If you've searched "drywall handyman near me" in Salt Lake City, you've probably noticed nobody wants to give you a real number. Here's what we actually charge — and what most reputable crews along the Wasatch Front charge — for the drywall repairs we get called on every week.
Prices below assume standard 1/2" drywall, single-story access, and a home in Salt Lake, Utah, Wasatch, or Summit county. Textured ceilings, high walls, and lath-and-plaster in older Avenues and Sugar House homes run higher — noted where it matters.
Small holes: doorknob dings and nail pops
Doorknob-sized hole (up to 2"): $95–$150 per hole. Includes mesh patch, two coats of mud, sanding, and priming. Painting the wall to match is extra unless you have leftover paint.
Nail pops and hairline cracks: $85–$140 for the first ten, then about $6 each after that. Most Salt Lake City homes built between 1995 and 2010 have a batch of these along the top plate — we usually knock them all out in one visit.
Medium holes: fist-through-the-wall and outlet cutouts
Hole 3"–8" across: $150–$275. This is a proper California patch or a backed patch with furring strips — not a mesh bandage. Two to three coats of mud with sanding between, feathered 8–10" past the hole.
Misplaced outlet or switch cutout: $125–$200 to patch the wrong hole and re-cut in the right location. Add $75–$150 if the box needs to move and an electrician isn't already on site.
Large holes and full sheet replacement
Hole larger than a dinner plate up to a full 4x8 sheet: $325–$650. Includes cutting out to the studs, screwing in a new piece, taping the seams, three coats of mud, and sanding to a paint-ready finish.
Multi-sheet repair (e.g. after a plumbing leak in a laundry room): $600–$1,400 depending on ceiling vs. wall and how much framing is exposed. Ceiling work adds roughly 30% because of the overhead labor and dust control.
Water damage repair
Water-stained but structurally sound drywall: $175–$300 to seal with stain-blocking primer and repaint. Only do this if the leak source is fixed and the drywall is fully dry — we bring a moisture meter to every water job.
Water-damaged drywall that's soft, bubbled, or sagging: $450–$1,200 to cut out the affected area, verify the framing behind it is dry, replace the sheetrock, tape, mud, texture, and prime. Add $200–$500 if insulation behind the wall was soaked and needs replacing.
Ceiling water damage from an upstairs bathroom is the most common call we get in the Avenues and Federal Heights. Budget $600–$1,500 for a typical 4x4 patch with texture match.
Texture matching (the part nobody tells you about)
Most Salt Lake City homes have one of three textures: knockdown, orange peel, or smooth. Matching them is what separates a patch you can see from a patch you can't.
Orange peel texture match: $60–$120 added to any patch. Sprayed from a hopper, knocked back if needed.
Knockdown texture match: $90–$180 added. Requires a wider blend area — most patches end up 18–24" larger than the hole itself to hide the transition.
Smooth / Level 5 finish: $150–$400 added. Every skim coat and sanding pass shows in raking light, so this takes more time than any textured repair.
Popcorn ceiling patch (common in older Millcreek and Holladay ranches): $200–$450 per patch, and we'll always recommend testing for asbestos first on any ceiling installed before 1980.
What drives the price up or down
Access: a hallway patch is faster than a patch behind a stair rail or above a stairwell. Add 15–25% for anything requiring scaffolding or a ladder over 8 feet.
Paint match: if you don't have the original paint, expect $85–$175 to color-match at a local paint store and repaint the wall corner-to-corner. Spot-painting a patch almost never blends — the sheen difference gives it away.
Number of patches: five small patches in one visit is cheaper per patch than five separate trips. If you've been putting off a list, batch them.
Older lath-and-plaster (common in the Avenues, Marmalade, and parts of Sugar House): add 30–60% over standard drywall pricing. It's slower work and often reveals more damage once you open it up.
What we won't charge you for
Estimates are free and written. We don't charge a trip fee inside Salt Lake, Utah, Wasatch, or Summit county. We don't upsell you into a full wall replacement when a patch will do — and if we find something behind the wall you should know about (active leak, mold, questionable wiring), we tell you before we bill you.
Every drywall repair we do comes with a one-year written workmanship warranty. If the patch cracks or the texture peels within the year, we come back and fix it.
Ballpark: what should I budget?
Single small patch with paint: plan on $200–$350.
Handful of dings and nail pops before selling the house: $300–$600.
One room repaired after a leak, with texture and paint: $900–$2,200.
Whole-house punch list before listing (10–20 patches, texture matched, painted): $1,800–$4,500.
If your quote is dramatically lower than these ranges, ask how many coats of mud they're planning and whether the price includes texture and paint — that's usually where corner-cutting hides.
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