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Abner Flooring and Remodeling
How Much Does Drywall Installation Cost?

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How Much Does Drywall Installation Cost?

Hung, taped, and finished to a paint-ready surface, no subcontractors, no handoffs, one crew handles it all.

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What Drywall Installation Actually Costs

How much does drywall installation cost? It depends on square footage, board count, finish level, and whether the space needs new framing or just a hang-and-tape. Abner Flooring and Remodeling handles the full scope across the greater Atlanta metro, from single-room repairs to whole-home new builds. Call (404) 706-8999 and we'll give you a straight number after we see the job.

Most drywall projects fall somewhere between a few hundred dollars for a patch repair and several thousand for a full room or basement finish. What moves that number: ceiling height, board thickness (standard 1/2" vs. 5/8" fire-rated), number of coats required on the finish, and access. A straightforward bedroom hang-and-tape is a very different job than a vaulted ceiling with multiple angles. We don't quote blind, and we don't pad estimates with materials you don't need. Every job is different, contact Abner Flooring and Remodeling for an accurate estimate.

The Process

Three Phases We Never Skip

Hanging, taping, and finishing are not the same job, and cutting corners on any one of them shows.

  1. 01

    Hang

    We measure, cut, and fasten every sheet to the stud layout. Seams are planned, not improvised. Butt joints are staggered. The board goes up level and tight before we touch a single piece of tape.

  2. 02

    Tape

    Paper tape is bedded in the first coat of joint compound along every seam and corner. We use mesh only where it makes sense. This coat has to be right, every crack you see later traces back to tape that was rushed or skipped.

  3. 03

    Finish

    Two to three finish coats, feathered out and sanded between each pass. We sand clean. We don't leave dust piles behind, and we don't hand you a wall with ridges and lap marks and call it ready to paint. Paint-ready means paint-ready.

What Goes Into the Price

01

Room Size and Board Count

Bigger rooms cost more. That's the baseline. Ceiling height matters too. A standard 8-foot ceiling takes fewer cuts than a vaulted or coffered space.

02

Finish Level

Level 3 finish works under heavy texture. Level 4 is standard for flat paint. Level 5 is skim-coat smooth, required if you're doing gloss or semi-gloss on a wall people will actually look at straight-on. We'll tell you what level your project actually needs.

03

Board Thickness

Standard residential walls take 1/2-inch board. Garages and rooms that share a wall with a furnace room often require 5/8-inch Type X for fire rating. We pull the spec before we order materials.

04

Access and Prep

A wide-open room is fast. A basement stairwell with a low ceiling and no staging room is not. Difficult access costs more. We won't pretend it doesn't.

05

Repair vs. New Install

Patching a hole from a doorknob or fixing water damage is a different scope than hanging a full addition. Both get the same finish standard. The price just reflects what the job actually is.

06

Texture Matching

Orange peel, knockdown, skip trowel, matching an existing texture to a repair is one of the harder parts of this trade. We do it. We don't tape a patch and leave you with a flat square on a textured wall.

One Crew From Drywall to Final Coat

Most contractors stop at the drywall. We don't. Once the finish coat is sanded and clean, our same crew can move into interior painting, baseboard and trim installation, or whatever the room needs next. If you're already doing new flooring, adding drywall work to the same project visit saves you time and a second mobilization fee. Homeowners doing full room renovations across Midtown, Old Fourth Ward, and Brookhaven call us specifically because they don't want to coordinate five different trades. One call, one point of contact, one crew that finishes what it starts. That's how we keep projects moving without the usual scheduling gaps between contractors.
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Key Facts

Drywall Installation at a Glance

The short version for anyone who wants the facts without the pitch.

  1. 01

    Board thickness is spec-driven, not preference

    Standard residential drywall is 1/2-inch; garages and fire-rated assemblies require 5/8-inch Type X.

  2. 02

    Seam direction is not arbitrary

    Sheets hung perpendicular to framing reduce visible seams. Horizontal on walls, perpendicular on ceilings.

  3. 03

    Tape choice matters by location

    Paper tape on flat seams, mesh only where appropriate, metal or vinyl bead on every outside corner.

  4. 04

    Paint-ready is a specific standard

    Level 5 full skim coat is the correct prep for high-sheen paint. We'll tell you which level the job requires.

Areas We Cover

We work across the greater Atlanta metro. If your project is in one of these areas, we can schedule an estimate any day of the week.

Drywall Installation: Common Questions

Do you hang drywall horizontally or vertically?
On walls, horizontal is almost always better for residential work. Running sheets across the studs keeps the long factory-tapered edges at seam locations, which means cleaner, flatter joints. Vertical hanging is faster on tall commercial walls but creates more seams in standard 8-foot rooms. We hang based on what produces the fewest visible seams on your specific wall.
When hanging drywall, do you start at the top or the bottom?
Ceilings go first, then walls from the top down. On walls, the top sheet is hung tight to the ceiling and fastened into every stud. The bottom sheet then butts up to it. This keeps the seam at roughly waist height where finishing is easier, and it means any small gap at the floor gets covered by baseboard. Never start at the floor and work up.
What finish level do I need for a room being painted?
For flat or eggshell paint, Level 4 is the standard. That means three coats of compound, properly sanded. For semi-gloss or gloss paint, or anywhere light rakes across the wall at a shallow angle, you need Level 5, a full skim coat over the entire surface. Skipping to Level 4 on a high-gloss wall will show every imperfection once the sheen hits it.
How long does drywall finishing take to dry before it can be painted?
Joint compound needs at least 24 hours between coats under normal conditions, longer in a humid Georgia summer or in a basement with low airflow. The final coat needs to be fully cured before sanding and priming. Rushing this step causes shrinkage cracks after paint goes on. We don't move to paint prep until the finish coat is genuinely dry, not just dry to the touch.
Can you match existing texture on a drywall repair?
Yes, and it's one of the trickier parts of the trade. Knockdown, orange peel, and skip-trowel all require a different spray pattern or trowel technique to blend with the surrounding wall. A flat patch on a textured surface is obvious from across the room. We texture to match before we leave, not just to Level 4 smooth.
What causes drywall seams to crack or show through paint?
Two main causes: inadequate tape adhesion in the first coat, or compound applied too thick and not feathered wide enough. Compound shrinks as it dries. If it's built up in a narrow ridge rather than feathered out 8 to 10 inches on each side of the seam, that shrinkage telegraphs through paint. Settlement movement in the house can also cause seam cracks, especially in older construction.

Get a Straight Answer on Your Drywall Project

We're available seven days a week. Call or text and we'll schedule an estimate at a time that works for you.

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