I’m not a drywaller but I sure seem to get plenty of calls for it.
Today while hammering out a bid I was curious what’s the going rate for Drywall is in other areas?
So what is the SF rate in your area for hanging? And the SF rate for finishing (ready for paint)
A Maine architect speaks about Pretty Good House and biophilic design principles that adapt to all climates.
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
Depends, but on average I get about $1.80 per square foot. That includes all materials and level three finish. Long Island, NY
Holy Malloney - $1.80 per square foot - I cannot believe this. Does this include high work or just up tp 8 or 9 feet? I'm moving to Long Island.
In Jersey, a single house ranges from $.70 to $.90 per square foot, Material total about $.25, and rocking and finishing each $.17 per square foot, plus $.03 for touch-up after prime paint coat bu the painter.
Materials and labor on Long Island are probably among of the highest rates around the nation. There is the normal NYC metro area increase (that you get in most of NJ), plus additional shipping costs as most materials have to go through NYC by truck to get to the Island. Of course, Nantucket, or remote spots up in the wilderness are prpbably going to be double the LI rates....that's not a mistake, it's rustic
Woodrow
I'm also on LI and will need a rocker for a decent size job before the years up. I'm considering the MR boards and plaster finish on a lot of the new work.
Most people in thes parts don't have that done because I think they just don't care and would rather spend the extra money else where....like on vacations but for me my home is where I like to be and I "do" care.
Considering doing the work myself if I feel up to it after all the work I'll already be doing. Its up to how I'm feeling and or the cost to have someone else do it.
Time to buy a panel lift possibly?
Send me an Email with your name and number if you want.
Thanks,
Be a wall,
Namaste
andy
In his first interview since the stroke, Ram Dass, 66, spoke with great difficulty about how his brush with death has changed his ideas about aging, and how the recent loss of two old friends, Timothy Leary and Allen Ginsberg, has convinced him that now, more than ever, is the time to ``Be Here Now.''
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Edited 5/6/2003 9:34:04 AM ET by Andy Clifford(Andybuildz)
Thanks for the replies. Actually I’m surprised more people didn’t include the “it all depends” clause. But I’m assuming most of these numbers are whole house rates.
For me when I do DW it’s typically repair or small remodel like a bath or basement. For what I consider larger jobs (about 2000 SF and pass on anything larger) I’m on the upper end like Woodrow @ $1.80 to $2.00 a SF. And those numbers grow as the SF shrinks. Such as fixing a hole that a plumber put in a wall to fix a leak, the price can work out to $50 a SF or more.
Scott R.
according to the National Construction Estimator. 22 cent a sq ft for material and 50 cents a sq ft for labor on walls and 67 cents a sq ft for labor on ceilings. It also says drywall prices can be substantially different in other regions. Evident by the previous posters numbers. But I think hes in Long Island anyway....which is a high dollar area.
Central PA
.20 to hang it
.20 to tape it..........3 coats
"It also says drywall prices can be substantially different in other regions."
Thats why I posted this question. Just curious what rates are in other regions for DW work.
Need to know if I should move ;-)
Scott R.
Just try and get someone to come out and do a small job here in the DC area. When you do get some estimates they are all over the map, then they don't show up for weeks at a time (literally).
The only thing worse than dealing with these yahoos would be having to do it myself!
Here's a question that's slightly related. I grew up on Long Island where everything was sheetrock and joint compound. Now, here in Massachusetts, the finish of choice is 'blueboard and plaster.' That's veneer plaster over drywall with blue paper. It's a nice, durable finish with no sanding and dust, but it requres real skill to get a good finish.
It's just a theory, but I wonder if this is a common finish here because of the many skilled Irish immigrnats in the area that actually know how to apply real plaster.
Is blueboard and plaster used in many other parts of the country?
Al Mollitor, Sharon MA
Al,
I always wonder the same thing. We get calls from people who want the blueboard and plaster. I usually laugh because I know they've seen it on TV, and are as amazed as me at how good those guys are at smearing on the plaster.
I won't even quote the price for them anymore, because here in the midwest it's really damn rare. There are some good plasterers around, but finished cost is halfagain or more what my expensive drywall guys charge--OUCH!
It's a nice system but how many people really give that much weight (pun not intended) to plaster vs. having that deck installed, or jacuzzi, corian, etc.
Kind of kills the deal up front, doesn't do me a lick of good as a gc, (would rather have them spend the money on something that I do, right?)
