Fort Wayne Craft Drywall: Drywall Repair, Installation & Popcorn Ceiling Removal in Fort Wayne, IN
Fort Wayne Craft Drywall does drywall repair for houses of every age, and this drywall contractor starts by asking when yours went up. A 1920s plaster ceiling and a 2005 great room fail in different ways. One patched hole or crack usually runs $383 to $463 a visit in zip 46802, for 1 to 2 hours at the wall.
Request a quote
Cracked, stained, sagging, or full of holes from the last tenant? Say what you see and when the house went up, and the estimator phones with a first read.
A common wall texture in this area is Spanish lace, which can be hard to match by someone who has not done this several times. The contractor here that holds to their quoted price is what the owners around here praise.
- One repair visit, $383 to $463 in ZIP 46802
- Small hole, 1 to 2 hours, then 12+ hours a coat
- The year built comes first, then the cause
- Patch, texture and paint priced apart in writing
- Plastic sheeting hung to hold the dust
Price the wall or ceiling by job
Typical prices per sq ft for Fort Wayne jobs, from the source below. Your quote follows a look at the job.
| Type | Per sq ft |
|---|---|
| Replace damaged board | $5 to $6 |
| Hang new board, no finishing | $2 to $3 |
| Popcorn removal | $1 to $3 |
| New texture | $1 to $2 |
| Skim coat | $1 to $1 |
$618 to $751
Call (260) 352-5780 for your priceAt a glance
| Item | Typical figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| One repair visit | $383 to $463, one hole or crack | Homewyse, zip 46802, 2026 |
| Extra dents, same visit | Mostly material, once the labor minimum is paid | Homewyse, zip 46802, 2026 |
| Usual minimum job fee | $350 to $650 or more at most contractors | HomeGuide, 2026 (national) |
| New board where it failed | $4.94 to $6.01 each sq ft | Homewyse, zip 46802, 2026 |
| Larger repair, start to finish | 1 to 3 days, since each coat dries 12+ hours | HomeGuide, 2026 (national) |
| Written contract | Required in Indiana above $150 | Indiana Attorney General fact sheet |
| Permit question | Allen County Building Department, 260-449-7131 | Allen County |
Residential Drywall Repair, Hanging and Replacement
Drywall Repair for Holes, Dents and Tears
Drywall repair for holes, dents and tears can be a pretty small job for any drywall specialist, and one patch visit can run around $383 to $463. Even though the hole can look small, it needs to be trimmed out so that there is sound board around the new edges. A backing strip should always be added behind larger holes so the plug stays in place. Tape goes on, then several coats feathered wide so you won't see the repair.
Drywall Installation and Hanging
Drywall installation and hanging on a remodel or addition can be done a couple of different ways, as far as doing it yourself or hiring a contractor. Hanging the drywall itself can cost around $2.24 to $2.65 per square foot and can be done pretty easily in a day. What takes the most time is the finish. The finish level you pick decides how much more this will cost to complete the job.
Drywall Replacement for Wet or Crumbling Board
If you need drywall replacement for wet or crumbling board, the first thing is to remove all of the drywall board that is wet and then make sure the reason it got wet is fixed. The cavity should stay open until all of the studs dry fully. If you close it up too soon, mold can grow, and then a remediation company would be needed.
Popcorn Ceiling Removal
For popcorn ceiling removal, a lab sample is typically recommended first, before any scraping is done, to know what kind of material you're dealing with and whether it contains asbestos or not. If the test result is clean, then wetting the popcorn with a spray bottle and then scraping it is the safest and cleanest way to take it off. If it's been painted, then water cannot soak in, and it's going to be tough to scrape off.
Drywall Finishing, Taping and Mudding
Making sure the job is not hurried or rushed is imperative for drywall finishing, taping and mudding. The flat seams should use paper tape, with two wider coats that can take 12 plus hours each to dry. If this part is rushed, there can be bubbles that form underneath the tape. After that, you decide the finish level you want.
Ceiling Repair for Sags and Holes
Ceiling repair for sags and holes can mean two totally different repair jobs. For instance, a foot through the ceiling from someone walking in your attic is a quick fix with a fast patch job. If the ceiling is sagging because it's wet or has lost its grip, then the fix could be new screws added to the drywall board if it's dry, or tearing it all out if it's wet.
Ceiling Water Damage Repair
Ceiling water damage repair typically happens when there is heavy rain in the area, especially if it's got some wind behind it to force it under the roof tiles. Before anything happens, make sure the leak is stopped first, or it will just repeat itself. The key is to open the ceiling up right away, and once the leak is fixed, put fans all around and dry out the area before it's sealed up.
Ceiling Crack Repair and Truss Uplift
Some ceiling cracks hug an inside wall, open every winter and close by summer. That pattern points to roof trusses lifting in the cold, and Fort Wayne sees a freezing low about 124 days a year. Pencil the crack's ends in January and look again in July. We pull the ceiling fasteners back from that corner so the ceiling can float, which beats re-taping each fall.
