Drywall questions, answered.

Text photos or plans to (406) 855-5344, or call. Builders and general contractors can send plans and a bid invite. Bigger jobs get a walkthrough and a written scope.

New work is usually priced by the square foot of board, adjusted for ceiling height, finish level, texture, paint and how cut-up the rooms are. Your written bid spells out what's included.

Yes, in Billings and the towns around it. See our service areas. If a job is farther out, any travel cost is written into the bid up front.

After framing, plumbing, electrical and HVAC rough-ins, the required inspections and insulation. In cold weather the building also needs heat before we start.

Joint compound has to dry between coats: tape coat, fill coat, finish coat, then texture and paint. Rushing that is what causes shrinking, cracking and visible seams. Some days we're only there an hour, and that's normal.

Yes. Mud needs the space warm, before, during and after it goes on, to dry and bond right. In winter, unheated new construction needs temporary heat.

On most residential walls, horizontal. It means fewer feet of seam, and the long joint sits at a height that's easy to finish well. Some commercial walls are hung vertically because the design calls for it. We follow the drawings.

Either. Your written scope says who supplies material. If we supply it, we order the right mix of lengths and types for your rooms so there's less waste and fewer seams.

Level 4 is standard for most walls that get texture or flat to eggshell paint. Level 5, a skim coat over the whole surface, is for smooth walls, glossy paint and walls hit by raking light from big windows. See Level 5 and the finish levels explained.

On walls hit by low-angle sunlight, under can lights that wash the wall, or with satin or semi-gloss paint, usually yes. In a bedroom with orange peel and flat paint, usually no. We write the level room by room so you pay for it where it shows.

Each coat has to dry before the next goes on. Depending on heat, humidity and how thick the coat is, that's often overnight. Three coats plus sanding is several working days, even on a small job.

Knockdown and orange peel are common in Billings homes and hide small flaws. Skip trowel is a hand-made, rustic look. Smooth, with a Level 5 finish, is the cleanest and the least forgiving. See textures.

Smooth walls read as newer and more custom right now, but they cost more to do right and show dings. Light orange peel or knockdown is the practical middle. We'll price both.

Yes. We spray a sample board first, so you see the texture before it goes on every wall.

Yes. We hang, tape, texture and paint. On new residential and commercial projects we can prime and paint after finishing, so one crew takes the walls from bare board to painted. See painting.

Joint compound and the board's paper soak up paint differently. Without a primer made for new drywall, seams can "flash" through the paint.

Yes. New commercial construction is part of our core work: hanging, taping and finishing, texture and paint, built to the drawings. For contractors.

Tell us what the building needs. When a job calls for off-hours work, we'll plan for it and price it in the scope.

By request. Tell us where the project is, what it needs and when, and we'll tell you quickly whether it fits. See remodels.