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Drywall Repair Cost Calculator Ontario (2026): Holes, Cracks, Screw Pops, Water-Damaged Ceilings, Popcorn Removal and Skim Coating, With HST
Drywall, Taping & PaintingFree Calculator
What Should a Drywall Repair Cost? Why a Two-Inch Hole Is $300 and Why That Is Fair.
Patches, cracks, screw pops, the ceiling under the bathroom, the popcorn you want gone and the wall you want skimmed. Minimum charges included, because the drive and the three visits are real. HST on the bottom.
A drywall repair is never one visit. The patch goes in, the compound dries overnight, the second coat goes on, that dries, then sanding, then primer, then paint, and if you want the patch to disappear the whole wall gets painted. A contractor who quotes $300 for a doorknob hole is not robbing you; he is pricing three trips. This calculator prices repairs the way the trade does, with a minimum, and flags the one job that needs a lab test before anybody touches it.
Step-by-step
Drywall Repair Cost Calculator (Ontario)
1
The repairs
Doorknob holes, anchor holes, a dent from the couch. $300 first, $90 each after, finished and primed.
Plumber’s access, a fist, a removed vent. New board, backing, tape, three coats. $550 first, $250 each after.
A 4×8 section cut out and replaced. $750 each on a wall, $950 on a ceiling.
Overhead is slower and the finish has to be perfect because the light rakes across it. $600 first, $300 each after.
Cut out the stained, sagging board, dry the cavity, new board, tape, finish. $900 minimum, about $14 per sq ft. What has to happen first.
Cut, tape, three coats. $120 each. The one over the door that keeps coming back is a movement crack and needs a different fix.
$150 for the first ten, $10 each after. Each one gets a new screw beside it and three coats.
Scrape, skim, sand, prime. $5 per sq ft, $900 minimum. The job explained.
Two coats over a rough or wallpaper-damaged wall. $3.50 per sq ft, $700 minimum. Skim coating.
2
The house and the finish
Joint compound and textured ceilings in pre-1990 houses can contain asbestos. Ontario requires a test before sanding or scraping. Read this first.
A patch painted only over the patch will show. Corner to corner is the honest answer. Why.
3
Where is the house?
Labour is most of a drywall or painting price, and labour costs more where parking costs more.
Used only to tell you whether the house is in our direct service area. Not stored.
Enter a postal code to see service coverage.
BuildersOntario.com
Your Repair Budget
Illustrative Ontario estimate
| Item | Estimate |
|---|
Estimated total with HST$0
Example only, using BuildersOntario budgeting rates checked October 2026 for a drywall repair contractor: patches backed and taped, three coats of compound, sanded, primed, floors and furniture covered, dust cleaned up, across the visits the drying needs. Water damage pricing assumes the leak is fixed and the cavity is dry; it does not include plumbing, mould remediation or insulation. Popcorn removal and skim coating on pre-1990 ceilings are priced subject to a clear asbestos test. Your contractor’s site look governs the contract.
Request a Real Quotation
Your list becomes a written scope a repair contractor can price from photos, which saves everyone a visit. It goes straight to our inbox, and a copy comes back to you; reply to that copy with a photo of each damaged area with something for scale, and one of the whole wall or ceiling.
What this calculator does, and what it will not do!
It prices repairs by type with a first-item price and a cheaper each-after price, because the drive and the setup are paid once. It adds the painting, because a primed grey patch on a beige wall is not a finished repair. And for a house built before 1990 it adds the asbestos test, because Ontario’s regulation treats old joint compound and textured ceilings as suspect until a lab says otherwise, and so should you.
It does not know what caused the damage. A crack that comes back every spring is the house moving, not the drywall failing, and it needs a flexible fix or a look at the framing. A ceiling stain is a leak until proven otherwise. The repair cost guide covers what to look for before you pay to patch something that will come back.
A rule of thumb: in Ontario in 2026, the minimum for a drywall repair visit is $250 to $350, and most small jobs land between $300 and $800 before paint. A water-damaged ceiling is $900 to $1,500 plus the painting. Popcorn removal is $4 to $7 a square foot, double that if the test comes back positive and an abatement crew has to do it.
How I price it
| Repair | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Small patch, under 6 in. | $300 first, $90 each after | Mesh or paper patch, three coats, primed. Three visits. |
| Large wall patch, to 2×2 ft | $550 first, $250 after | Cut square, backing strips, new board, taped, three coats. |
| Full sheet | $750 wall, $950 ceiling | Board, screws, tape, finish. Usually after a plumber. |
| Ceiling patch | $600 first, $300 after | Overhead, and the light will find any mistake. |
| Water-damaged ceiling | $900 minimum, about $14 per sq ft | After the leak is fixed and the cavity has dried with a meter reading to prove it. |
| Cracks | $120 each | Cut out, tape, three coats. Recurring cracks get a flexible compound or a look at why. |
| Screw pops | $150 for ten | New screw beside the old, old one driven, three coats. Normal in a new house, and Tarion covers them in year one. |
| Popcorn removal | $5 per sq ft | Scrape wet, skim, sand, prime. Plus the test if pre-1990. Details. |
| Skim coat | $3.50 per sq ft | Two coats over the whole wall. When it beats replacing. |
| Asbestos test | $150 | One sample to an accredited lab. Why. |
| Blend or repaint | $250 to $650 a room | Blending works with the original paint and a matte finish. Corner to corner always works. |
| Minimum visit | $250 | The drive, the setup, the cleanup. |
Where homeowners go wrong
- Patching the ceiling before fixing the leak. You will patch it twice. Find the water first. The order of operations.
- Sanding a 1970s ceiling with a shop vac and a mask. The texture and the compound may contain asbestos. $150 for a test, or a lifetime of wondering. The rule and the risk.
- Expecting a touch-up to vanish. Fresh paint over a patch flashes, even from the same can, because the sheen and the texture are different. Paint the wall.
- Filling a movement crack with compound. It opens again by March. Which cracks are which.
- Calling a drywall crew for a doorknob hole. A crew that boards houses does not want your $300 job, and will price it so. A handyman or a repair specialist does. The contractor guide explains who does what.
Questions people ask
How much does it cost to repair a hole in drywall in Ontario?
$250 to $350 for a small hole, finished and primed, in 2026; $500 to $800 for a hole up to 2 ft square; more if the wall then has to be painted corner to corner. The minimum is the three visits the drying needs, not the size of the hole.
Can a drywall patch be painted without repainting the whole wall?
Sometimes, if the paint is matte, the original can is on hand, and the painter feathers it wide. Any sheen, any sunlight, any colour older than a year, and the patch shows. Budget for corner to corner and be pleased if you do not need it.
Does water-damaged drywall have to be replaced?
If it sagged, stained through, or stayed wet more than 48 hours, yes. Board that got damp once and dried fast can stay, after a moisture meter says it is dry and a stain-blocking primer. The full answer.
Why do my drywall cracks keep coming back?
Because the house is moving: truss uplift at the ceiling-wall joint in winter, a settling beam, a door frame that racks. Filling the crack treats the symptom. The causes and the fixes.
More than a repair?
If the walls are bad enough that you are pricing a new ceiling or re-boarding a room, the drywall installation calculator prices it by the room, and the painting calculator finishes the job.
