# drywall repair business thoughts



## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

Even when using setting type mud, it is the required travel that makes it tough to come out ahead on small jobs.

I'm sure there is a market for the service but can you make money at it.


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## mako1 (Jan 7, 2014)

A large part of my business is drywall and I agree with Colbyt that it would be hard to make any money doing repairs.Most HO'ers will attempt a repair themselves.I would imagine most that would pay for a repair would also want it primed and painted so you've got 2 trips to the job for a very small amount of time per day.
To make it profitable you'd price yourself out of business before getting started.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

Disagree to a certain extent with the other answers. I do agree that you probably can't make a living doing _just_ this, although it can be a profitable part of a handyman service.

The reason drywall repair is a valuable service is that the bigger companies usually won't touch little jobs. So there is a niche there for the little guy with no overhead of an office or secretaries to answer phones.

Also, most homeowners do NOT want to or know how to repair their own drywall.

Generally speaking, you have 2 things to do: repair the drywall, and paint. This _can _be accomplished in 2 trips, but to the best of my knowledge, no less than that.

I have 2 basic prices - one for the customer already has the paint leftover from when the wall was painted, and two for when I have to match the paint.

Day 1: repair the drywall, take a paint sample from the wall (cut out a square of paper from the drywall.) Do your first coat of (for example) 20 minute setting compound, second coat of setting compound, and finally a third coat of regular premixed compound. Patch over the wall sample too, of course. When done, go buy the matching paint.

Day 2: sand. If necessarry, touch up with a little more compound if any is needed. Use a hair dryer to dry out these spots, and do final sanding. Paint the wall up to the corners. If flat paint is used, you can usually just give a thin coat over the patch before repainting the entire wall. Otherwise, do whatever you do to avoid flashing with sheen paints (priming if necessary).

Regarding prices, you charge what it takes to make money. Of course these are short trips and you'll have to schedule your calendar accordingly. But that's what professional handymen do. If you do it right, you'll have a full or nearly full two days anyway, and this will just be a little extra on those 2 days.


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## mako1 (Jan 7, 2014)

"Day 1: repair the drywall, take a paint sample from the wall (cut out a square of paper from the drywall.) Do your first coat of (for example) 20 minute setting compound, second coat of setting compound, and finally a third coat of regular premixed compound. Patch over the wall sample too, of course. When done, go buy the matching paint."

Jeff:I am happy to hear that you can make that profitable..Wish I could in my area.
I can understand you disagreeing with some of the comment but you left a few things out of you post or posted generalizations.
"repairing the drywall" Even using hot mud this will generally take setting the tape and a second coat?Maybe a coat of topping to make it right? Prime and paint even if they have left over paint you can't do that the same day so it's another trip?Some will want you to go to the paint store and try to match their original paint because you are the pro .

Say the patch takes an hour or two the first day.What are you doing the rest of the day?You have to drive to anther job if you want to make money but the OP was not talking about being a handyman.Only patching drywall.
When you "cut out square of paper from the drywall" isn't that noticeable when you paint the patch.
So at the end of day 2 for a drywa patch I'm wondering what the bill may be?Not asking pricing questions as I don't care ..Just wondering where in the world you live that people would pay several hundred dollars to patch a hole in the wall.I know you have other jobs to run back and forth to but the op was asking about a drywall repair business .Not a handyman business.
Still don't see how anyone,in my area at least, would pay the price to have a drywall patch done and support a business doing only that.


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## mako1 (Jan 7, 2014)

Just to make a longer post longer I have one more thing to say.I have always thought that if there is anything in the world that anyone can make a dime on.Someone has thought of it or is doing it?
When is the last time you have heard of a drywall repair business?Just something to ponder?


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

mako, I think if you reread my post carefully, almost all the answers to your questions are there, so I won't address them all again.

When you cut a little square of drywall (maybe 2" square), it's very easy to patch over that with compound while you're patching the real patch.

If people want drywall patched correctly, yes they will pay in the $200+ range. That's a reasonable and fair price for 3 hours of work for a handyman. Let's say it takes 4 hours including driving time and time to get the paint and you charge $225. That might only come to $40 an hour when you count materials, but I get a lot of additional business from those people as well. A lot of this comes from property maintenance and rentals. You make a lot more money doing a drywall patch than you do giving a free estimate, lol.


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## mako1 (Jan 7, 2014)

Jeff:I did not intend to demean you and think I understood your post.I do much of this work myself for good customers who I do other business with..It pays off and I commend for having the foresight to see this.
The OP was asking about starting a business doing only drywall repair .I gave my opinion on this being a hard way to go.
As a sidenote ,I wish I could get that for a drywall repair here (hole in the wall or ceiling),Most are young kids partying and someone gets crazy.No money to start with.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

No offense taken - just directing you to the part of my post where I said "I do agree that you probably can't make a living doing _just_ this."

Generally I just do not do business with college kids or areas with little to no money - just not going to be profitable business-wise for me there.


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## ZTMAN (Feb 19, 2015)

If you are looking for a few bucks, go into screen repairs instead of drywall repairs. Or even better , tool sharpening


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## everything (Aug 19, 2015)

Good posts, and ideas from ZTMAN. Drywall repair sounds like tough work. I bet a person could make a name for themselves doing it locally, and get plenty of word of mouth referral eventually. I need about twenty spots in my apt. fixed, most old repairs that look like crap, I'll do them myself because I have no idea who I would call for something like that.


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

OK from what I am reading all the answers so for are not allowing anything for texture only smooth walls. Also the painting can mean anything from getting lucky on a match to having to paint the whole wall. Now throw in some popcorn ceilings and a small patch can turn into a nightmare.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

Thinking of what ToolSeeker said, I think there might actually be potential for a business, if you included texture repair, _and_ popcorn repair, _and_ popcorn _removal_, _and_ crack repair, _and_ _plaster_ crack repair. It would take some energetic marketing though. Remember, most drywall companies won't do small repairs. If you:

- aggressively targeted all property management companies in your area
- and all apartment complexes in your area
- and schmoozed construction and home building companies
- and targeted all home improvement companies

To show them you can do the smaller jobs, either as a standalone, or as a sub who they want to call every time for their punch lists, you might actually be able to make something of it. You would have to get your name and number in a LOT of wallets and emails lists though.


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## drew53813 (Jun 25, 2014)

Well first off, I currently work a full time job but work 12 hr shifts which frees me up 4 days a week. I am pretty talented and can do a lot of general home repair/handyman work. What I would really like to do is clean drains. You can make quite a bit of money doing this however I woul dneed 4 yrs of plumbing experience to get a license here in California. Who knows what the future holds though.


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

I would check on the licensing part, here where I am a guy advertised tile repair. Never did one job and was fined $500 for not having a license. I was fined for removing rotten deck boards and replacing them, changed absolutely no structure. No permit.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

Doing this as a part time job is another matter - that is always possible, depending how much income you need from it.

As to the topic of permits, that is a completely different kettle of fish - a real pain in the neck in many places.


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## Sir MixAlot (Apr 4, 2008)

@drew53813, How good are you at repairing walls and ceilings? Blending textures? I do a lot of drywall repair and ceiling repairs but it's usually the bigger repairs or the hard to match repairs that people look for a pro to repair from what I see around here. 

Like Toolseeker said, the licensing and regulations are ridiculous around here... State and County drywall licenses required even to do repairs. Separate County painting license required for any painting too. :yes:


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