yourself on what drywall contractors are really thinking about when they help you with your home renovation and drywall repairs. The better you understand the service the better you will be able to find yourself a quality contractor group. If you have any questions that aren't answered below, please give us a call and a representative will do their best to help you!
What Is Drywall?
Drywall is a type of construction material that is made of gypsum or calcium sulphate dehydrate. This construction material comes in the form of panels and can also be known as gypsum board, plasterboard, sheetrock, or custard board.
The boards are made more effective by mixing them with additives and other materials such as fibreglass, paper, foaming agents, and plasticizers. It is mixed with these materials to make it mildew-resistant, moisture-resistant, and fire-resistant in some cases, depending on how it is made.
It is essential to understand that countries have different drywall board standards. For example, most plasterboards in Europe have a width of 3 ft and a thickness of 3/8 - 1 inch. In Canada and the United States, the panels measure 1 – 4 meters wide and have a thickness of ½ - 1 inch.
If you have a home renovation or new home build or are merely looking for a qualified drywall contractor, give Deluxe Drywall a call. We will help you with your choice of cheap drywall to the most expensive drywall depending on the features you are looking for.
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What are the Advantages of Drywall over Lath & Plaster?
You might be wondering why sheetrock is suddenly more popular than traditional lath and plaster as a method for wall coverings. As technology progresses we advance our understanding of building materials and their advantages and disadvantages. There are a few reasons for this change and here are two drastic factors you should consider:
Time
Did you know it is much easier to install drywall than it is to plaster a house? For example, let us consider how much time goes in between each step in the installation of plaster and lath causing it to take multiple days. When installing drywall you have comparably the same amount of steps, but they are considerably easier to complete with less dry time and simply applying the wall coverings with screws in a quick amount of time. If the labour is being paid on an hourly basis, then you save a significant amount of money. Depending on the size of the project it will take a different length of time, especially factoring in the skill level of the drywall installers that you pick. Our team has been known to quickly hang the drywall, mud and sand, and finish the project for our customers in Surrey, BC.
Costs
There are significant cost advantages to using drywall boards when compared to lath and plastering a house. For example, plastering is a time-consuming process that requires at least three stages of installation. The steps begin with nailing the wooden lath slats horizontally to the studs and in some cases use a grid of metal instead. It is then plastered with a trowel in three layers a scratch finish, a brown and a white coat before applying the finish coat that can then be primed and painted. These are very time-consuming steps that contribute to the increased cost.
Additionally, you can expect to pay up to $10 per square foot compared to installing drywall which is between $1 to $3 for the same coverage. We can help you with either process but to save on cost we suggest you install drywall using our contractors. Similarly, since plasterwork is more technical, it requires skilled labour hence more money is spent.
Drywall Repair Services
Two drywall contractors should install gypsum boards in a 12 by 16-foot room in an hour. However, keep in mind that installing a plasterboard is not about time but skills. Before we start working on any project, we first estimate the number of sheets needed for the job. This is why we always ask our customers for the square footage and then come into the space to see the complexity of the project. If there are lots of corners and edges, it will take more time to complete. Cutting in light fixtures, electrical sockets, and plumbing also increases the time spent preparing the drywall for installation.
For example, if we are installing a 4 x 8 ft. sheet, we calculate the total square footage of a wall and divide it by 32 which gives us the number of sheets we will have to use. However, we might decide to buy an additional sheet to cover if there are areas that require us to cut boards to fit leaving another too short to hang correctly. We are serious about providing quality workmanship for your home restoration or renovation.
Other considerations that we make include inspecting where electrical lines pass and ensuring that they are protected from drywall screws and nails. If there are plumbing pipes or wires that are ¾ inches near studs, then we use a nail plate during installation. These are steps that if trying to do this yourself could get missed. Choosing Deluxe Drywall for your residential drywall installation in Surrey, Richmond, Coquitlam, or Burnaby, BC is a choice you won’t regret.
Recommended Tools for Drywall Installation
For a successful installation job, certain specific tools must be used. Using them correctly requires skill and training. All too often some of these items are misused leading to injury or wasting materials. There are a variety of tools and some of these include:
- Drills and drivers
- Utility knives
- Putty and hand-trowels
- Rotary and cyclical saws
- Tape measure and laser guides
- Personal protective equipment
Types of Drywall Damage
There are several types of wallboard damage that you might need to repair to get your home restored back to its beautiful state. In some cases, there is a rush, but often it can be more for aesthetic reasons. These could consist of:
- Infestation damage as a result of mice or pests
- Results of doorknobs or accidental damage
- Natural wear and tear of your home
- Moisture or water-damaged drywall
- Shifting of your home due to movement in the ground or shifting foundation
Drywall Hole Repair
Drywall hole repair is one of the most common types of repair in residential homes that we are often called in by our customers to fix. When fixing holes that are less than 6 inches wide, we prefer to use a peel-and-stick repair patch. This is where we use a fibreglass mesh that is reinforced with an adhesive aluminum screen and then pressed on the hole.
After it has been patched on the hole, we will then use a drywall putty knife to apply a joint compound over the area. The trick is to apply enough pressure that will force the joint compound through the mesh. We then add multiple layers of compound to ensure a strong coat and smooth finish. After applying these layers of coating, we sand, prime, and paint it. Fully restoring your walls back to the desired new-finish look.
Crumpled Corner Bead
What most people do not know is that when two wallboards meet to form a corner, they have to be supported by a metal corner bead and a joint compound. The corner bead can sometimes be damaged by furniture or shifting in the house and the only way to fix it completely removes the damaged corner before re-installing the corner section. It is a quick repair for our professional drywallers that we can get fixed in a jiffy for you. Reach out today for an estimate and timeline.
Drywall Mud & Compounds
Before repairing gypsum boards, it is crucial to have the necessary skills for mudding drywall. As part of these skills, one must know about the different types of compounds available and how to use them. Some muds and compounds require more skill due to the time it takes to dry or the finish it leaves once it’s dry. There may also be issues from not properly preparing a wall prior to applying the compound. Here are three types and styles of wall patching compounds and plaster that we could use:
Hot Mud: Quick-Setting Compound
This compound is known as hot mud because of the fact that it hardens fast due to the heat it produces during the drying process. Quick-setting mud can come in a powdered form enclosed in a plastic lining that helps keep moisture out. It does this by using a chemical reaction and is mixed with different hardening agents depending on the manufacturer’s desired dry time. Our taping and mud installers know when to use each style to speed up the installation process reducing your labour costs.
Hot mud drys using a chemical reaction, and depending on the mud bought, the drying time can be between 5 -90 minutes. Quick-settling mud should be used if mesh tape is used. These little differences in when to use each compound type in combination with the other factors and materials are skills we have trained our team to use appropriately.
Dry & Pre-mixed Compounds
Pre-mixed is the most common type of mud used because it is ready to use. You can pull it directly from the bucket and start working. This can be a time saver and is commonly used for those with less experience because it doesn’t need the same type of prep work. Dry mud is very similar because you can easily add a small amount of water to mix it and uses fewer materials. Mesh tape is one of the best tapes to use with these styles of compounds.
All-Purpose Joint Compound
As the name suggests, an all-purpose joint compound is ideal for beading, coating seams, and finishing. It is also a good choice when choosing to apply a textured finish to your wall or ceiling. Typically it can be used in any step of the drywall mudding and finishing steps. While it is an all-purpose option, our drywallers understand that using specific muds, spackles or compounds offers advantages and disadvantages depending on the application.