Drywall Repair & Patching in Wilmington, DE

Most drywall repair calls in the Wilmington area are small: a doorknob hole, a TV mount that pulled out, nail pops along a ceiling, or a cracked seam above a doorway. They're small jobs, but they're finish-sensitive, so it pays to hire someone who does this every day.

Common repairs

• Nail and screw pops: fasteners backing out as framing dries and shrinks, common in the first few years of a new house and after big humidity swings. The fix is to drive a new screw next to the pop, set the old one, and re-coat. Covering it with mud alone won't hold.
• Holes up to about 6 inches: usually patched with a backer or a "California patch," then finished in 2–3 coats.
• Larger holes: cut back to the nearest studs and patched with a new piece of board so the repair doesn't flex.
• Cracked tape joints: loose or bubbled tape is cut out and re-taped; caulking over it just delays the problem.
• Dented or cracked corner bead: damaged outside corners are cut out and replaced with new bead.

What affects the price

Trip and setup cost are a big share of a small job, so grouping every patch in the house into one visit is the easiest way to save. Texture matching (orange peel, knockdown, skim), high ceilings, and whether the contractor also paints all change the quote. Most pros will need two or three visits for drying time unless they use setting-type ("hot") compound.

DIY or hire it out?

Nail holes and small dings are reasonable DIY. Once it's bigger than your palm, on a ceiling, in a spot where light rakes across the wall, or one of a dozen patches before a sale or move-out, a pro is usually faster and cheaper than redoing it twice.