Texture Matching for Spanish Lace and Knockdown
A repair shows when its texture or its sheen is off. We name the pattern first, feather the base coats wide, spray a test on scrap and hold it against your wall. Small patches get done by hand, and a hopper comes out past about two feet square.
What year was the house built?
Tell us that, the room, and what you see. A phone photo helps. The call back starts with the likely cause and a first cost range for that kind of repair.
Commercial Drywall Installation and Repair
Commercial drywall work around Fort Wayne gets priced from the plans and scheduled around the people using the building.
Acoustical and Drop Ceiling Installation
Suspended grids for offices and shops, with drywall soffits where ducts run low.
Apartment Drywall for Property Managers
About 37% of occupied Fort Wayne homes are rented. A building above four units needs an asbestos inspector with an Indiana license before renovation. We plan around that step, then turn units over as they empty.
Office Partitions and Tenant Build-Outs
We frame metal-stud walls with 5/8-inch Type X where the plans call for a rating, and bring them to Level 4 where the paint is flat.
Medical and Dental Office Drywall
Exam rooms want walls that hold conversation in, and plumbing walls want moisture-resistant board. We follow the drawings and sequence the drywall around the opening date, so inspection comes before the paint crew.
Church and School Drywall
Hallways and gyms take hits, so abuse-resistant board earns its cost there. We schedule the loud work around services and school breaks, and old materials get tested before a wall opens.
Specialty Drywall and Plaster Services
Plaster and Lath Repair
Roughly a sixth of Fort Wayne houses went up by 1939, and at that age plaster and lath are likely. Cracks with sag usually mean the keys behind have snapped. We inject adhesive or set plaster washers 8 to 10 inches apart, catching both sides, before any filler goes on. We would recommend that if your plaster ceiling is sagging over the whole ceiling, it is probably cheaper and better to have it taken out and new drywall put up. If it's only in a few spots, then it's probably cheaper to fix those sagging spots.
Skim Coating Walls and Ceilings
Skimming pulls compound thinly across a whole surface, which buries old texture or a chewed-up wall. After wallpaper comes off, torn face paper needs a solvent-based primer first, or it blisters under the coat. We seal what tore, then pull thin coats until a raking lamp finds nothing.
Level 5 Drywall Finish
Level 5 is Level 4 plus a full skim of compound, wall to wall (GA-214). Decide whether your paint is flat or has any sheen, like eggshell or satin. If it's flat, you could get by with a Level 4 finish. If it has any sheen and the light hits it, we would pay the extra for Level 5 so it's smooth with no ripples.
Nail Pop and Screw Pop Repair
One or two round bumps over a fastener do not need us. Drive a screw an inch or so away, set the old head, and dab on spackle. A whole row of pops is different, since it says the board never pulled tight or the framing moved. We reset that run and refinish it.
Basement Drywall After High Water
The Maumee at New Haven crested at 25.49 feet in 1982 and 23.65 feet in 2009, and a wet basement leaves its mark low on the wall. We hold new sheets 1/2 inch off the slab, mold-resistant below grade. Foam on those walls gets a 1/2-inch gypsum barrier, per IRC R316.4.
Garage Drywall and Fire-Rated Type X
An attached garage gets 1/2-inch gypsum board or thicker on its side of the house wall. Put a bedroom overhead and the ceiling goes to 5/8-inch Type X, fastened 6 inches apart (IRC R302.6). We hang to those numbers and finish as far as you want, often just taped in a garage.
How a Fort Wayne Drywall Job Runs
The hole is the easy part. The hard part is a contractor who comes back and charges what was said.
I remember a neighbor of mine who was doing a basement remodel next door. He was picking my brain about who he should hire to do the drywall, or whether to do it himself. I asked him what kind of finish he was looking for, a textured wall finish or a smooth wall finish. He said he would like a smooth wall finish, so I encouraged him to hire a professional drywaller to at least do the finish. He ended up hanging the drywall himself with a friend, but he found a drywall contractor to do the smooth finish.
From the first call to the last coat
- The year and the room. We ask when the house was built and what the damage looks like. A phone photo helps.
- A hand on the board. We press around the stain and look at what sits above it.
- One written figure. Patch, texture and paint get separate lines, with dates. A change goes on paper first.
- Plastic up, floors covered. Sheeting across the doorway holds the sanding dust, and a vacuum goes round before we leave.
- A last look with you. We rake a lamp across the repair while you can still say something.
Allen County license check
Before you sign with anyone, ask to see the contractor’s Allen County license or registration, and match the name on it to your contract.
How the Year Built Changes a Drywall Repair
The median Fort Wayne house dates from 1971, and the year decides what we look for behind the paint.
| Built | Share of homes | What we check first |
|---|---|---|
| 1939 or earlier | 15.5% | Plaster keys, lead paint |
| Before 1980 | 62.1% | Lead paint, old compound |
| 2000 or later | 14.4% | Truss cracks, tall walls |
Shares of 120,521 housing units, 2024; the before-1980 row includes the oldest houses. Your closing papers or tax record usually show the year.
