Drywall Repair & Painting in South Jersey

Drywall repair and painting is one job, not two: the patch is done when you can't find it. Painting Plus Home Improvement LLC repairs drywall across South Jersey from our shop in Cherry Hill, then primes and paints the repair, so one crew starts the wall and finishes it.

Most drywall calls we get are small and specific: a hole in a stairwell ceiling, cracked seams and nail pops ahead of a repaint, a garage wall, a bedroom where old wallpaper was painted over. Call (856) 669-7500 for a free on-site look.

Drywall repair services, from patch to paint

We repair the drywall damage that shows up in lived-in South Jersey homes and then paint over it. The usual list:

• Holes: doorknob and anchor holes, and the access cuts a plumber or electrician leaves behind.
• Cracks and failed seams: tape that has lifted or split along a joint or a corner.
• Nail pops and dents: the small defects that show the moment fresh paint goes on.
• Ceiling patches: including stairwell ceilings that need staging to reach.
• Water-stained areas: once the leak itself has been fixed.
• Walls after wallpaper: torn paper face and old paste left by wallpaper removal.

After the patch comes the part that gets skipped on a quick fix: primer on every repair, texture matched to the wall around it, and paint. That is why drywall repair is usually booked together with interior painting. For new rooms, additions or a full-house hang, tell us the scope and we will say plainly whether it is a job for our crew or for a drywall contractor.

What drywall repair costs

Drywall repair is priced by the size and location of the damage, plus the painting needed to hide it. These are published national figures, not Painting Plus prices. We quote in writing after seeing the wall.

The per-item numbers look low because they leave out the trip. HomeGuide puts contractor minimums at $350 to $650, so one small hole on its own rarely costs $50. Several repairs in one visit, or repairs done as part of a paint job, spread that minimum out. Our guide on how big a drywall patch can get covers when a patch turns into a new section of board.

Why a drywall patch shows through paint

A patch shows through paint when it was never primed. Joint compound is more porous than the painted wall around it, so it soaks up paint unevenly and leaves a dull or shiny spot that Sherwin-Williams calls flashing. The fix is to spot-prime every repair before the finish coat, feather the paint out past the patch, and repaint the whole wall when the old paint has faded.

How smooth the repair has to be depends on the paint and the light. The gypsum industry grades finishes by level (National Gypsum):

So a patch on a flat white ceiling and a patch on a dark satin dining room wall are different jobs, and the estimate says which one you have.

Water stains and painted-over wallpaper

Water-stained drywall can be kept only if it dried flat. The EPA's water damage guidance says wet wallboard may be dried in place when there is no swelling and the seams are intact, and should be removed and replaced otherwise. A dry stain still needs a stain-blocking primer, or it bleeds back through the new paint. Mold is a separate problem: the EPA says never paint over it, so the moisture and the mold get dealt with before any primer goes on.

Painted-over wallpaper is the other common case in older South Jersey houses. Sherwin-Williams recommends removing vinyl wallcovering before painting. Once the paper is off, torn drywall face and leftover paste are sealed, the wall is skimmed smooth where it needs it, and then it is primed and painted. Our post on removing wallpaper without damaging drywall explains what to expect.

How long drywall repair and painting takes

Most single repairs take two visits or one long day, because compound has to dry between coats. A thin coat of ready-mixed joint compound needs about 17 hours at 70°F and 50 percent humidity, according to the Gypsum Association's GA-236 drying table. Setting-type compounds harden in 20, 45 or 90 minutes, which is how a small patch can be filled, sanded, primed and painted on a short schedule.

1. Look and quote. We check what caused the damage, how far it runs, and what paint is on the wall now.
2. Cut, back and tape. Damaged board comes out and a new piece goes in on backing. USG's guidance is paper tape for crack resistance, with mesh tape only under setting-type compound.
3. Coat and sand. Two or three coats of compound, each wider than the last, sanded flat.
4. Prime and paint. Primer on the repair, then finish paint to the nearest corner or the whole room.

Humid summers and unheated garages stretch drying times in South Jersey, so the schedule is set at the estimate.

Permits and older homes in New Jersey

Most drywall repair in a New Jersey house needs no permit. The state's Uniform Construction Code treats interior finish work, including plastering and drywall, as ordinary maintenance when it covers less than 25 percent of the wall area in a one- or two-family home. Interior painting is ordinary maintenance at any size.

Homes built before 1978 have one more rule. Federal lead-safe work practices apply to paid work that disturbs more than 6 square feet of painted surface in a room (40 CFR 745.83). Tell us the year the house was built so the repair is planned the right way.

Where we repair drywall in South Jersey

We repair and paint drywall across Camden, Burlington and Gloucester counties from 5 Perina Blvd in Cherry Hill. We take drywall repair jobs in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield, Moorestown, Voorhees, Marlton and Mount Laurel, plus the towns between them such as Audubon, Collingswood and Haddon Township.

County pages: Camden County, Burlington County, Gloucester County and Atlantic County. Read what customers say on our reviews page or go back to the Painting Plus home page.

Frequently asked questions