Drywall Services in Calgary, Alberta

Start With the Cause of the Damage

Drywall damage that gets covered up usually comes back, so the real fix starts with finding the cause. Calgary Drywall Doctor checks for moisture and settling before any board goes up or any patch goes on, then inspects the finished work under raking light. Read through the services below to find the one that fits your project, then call 587-417-5252 for a free in-person quote.

If you've just moved into a Calgary home, you might be looking for drywall services because of a cracked wall, a stained ceiling, or a bare basement. Calgary Drywall Doctor handles drywall, ceiling, and basement work, from small patch jobs to full basement boarding.

Here's what we tell everyone. Fixing the cause of the damage is what makes a repair last. Covering it up only buys you a few months.

A lot of Calgary homes are older builds, and nail pops and ceiling cracks tend to show up after the first hard winter. Calgary Drywall Doctor was founded in 2004, and that cause-first habit hasn't changed. We check for moisture before boarding and inspect finished work under raking light.

Each section below explains what a service covers and who it's for, with a link to the full details on that service's own page.

When you're ready, contact Calgary Drywall Doctor for a free in-person quote and an itemized written scope on any drywall or ceiling project.

Basement Development Covers Full Drywall Scope for Finished Spaces

You bought the house, and the basement is bare concrete and open studs. That's a normal place to start. Many Calgary homes were built with unfinished basements, so finishing one is a common project after moving in.

Basement Development at Calgary Drywall Doctor covers the drywall side of the job. That means boarding, taping, and finishing the walls and ceilings until they're ready for paint. Framing, electrical, and flooring aren't part of this service. Those belong to your general renovation trades, and we pick up once the framing is in place.

If you're planning a legal secondary suite, the drywall rules change. Suites need fire-rated assemblies, usually Type X board in specific spots, and the work goes through permit inspections. Our crew is trained in fire-rated assemblies, so the boarding is planned to meet those requirements from the start.

The suite question is the one to settle first. It's much easier to plan fire-rated board up front than to tear out and swap board after an inspector flags it.

Basement Development is the whole finishing project from bare studs to paint-ready rooms. Basement Drywall is just the boarding-and-taping stage on its own. See how a full project runs on our basement development page.

Basement Drywall Installation Handles Boarding and Moisture Checks

Basement Drywall is a narrower job than Basement Development. It's the boarding-and-taping stage by itself, for when your basement project is already underway and you need the walls and ceilings closed in before paint.

The work starts before a single sheet goes up. Basement walls sit against the ground, so we check for moisture first. Board hung over a damp wall can grow mold or go soft behind the paint, and you won't see it until it's a bigger problem. Here's what the Basement Drywall stage includes:

• A moisture check on walls and slab edges before boarding
• Boarding basement walls and ceilings, including bulkheads around ducts and beams
• Taping and mudding every joint and corner
• Sanding to a paint-ready surface

Basement ceilings are often low, and bulkheads take extra care to keep straight and square. On larger basement jobs, a boarding and taping crew works alongside our lead finisher, who still leads the finishing and does the final raking-light inspection. Get the full breakdown on our basement drywall page.

Drywall Repair Fixes Larger Damage from Water, Cracks, and Settling

Is that crack a quick fix or a sign of something bigger? That's the first thing we figure out on a Drywall Repair call.

Drywall Repair handles larger damage: sagging sections, water-soaked board, or cracks that run across several studs. Drywall Patching is for small fixes in one spot. If the damage is spread out or keeps coming back, it's a Drywall Repair job.

In NW Calgary, many homes show nail pops and hairline cracks after their first winter. Freeze-thaw cycles and Chinook temperature swings make framing move and settle. That's usually normal settling, not a structural problem. But a crack that keeps opening in the same place deserves a closer look. Here's how a Drywall Repair goes:

• Find the cause, whether it's moisture, settling, or an old leak
• Cut out and replace the damaged board
• Tape, mud, and finish to blend with the walls around it
• Check the finished repair under raking light

Skip the first step and you'll likely be fixing the same wall again next spring. Learn more on our drywall repair page.

Popcorn Ceiling Removal Clears Dated Texture Before a Refinish

Plenty of homes built in the 1970s through the 1990s across Calgary still have their original popcorn ceilings. Most owners take it down to update the look or get the house ready to sell, not because anything's broken.

Popcorn Ceiling Removal strips the old acoustic texture off completely. It's different from Knock Down Ceiling, which is a texture style you can apply after removal. Lots of people end up needing both, one after the other.

There's one step you can't skip. Ceiling textures installed before about 1990 need to be lab-tested before anyone scrapes them. If the test comes back positive, a licensed abatement contractor handles the removal. We don't remove asbestos. If the test is clear, we go ahead with Popcorn Ceiling Removal.

Scraping is only half the job. The ceiling underneath often has gouges, old seams, or patchy spots. It usually needs repair or a full skim coat before it's smooth enough to paint or retexture. Our crew is trained in dust control, so we set up to keep the dust contained while we work. Read the details on our popcorn ceiling removal page.

See the full Popcorn Ceiling Removal page for the whole process, from lab testing to the final coat.

