Get matched with top drywall pros in Bettendorf, IA

A common cause of separation between a wall and the ceiling is truss lift—this can happen to the ceiling of rooms directly under the attic when the seasons change and wood building materials dry out, shrink, and shift. Roof trusses often dry out at different speeds, and if the bottom pieces dry out faster than the top pieces, they can shrink and pull the attached drywall away from ceilings and walls, causing cracks. Fortunately, truss lift is only a cosmetic problem, not a structural problem, and you can fix it by separating the ceiling drywall from the roof trusses, and patching the cracks.

On average, drywall installation costs around $2,000, with a typical range of $400 to $6,000, including materials and labor. The final price depends on several factors. The most significant is the size of the area, as many contractors charge per square foot. Other cost factors include the complexity of the job (e.g., cutting around multiple windows and doors, corners, or curved walls), accessibility, location, the thickness of the drywall, the height of the room, and the desired level of finish. The level of finish can range from simply hanging the drywall to taping and mudding the seams and painting the walls.

The cost to skim coat drywall is $1.15 to $1.35 per square foot. Most of the cost is labor, for the necessary skills to apply the skim coat with precision using high-quality tools. This is a job better left to the professionals for the best outcomes.

Plaster is a beautiful finish but is labor-intensive to install and remove. It’s vulnerable to cracking and more sensitive to moisture variance than drywall. Installing plaster on a new wall is an expensive process that can take days to weeks, depending on the scope. Removing a plaster wall can also be quite expensive and time-consuming.