It seems to be endemic to New England mostly.
In southwest Virginia, some of the quotes are "per board", taping and mudding included.
This is based on a friend's recent garage construction but the price he got escapes me.
Concrete block foundation price was "per block".
Midwest
Supply, hang, tape, finish. $.75 - $1.0 SqFt is reasonable.
I have had subs bid up to $1.8 SqFt - They must be real proud of their work.
WAHD
Denver Colorado,
About .75- .80 sq. ft. for turn key drywall Knock down finish. Slick finish maybe $1 a sq.ft. round or square bead not much price different. Crews get $5 a sheet to hang & $5 to finish $1.25 to texture & .80 to remove & clean up. THE ONLY WAY YOU GET $1.80 a square foot here is if YOU USE THE FOLLOWING! $86.00 a Sheet?
Scott- I am currently doing a drywall job that I have bidded by the sqft, I used the National cost estimator guide for this too, and I taylored it a bit to fit my needs, I charged the peeps (includes the material and labor) .70 per sqft to hang and .53 per sqft to finish. I am not done with the job but the sqft amounted to $613 at the .70 per sqft price- I had $30 into a liftjack, $210 into materials, and a long, hard day and a half by the time I bought it hauled it, etc.. into hanging it, so this part didnt pay too bad for general labor. Dont forget to look at extra blocking/framing that needs to be installed, this eats up alot of time, and should be an extra hourly charge. I am going to start taping it today, am using the bagged 90 min compound to see if there is an advantage to it with the drying time, but I will let you know what it ends up paying too. I have also heard that some charge an additional fee per foot for finishing corners.
-Tom
Just remember it's not all about the money.
In Wisconsin it ranges from about .90 up to 1.40, depending on some of the factors already mentioned.
But I hire the expensive guys because they get it done fast, done right. Excellent work that is obvious.
Go toward the low end, you've got crews showing up when they feel like it, doing lousy work, and never coming back later if you need something touched up, or a hairline fixed, etc.
Numbers are closer than I would have expected. Here, it just went up since the rock prices jumped a little. $1.20-$1-25 s.f. That's the DW outfit supplies all materials, hangs it, finishes it. Level 3. I don't know of anyone in town who's off by more than a couple of pennies either way.
"The child is grown / The dream is gone / And I have become / Comfortably numb " lyrics by Roger Waters
I furnish rock, mud, USG primer and paint, and get it hung, taped, finished, primed, and sprayed with the first color coat for 90 cents per square foot.
Do you carry Commercial & General liability Insurance? Do you pay workmen's compensation on your helpers wages or do you pay strictly cash and who cares about it? Do you hire illegal aliens and pay them with peanuts? The materials per foot for rock, mud, primer, paint are .30 a foot or better. You must be starving yourself or your workers are starving or your cutting corners and doing cheap work. I'm on L.I. & .90 a foot will get { mat. & labor} the board up and a so-so spackle job. We do this stuff to make a living not to make friends. Are these people that you give rock bottom prices to gonna take care of you in your old age?
As I said in my post, the 90 cents is for labor. I am the GC and I furnish the rock, mud, primer and paint. My sheetrock sub hangs, tapes, etc., for the 0.90. And yes, we are all fully insured.
You cannot really compare LI prices to Lake Placid. Many construction materials are well over 20% higher on the Island....that's not a mistake, it's rustic
As I said, the 90 cents was a labor number charged my by my sheetrock sub. I furnish the board, mud, USG FirstCoat primer, and paint.
So you say our friends at Riverhead are charging a premium for board and mud?
Hey Micro,
If yer out by Riverhead DONT USE LUMBER 84
Be bent
Namaste
andy
In his first interview since the stroke, Ram Dass, 66, spoke with great difficulty about how his brush with death has changed his ideas about aging, and how the recent loss of two old friends, Timothy Leary and Allen Ginsberg, has convinced him that now, more than ever, is the time to ``Be Here Now.''
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Micro,
I posted that the materials are more in Riverhead because of trucking costs through NYC out onto the Island. I would also say it's a safe bet that laborers in the NYC area are paid more than upstate NY, which is the case for heavy construction....that's not a mistake, it's rustic
$40 - $45 per 4x8x5/8 sheet, glued, screwed, and 3 coat.
I hang rock when the cupboards get bare and dusty. Usually 20c a foot to hang here in Wisconsin