Is it worth hiring out drywall work? In a word? Yes. Let’s Recap.
Up to this point, all of the interior work on the Merc has been done by subcontractors. Because of the commercial zoning for the Merc, there are rules that we have to follow that don’t apply to regular homes. For example we had to have a Commercial Architect do our plans. We are required to have a General Contractor. We have to have licensed contractors do our plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems. I believe when you’re building a regular house you have the option of doing all of those yourself, as long as they meet code. We also hired out our framing (which was SUCH a good idea because there is not an existing wall in the Merc that is straight or plum.)
To Hire or to DIY
Hiring out sheetrock was something that Court was on the fence about. It definitely would have saved us some cash (our bid came in at $16,000 for installation and texture). And when you’re faced with that large of an expense (hello 10x what my first car cost) its definitely something you want to pause and think about. We decided that we’d rather do other work ourselves, like painting and tile work, and not get burnt out just trying to install the sheetrock, so we hired it out.
The longer this process trucks along, the more I see the value of skilled tradesmen. That may sound weird, but I’m a DIYer through and through. It’s how my brain is wired to work. The problem with that is sometimes its a smarter and all around better idea to hire it out and I just reject it based on the fact that I want to do it myself. But drywall was something that I was completely uninterested in doing (and have never really done) so it was pretty easy to pass off.
Installation Timeline
Installation TimelineIt took about 5 days for it to all be installed. The installers started at the ceiling, and moved down the wall, doing the portion by the floor last.
Once it was all done, they cleared out the extra and the next wave of guys came in to finish it.
They started by covering all of the screws and taping the seams. They used THE COOLEST tool to tape. It was a big gun that rolled the tape out and put mud on both sides of it.
Then a guy followed behind and smoothed it out.
Tomorrow we’re chatting about drywall finishing and how we got almost smooth walls on a budget! Have you done your own drywall? How did it go? Was it worth it?
See my full guide to drywall and wall texture here!
It’s becoming so much more REAL with every step! I personally have only ripped out drywall for someone else to replace, however I have to say that if I need it installed again, I will probably hire a pro for it all. SO messy! I love to see all your progress.
Very exciting! I hate drywall, and I think it’s so worth it to hire it out. Up here in New England we don’t have textured walls, for which I’m very happy. Is that really an upcharge in your neck of the woods?
I feel like drywall is one spot that you definitely want skilled professionals involved. We did one room in our basement ourselves (years before the full finishing), then hired out the rest. In that one room we could always see every seam (even if no one else noticed) and it drove us nuts.
Has Mandy really NOT seen Back to the Future????!!!! It’s a classic! Come ‘on – Movie Night! 😀 Love following the Merc – you 2 are crazy, but in a good way. 😉
Oops, sorry Mandi……….
drywall is the absolute WORST. i’ve done small jobs 3 time s now and every time i vow “i’m never doing is again!” i could not ever justify spending money for the tiny jobs but for your house, it is totally worth it!
OH MY WORD I love back to the future!! AND i lpve the way the Merc is coming together..Im so excited for you guys!! What do the kids think??
My husband is a carpenter/concrete man, we built our own house..when it came to drywall…lets just say it was one of the only things we hired out (he was 100% not going to do it if he wasn’t getting paid lol). For 1-2 people doing that much by yourself, without all the fancy tools, would take forever! You made the right call, girl!!
Drywall is quick and relatively easy once you know what you’re doing but it is such a pain and so messy and takes FOR. EVER. if you’re new to it. I learned to drywall from my uncle, who is a general contractor and used us ‘adult kids’ in the fam as free labor when redoing my grandparents’ house after a flood. I thought, because I technically had experience (even if it was only a week’s worth a couple years ago), and expert advice was just a phone call away, that I could EASILY drywall the unfinished basement myself. HA. HA. HAAAAA. It took me three months of weekends and there are still small bumps and rough spots that drive me bonkers. A space as big as the Merc? I promise you it was worth every penny to hire that out. Especially since it looks like they did a fantastic job!
I love you two!! Always making me laugh ??
I HATE doing drywall. My husband and I did our master bedroom ourselves and we will not be doing that again ever. Hire it out!
I hate mudding, taping, and sanding drywall with all my heart, might, mind and strength! My husband and I gutted our 1952 rambler and did all the work ourselves with help from family. We ended up doing a planked ceiling because the mudding was so bad. I want to do wainscotting in a few places to cover up some sad sanding jobs. That was two years ago. We replaced some old windows this summer and I’m such a perfectionist that I still haven’t finished the last few coats of mud on those walls because I don’t want it to look bad! One bucket of mud has gotten moldy so I am on a second bucket and that was two months ago. 🙁 So yeah, we would hire it out if we had the money, but our funds went to siding and landscaping this year. This house is definitely a DIY house and the future owners will probably get mad at our mistakes, but we just didn’t have the funds to hire everything out.
It took me weeks to do a single room and it was impossibly dusty and, despite my best efforts, will forever look like a bad diy job. I will always hire it out in the future, no matter how much scrimping and saving I have to do!
We tried (and by we I mean my husband tried) doing drywall in our condo bathroom before we sold…. it was not pretty. He is VERY handy but he refuses to ever drywall again. I can’t really blame him ha!
I’m dying to know what that huge room looks like with the vaulted ceilings!!