Drywall Repairs, Ceilings and Old Houses in Ontario: Holes, Cracks, Water Damage, Popcorn Removal, Skim Coating and Asbestos

Drywall, Taping & PaintingRepairs & Ceilings

Repairs, Ceilings and Old Houses: What Patches Really Cost, Which Cracks Come Back, and the Test You Do Before the Popcorn Comes Down

Holes, cracks, pops, the stained ceiling under the bathroom, popcorn, skim coats and plaster. Ontario prices, October 2026, with the minimum charges nobody likes and the asbestos rule nobody mentions.

Most drywall repair calls are small and most of them get priced wrong in both directions: the homeowner expects $50 and the first quote is $400. The quote is closer to right. A patch is three visits with drying between them, and then it has to be painted, and if the house was built before 1990 somebody should test the compound before anyone sands it, because Ontario’s asbestos regulation names drywall compound and ceiling texture specifically. These pages price the common repairs honestly, explain which cracks are the drywall and which are the house, and walk through the two big jobs, water-damaged ceilings and popcorn removal, in the order they have to happen.

Price my repair The repair cost guide The pre-1990 rule

The numbers

$300a small patch, finished and primed
$900+a water-damaged ceiling, before paint
$5popcorn removal, per sq ft
$150the asbestos test

The guides

Drywall repair cost in Ontario

Holes, cracks, pops, ceilings, by size, with the minimum charge explained and the blending question.

Water-damaged ceiling repair

Find the leak, dry the cavity, decide what comes out, stain-block, replace, finish, paint: in that order.

Cracks and screw pops

Truss uplift, settling, shrinkage, bad fastening: which crack is which and the fix that stops it coming back.

Popcorn ceiling removal

What it costs, the asbestos test that comes first, scrape vs cover, and the smooth ceiling after.

Skim coating cost

When a rough or wallpapered wall is worth skimming instead of replacing, and what a Level 5 over old paint costs.

Plaster and lath repairs

Patching plaster with drywall, matching thickness, the keys that let go, and when to board over the room.

Asbestos in drywall and ceilings

Pre-1990 compound and texture, what Ontario requires before sanding, the $150 test and the abatement cost.

Four rules for repairs

  1. Fix the cause first. The leak, the truss uplift, the door that racks. Patching the symptom is paying twice. Cracks and water damage.
  2. Pre-1990: test before you sand or scrape. $150 and a week. The alternative is dust you cannot take back. The rule.
  3. Paint the wall, not the patch. Touch-ups flash. Corner to corner is the only repair that disappears. Flashing.
  4. Call the right trade. A boarding crew does not want your doorknob hole; a repair specialist or a good handyman does. Who to call.

Have quotes or plans in hand? Let a builder read them first

For $99, I put your drywall, taping or painting quotes on one grid, check the square footage against your rooms, name the finish level and the coats each one actually promised, and tell you what is missing and which one to sign. For a new build or a basement, $249 turns your plans into a room-by-room takeoff of board, finish levels, primer, paint and trim, with a budget by grade, that three contractors can price the same way.

Drywall and painting quote review, $99 Interior finishing takeoff, $249 Check the quotes yourself first