Why the crack keeps coming back
A hairline over a door or window is almost always movement, not a bad patch. Filling it with compound and painting over the top gets you about a season before it opens again. The joint has to be cut out, taped with mesh or paper, and rebuilt in coats so the tape carries the movement instead of the paint film.
Nail pops are the same story. The fastener has backed out as the framing dried. We reset or replace the fastener, then fill, rather than skimming over a screw that is still on its way out.
Holes, big and small
Doorknob holes, TV mount holes, and anything a chair back has gone through get a backed patch. For anything larger than a few inches we cut a clean square, back it with wood or a drywall plug, and tape the seams. A stick on mesh patch over a six inch hole will telegraph through the paint in raking light every time.
Ceiling holes from a leak get the same treatment once the source is dry and fixed. If the board is soft or stained through, it comes out rather than getting sealed over.
Texture matching
Most South Jersey homes are flat or lightly knocked down. We match what is there, whether that is a clean flat skim, orange peel, or a knockdown pattern, and we feather it wide enough that the repair does not read as a patch under a lamp.
Skim coating a whole wall is sometimes cheaper than chasing a dozen small repairs. If a room is at that point we will say so, because the finished result is better and the price is often close.
Dust, and where it goes
Sanding drywall makes fine dust that travels. Floors and furniture get covered, doorways get sealed, and we sand with vacuum assist or damp sponges where the room does not allow open sanding.
Repairs are the first half of an interior repaint. If you are painting the room anyway, see interior painting, because doing both together costs less than two separate visits.
What we repair
Residential and commercial, in Moorestown and across South Jersey.
- ✓Hairline cracks over doors, windows, and along ceiling lines
- ✓Nail and screw pops, reset rather than skimmed over
- ✓Doorknob, TV mount, and impact holes of any size
- ✓Water stained ceilings and walls once the leak is fixed
- ✓Corner bead dents, damaged outside corners, and archways
- ✓Texture matching on flat, orange peel, and knockdown finishes
Common questions
Can you paint the same day you patch?
Sometimes, not always. Setting type compounds let us build and sand a small repair in a day. A deep hole or a ceiling repair needs a proper cure between coats, and rushing it is how you get a patch that shrinks and shows a month later. We will tell you the honest timeline when we look at it.
Will I be able to see the repair?
Not if it is done right. The two things that give a patch away are a hard edge where the compound stops, and a texture that does not match. We feather wide and match the texture, then prime the repair before the finish coat so the sheen is even.
Do you fix the leak too?
No, we are painters, not plumbers or roofers. We will not close up a ceiling over an active leak. Get the source fixed, let it dry, then we repair and paint. If you are not sure whether it is still leaking, we can look and tell you what we see.
Do you do small jobs?
Yes. A few nail pops and one hole is a normal call for us. There is a minimum for a trip, so if you have several small repairs around the house it is worth listing them all and having us handle them in one visit.
Related services
These pair naturally with the work above.