Whether you're redoing or adding onto an existing house, or you're building a brand new one, chances are you'll be working with drywall. Now the standard when it comes to interior walls, drywall is less expensive than wood paneling, easier to work with than plaster, and in many people's opinion, looks better than the alternatives. In Los Angeles, drywall installation is a given in a wide variety of new constructions; understanding its popularity is easy once you know its strengths as a material.
Benefits of Drywall Installation in Los Angeles
If you're looking for a material that will cost a lot of money and be difficult to put up, you should probably avoid drywall altogether. If, on the other hand, you want a material that holds paint well, has a smooth and cohesive appearance, and won't cost an arm and a leg, drywall is the way to go. The overall effect of drywall, when properly installed, can be every bit as elegant as more expensive materials, and it is a lot faster to put in, too.
In Los Angeles, drywall installation is an even better choice than it is in some other areas of the country. In addition to being a cost-effective option in an area known for high living costs, drywall's biggest enemy, excessive moisture, may also be less of a problem. Aside from leaking or ruptured plumbing (which is probably going to cause some problems no matter where it happens), it is highly unlikely that moisture damage will affect drywall in L.A.'s low-to-no precipitation climate.
Los Angeles Drywall Finishing
This material's appearance depends quite a bit on how it is handled during installation. If you want the best look possible for your home in Los Angeles, drywall finishing is probably a job best left to the professionals. While there are many videos, books, and other resources on the market that will give you competent and complete instructions on how to do this job yourself, no matter how good the coaching is, good finished drywall really comes down to experience and technique. If the project you're working on is in an out-of-the-way area, or you plan to apply a textured coating to the wall in question, a first-timer should be okay going the DIY route. If your desire is for a smooth and seamless finish to your living room wall, either take some time to practice and hone your finishing skills, or be ready to call in a pro.
Los Angeles Drywall Installation and Finishing Prices
A do-it-yourselfer with experience in this area should be able to do the job for a fraction of the cost of hiring a professional. Once again, however, it should be noted that the process of finishing drywall is more difficult than it looks. Before you take matters into your own hands, it never hurts to get a few estimates and compare those costs to what you could save doing the work yourself, first timers paying special attention to the added price of purchasing the necessary equipment.
Drywall, as a material, is relatively cheap; the real price of putting it in comes from transporting equipment and, most of all, labor. Installing drywall that will be covered by wallpaper or texture is often less costly than creating a wall that needs to be perfectly smooth because the process is more time consuming, and requires more labor. The national average cost for every drywall installation ServiceMagic processes is just more than $2,000. Looking at our southern California figures for drywall installation, Los Angeles residents can expect their projects to average about the same (with $800 on the low end and more than $2,500 on the upper end).