How Long a Drywall Repair Takes
Compound sets the calendar. A one-hour patch can still stretch over two visits, because each coat wants 12 hours or more.
| Job | Typical time | What sets the pace |
|---|---|---|
| Small hole | 1 to 2 hours of work | Coats drying |
| Extensive repair | 1 to 3 days | Coats drying |
| Popcorn removal | 1 to 5 days | Test result, room count |
| Whole house | 3 days to 2 weeks | Size, finish level |
National figures, 2026.
Drywall Repair Cost in Fort Wayne
These are market ranges, never a price list. Your figure comes after someone has looked at the wall.
Fort Wayne drywall price ranges
| Job | Market range | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Repair visit | $383 to $463 | Hole, crack or patch |
| Plaster repair visit | $393 to $474 | One repair area |
| Hang new drywall | $2.24 to $2.65 | Per sq ft, 500 sq ft |
| Tape and finish | $1.22 to $1.48 | Per foot of joint |
| Replace damaged board | $4.94 to $6.01 | Per sq ft, 125 sq ft |
| Skim coat | $1.12 to $1.33 | Per sq ft, 500 sq ft |
| Popcorn removal | $1.46 to $3.00 | Per sq ft, 125 sq ft |
| Lath and plaster removal | $4.06 to $8.77 | Per sq ft, 120 sq ft |
| Basement drywall | $1,500 to $7,000 | 1,000 sq ft basement |
| Two-car garage | $1,000 to $3,900 | Whole garage |
Ranges for zip 46802 (November 2026), labor and materials. The basement and garage rows are national, 2026, for the drywall work alone. Paint and permits cost extra, and a walkthrough sets the real figure.
List every dent for one visit
A repair visit carries a 4-hour labor minimum, and one hole takes a little over two. A second small repair mostly adds material.
When the cheap fix is right
In a utility room, tape and a single good coat can be enough. We would skip paying for a perfect blend where nobody looks.
Where We Patch and Hang Near Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne Craft Drywall repairs walls and ceilings in Fort Wayne, IN, and out through New Haven, Huntertown, Leo-Cedarville and the neighboring county seats.
Allen County
- New Haven
- Huntertown
- Leo-Cedarville
- Grabill
- Woodburn
- Monroeville
Whitley and Wells Counties
- Churubusco
- Columbia City
- Ossian
Huntington and Adams Counties
- Roanoke
- Markle
- Decatur
DeKalb and Noble Counties
- Garrett
- Auburn
- Avilla
West Central has a house from about 1847, and Oakdale's additions were platted from 1900 to 1925. Houses that old often hold plaster and lath.
The airport clocked 91 mph in the June 2012 derecho. Wind lifts shingles first, and the ceiling stain shows up in a later rain.
Drywall Questions from Fort Wayne Houses, Old and New
Do I need a permit for drywall work in Fort Wayne?
The county settles that job by job, so we would rather you ask. The Allen County Building Department, 260-449-7131, answers for city and county.
How much does it cost to repair a leaking ceiling?
Stopping the leak is its own bill. After that, ceiling repairs nationally stretch from $350 to $1,500 or more, and the size of the soft area decides where yours lands.
Will a drywall contractor come out for one small hole?
Yes, drywall contractors will come out to patch a small hole, but most have a minimum fee of $350 to $650 or more just to come out, even for a two-inch hole. Send a photo first.
What should a drywall contract say in Indiana?
Any drywall job over $150 in Indiana must be in writing, with the price, the scope of work, the materials, and the start and finish times, and have the contractor's signature on it.
Can old joint compound or ceiling texture contain asbestos?
Yes, both joint compound and ceiling texture can contain asbestos, especially those sold from the mid-1940s up to 1977. In a building with four or fewer units, there is no mandatory test. It's on you, the homeowner.
Does the lead paint rule apply to drywall repair in an older house?
If it's your own home, then the lead paint rule isn't mandatory, but for landlords the lead paint test rule does apply, typically for homes built before 1978.
What should I do about a wet, bulging ceiling right now?
The number one thing is to stay out from underneath a wet ceiling and move what you can. Wet board is heavy and can fall without warning. Shut the water off and locate the leak.
Can a handyman or painter fix my sheetrock instead?
For small dents and nail holes, most handymen can do this repair, which may cost less than a drywall contractor. If the job is texture or a smooth finish across the whole wall, a specialist should be used.
Do you work outside Allen County?
Yes, in the towns listed above. Allen County's rules stop at the county line, so in Auburn or Decatur the permit question goes to that county's office.
A stain has a story, so we look before we price
We put a hand on the board, check whether the wet spot is still wet, and look at what sits above it. Then the figure goes in writing, with the patch, the texture and the paint listed apart.
Request a quote
Phone (260) 352-5780 and describe the damage, or write down what the wall or ceiling is doing and we will ring you.