01
Drywall installation
Boarding walls and ceilings on new framing, basements, additions and full gut jobs. Correct board for the location, moisture resistant in bathrooms, fire rated where a separation is required, screws set at proper spacing.
Board, tape, finish and repair, sanded flat and ready for paint. Dust controlled, corners straight, family run since 1999.
A dry wall contractor in Ottawa is judged under the first coat of paint, when every ridge shows. Call (613) 261-4861 and we will look at the walls.
We board and finish across the greater Ottawa area, and we have since 1999. New basements in Kanata, repairs after a burst pipe in Nepean, whole main floors in older Centretown semis where nothing is plumb.
Good drywall is flat, and flat takes coats. Rushed taping is the most common reason a fresh paint job looks disappointing in raking light.
Three service lines, all done by our own crews.
Each service below has its own page with the detail on how we do it, what it costs and how long it takes. We cover drywall finishing, drywall installation and drywall repair.
Boarding walls and ceilings on new framing, basements, additions and full gut jobs. Correct board for the location, moisture resistant in bathrooms, fire rated where a separation is required, screws set at proper spacing.
Tape, compound, corner bead and sanding. Tape coat plus two finish coats as standard, and a smoother finish level where walls will get strong side light or a gloss paint.
Water damage, holes, cracked corners, popped screws, failed tape seams and textured ceiling removal. We cut back to sound board, back the patch properly, and blend the finish into the surrounding wall.
Our humidity swing is extreme. July is humid, January is desert dry indoors once the furnace runs.
Wood framing moves with that swing, and drywall telegraphs the movement. Cracks show up at the corners of door openings, along ceiling perimeters, and above stairwells where the framing spans are longest.
Fixing a crack means addressing the joint, not smearing filler on it. We cut out failed tape, re-tape with the right compound, and feather wide enough that the repair does not read as a stripe under paint. Where movement is ongoing, we discuss a control detail rather than promising it will never return.
Board goes on last in an Ottawa basement, not first. Before we board, the moisture question has to be settled: grading and downspouts outside, any foundation seepage addressed, and continuous insulation against the concrete.
Paper faced drywall installed tight against a cold, damp foundation wall is how basements grow mould behind a finished surface. We frame off the wall with insulation behind, and we keep board up off the slab.
Sanding compound produces a fine dust that travels through a whole house on the furnace fan.
We seal the work area with poly and zip doors, cover and tape return air vents, and use dust collecting sanders on larger jobs. Floors get protected, and we vacuum rather than sweep, because sweeping puts everything back in the air.
For occupied homes in Merivale or South Keys where families are working from home, we also schedule the noisy stages around calls where we can.
Homes built before roughly 1950 in downtown Ottawa often have lath and plaster rather than drywall.
Plaster repair is a different craft. Sometimes the right answer is a plaster patch, sometimes it is cutting back to the studs and boarding the section, then blending the transition. We look at how much of the wall is sound and loose before recommending either.
Pre-1980 finishes may also contain asbestos in the joint compound or ceiling texture. Where that is a possibility, testing comes before demolition. We do not sand into unknown material and hope.
Drywall goes up after framing, rough-ins and inspection, and after insulation and vapour barrier.
It comes before painting and before flooring. When we are already running the job as your general contractor, that sequencing is handled for you, and the finish gets checked under work light before the painters arrive.
Four stages, with drying time respected between coats.
Poly barriers, sealed vents, covered floors, and a clear path in and out.
Correct board for each location, hung with proper fastener spacing and staggered joints.
Tape coat, then finish coats with drying time between. Corners and butt joints get the extra attention.
Sanded flat, then inspected under raking light with you before paint goes anywhere near it.
We board and finish throughout the greater Ottawa area. Pick your neighbourhood for local detail.
Because the joint is moving, and filler alone does not fix movement. Our humidity swings between a humid July and a dry January make framing expand and contract. The repair has to remove failed tape and re-tape properly, and sometimes the framing needs attention first.
Boarding a single room is usually a day. Finishing adds three or four days because each coat has to dry before the next. Rushing that is what leaves ridges and shrinkage cracks that show up once you paint.
Yes, either by scraping and skim coating or by boarding over it. In homes built before 1980 the texture may contain asbestos, so testing comes first. We do not sand unknown material.
Not if the job is set up properly. We seal the work zone with poly, tape off return air vents, use dust collecting sanders, and vacuum rather than sweep. Most clients are surprised how contained it stays.
Bathrooms need moisture resistant board, and tiled wet areas need a proper backer rather than paper faced board. Basements need insulation and an air gap behind the board. Fire rated board is required where a separation is needed, such as under a garage or in a secondary suite.
Yes. Our painters take it from the sanded surface through primer and finish coats, which means one company is responsible if a seam shows later.
Whether it is one damaged wall or a whole basement, we will price the board, the coats and the cleanup in writing.
Dry wall across the greater Ottawa area since 1999
Book a free consultation. We walk the space with you, talk through what the work involves, and follow up with an itemized estimate.