Drywall Contractor in Inglewood, Calgary, AB — Plaster Repair, Infills and Renovations

Calgary Drywall Doctor is a drywall contractor serving Inglewood in SE Calgary. Inglewood is Calgary's oldest neighbourhood, laid out in the late 1800s along what is now 9th Avenue SE, and much of its housing dates from the early 1900s. That makes it unlike anywhere else we work. One street can hold a 1912 house with lath and plaster walls, a 1950s bungalow with early drywall, and a brand-new infill with Level 5 smooth walls. We handle all three: plaster repair and lath-to-drywall conversions in the old homes, renovation drywall when a floor plan is opened up, and finishing in the new builds. We are licensed, WCB-covered and insured. Call 587-417-5252 for a free written quote.

What We Tend to Find in Inglewood Homes

Most original Inglewood homes were built between about 1905 and the 1930s, with a scattering of later infill from every decade since, and a lot of new two-storey and semi-detached infills built from the 2000s on. The older houses have wood lath and lime or gypsum plaster on the walls and ceilings, often with a century of paint, wallpaper and patching on top.

What we see most:

• Plaster that has let go of the lath. Plaster keys break over time. The surface feels spongy and cracks in a map pattern. Sometimes we can re-adhere it with plaster washers and adhesive, then skim. Sometimes the ceiling is too far gone and we overboard it with 3/8-inch or 1/2-inch drywall screwed through to the joists.
• Lath-to-drywall conversions. In a full renovation, owners often strip the plaster back to studs so the walls can be insulated and rewired. We board and finish after the trades, and we deal with the out-of-plumb, out-of-square framing you get in a 100-year-old house.
• Blending old and new. Where an addition or a new opening meets an old plaster wall, the joint has to be floated so you cannot see where one ends and the other starts. This takes a wide skim, not a strip of tape.
• Infill finishing. New Inglewood infills are built to a high standard, with smooth ceilings and walls and plenty of pot lights. A Level 5 finish is the norm, and some builders do not deliver it. We skim and correct flashing on walls that show joints under those lights.
• Basement and attic conversions. Old Inglewood basements are low and often damp, with stone or early concrete foundations. We check moisture carefully and use mould-resistant board. Attic conversions bring sloped ceilings and knee walls that need careful board layout.

Old plaster can also hide earlier repairs and early textured coatings. Any coating that looks pre-1990 gets a lab test before we sand or scrape it.

Inglewood also has a stock of 1940s and 1950s homes built with early gypsum board, sometimes with a thin plaster skim over it. That board is thinner and softer than modern drywall, and the joints were taped with paper and lime plaster. It repairs well, but it needs a lighter hand and a wider float than a 2010s wall.

Drywall Services in Inglewood

Here is what we bring to Inglewood:

• Drywall Repair, and specifically Plaster Repair for cracked, loose and failing lath-and-plaster walls and ceilings.
• Drywall Installation for conversions and additions, with Renovation Drywall when the floor plan changes and Drywall Removal & Demolition to strip plaster and lath back to the studs.
• Drywall Finishing, including Skim Coating to flatten old plaster and a Level 5 finish for infills and feature walls.
• Ceiling Repair for sagging plaster, cracked ceilings and overboarding when the old ceiling cannot be saved.
• Basement Drywall for low, older basements, with moisture checks first and mould-resistant board on exterior walls.

We also do Soundproofing Drywall in Inglewood semi-detached infills, where a shared wall between two new units can carry more sound than the owners expected.

How an Inglewood Drywall Job Goes

1. Site visit and quote. We check how much of the plaster is still bonded, test for moisture in basements, and flag any old coating that needs a lab test. You get a written itemized quote that says which areas are repair, which are overboard and which are new board.
2. Booking. Most jobs are booked within 2–3 days of approval. Conversions are scheduled after insulation and electrical inspection.
3. Protection. Inglewood homes have original fir floors, trim and built-ins. We cover everything, build zip walls and run a HEPA vacuum. Plaster dust is fine and goes everywhere if you let it.
4. Repair, overboard or board. Loose plaster is re-secured or removed. Overboarding is screwed into joists, not just lath. New board on old framing is shimmed so the walls read flat.
5. Skim and finish. Old-to-new joints are floated wide. Infill walls get a Level 5 skim where lighting calls for it.
6. Raking-light inspection. We check every wall and ceiling under a low-angle light, which is the only way to see waves in an old wall before paint.

Parking and access can be tight on Inglewood streets, and many homes have no rear lane. We bring board in through the front and protect the porch and the hallway floors on the way.

Why Inglewood Homeowners Call Calgary Drywall Doctor

We have worked across Calgary since 2004, with 500+ projects completed, and the older inner-city homes are some of our favourite work. Inglewood owners call us because we know when plaster can be saved and when it cannot, we protect the original finishes, and every job carries a written workmanship warranty.

Owners of heritage-style homes also want someone who will not strip out the original plaster just because it is easier. We give you a straight answer on what can be saved and what cannot.

We also serve nearby SE communities like Acadia and Willow Park. For everything we do in the quadrant, see our SE Calgary drywall contractor page.

Call 587-417-5252 or email info@calgarydrywalldoctor.com for a free written quote in Inglewood.