Drywall Installation Builds New Walls for Additions and Renovations

Drywall Installation means hanging new board on new framing. That could be a room addition, a gutted kitchen, or a new wall that splits one big room into two.

The work that matters most here happens before taping starts. Screws need the right spacing and depth. Joints need to land on studs and be staggered, so you don't get one long seam running down the wall. Get those right and the taping goes smoother. The wall's also less likely to crack later.

Drywall Installation covers wall boarding broadly. Drywall Ceiling Installation is its own service because overhead board needs more support and tighter fastening to keep it from sagging over time. If your project has both, we'll list them separately on your written quote so you can see exactly what's included.

This is the step people rush most often. A wall can look fine on day one, then show every bad joint once paint and the first winter hit it.

Find out what goes into a new wall on our drywall installation page.

Ceiling Repair Addresses Cracks, Sagging, and Water Stains

A brown ring shows up on the ceiling after a heavy rain. You paint over it. Three months later, it's back.

That's why Ceiling Repair starts with a cause check. A repeat stain or a crack that keeps reopening can point to an active leak above. Patching over it won't stop the water.

Ceiling Repair covers cracks, sagging, water stains, and old patch jobs that have failed, on any type of ceiling. Popcorn Ceiling Repair is a separate service. It's focused on patching textured acoustic ceilings without taking the texture down.

In Calgary, you'll also see cracks where the ceiling meets an inside wall. That's often truss uplift, where the roof framing shifts with winter temperature swings. It's handled differently than a crack from water damage, so knowing which one you have matters before any work starts.

Older homes with Poly-B plumbing often end up with access holes cut in the ceiling after plumbing work. Those get squared up, boarded, and finished to match the rest of the ceiling. See more on our ceiling repair page.

Drywall Finishing Delivers a Paint-Ready Smooth Surface

Taping and Mudding seals the joints. Drywall Finishing is everything after that: the sanding, texture matching, and final coats that turn a boarded wall into a surface you'd want to paint.

Drywall Finishing also comes after repair work. If a fixed section doesn't match the wall around it, the finish is where that gets sorted out. Texture matching on an older wall takes a careful hand, and it's what makes a repair disappear instead of standing out.

Our lead finisher leads the finishing work on site. Our crew is trained in Level 5 finishing, a thin skim coat over the whole surface. It's used where walls need to be as flat as possible, like spots with bright window light or glossy paint.

Every finished job gets inspected under raking light. That's a light held low and shining across the wall. It shows ridges and dips you'd never notice looking at the wall straight on.

It's the most honest test a finish can get.

Read more on our drywall finishing page.

Taping and Mudding Seals Joints Before the Final Finish

Why does one freshly painted wall look flat while another shows every seam? Usually it comes down to Taping and Mudding.

Taping and Mudding is the step where tape goes over every joint and inside corner, then joint compound goes on in layers. Each coat is wider and thinner than the last. It's the specific joint-sealing step inside Drywall Finishing, which covers the sanding and texture work that comes after.

Calgary's dry air changes how this step goes. Mud can skin over fast on top while it's still soft underneath. Chinook swings can change drying time from one day to the next, too. So we judge cure time on the job instead of rushing to the next coat.

Rushed coats tend to shrink and crack, especially at corners and over screw heads. You might not notice right away. It often shows up a few weeks after paint, when it's a lot more work to fix.

If you've had new board hung and need the joints done before sanding and paint, this is the service you're after. Get the details on our taping and mudding page.

Drywall Patching Fixes Small Holes and Localized Damage

Small hole, small fix.

Drywall Patching is for a single hole, a doorknob dent, or a short crack in one spot. Drywall Repair is for larger or multi-stud damage, and that kind of damage usually points to a bigger cause. A few signs tell you Drywall Patching is the right call:

• The damage is in one spot
• There's no stain, soft board, or damp smell nearby
• It came from an impact, like a doorknob or a moved couch
• It hasn't come back after an earlier fix

We cut out the damaged section, fit a patch, then tape, mud, and blend the finish so it disappears under paint. If we cut in and find wet or crumbling board, we'll tell you and update the scope before going any further. A patch over a hidden problem is just a delay.

See how it works on our drywall patching page.

Residential Drywall Installation Covers New Construction and Additions

Residential Drywall Installation is new board in homes. Think additions, a garage turned into living space, or rooms taken all the way down to the studs.

It's separate from Commercial Drywall Services, which covers multi-unit buildings and tenant improvement work. In a home, the details are different. You're often living there during the job, so dust control and daily cleanup matter. And the fastening pattern has to hold up through years of freeze-thaw seasons and the house settling around it.

We measure the space in person, check for moisture or damage, and give you an itemized written scope before any work starts. During the job, you can contact us directly with questions. On larger projects, the boarding and taping crew works alongside our lead finisher, who still does the final raking-light inspection.

The goal is a new room that still looks right after its first winter, not just on the day we pack up. Learn more on our residential drywall installation page.

Call Calgary Drywall Doctor at 587-417-5252 to book a quote and get an itemized written scope for your project.