Replace drywall ceiling, 4x5 feet, cost?

[kamas]

I have to replace the drywall ceiling in a hallway. The size of the area is about 4 x 5 feet.

1) How much will it cost if I have someone come and do the job for me? I don't want to get overcharged.


2) If I want to do it myself, what exactly do I need, and how can I do it? What are the steps needed for this job?

[Spork]

Drywall isnt terribly hard... and you don't have much of it.  The worst part is that it is on the ceiling.

Google for images of a "drywall dead man".  Essentially this is a T made out of 2x4s.  This is the cheat for working alone on a ceiling with drywall.  Make you a couple of "dead men", work the drywall up where you want it and slide the dead man under and hold it tight.  Then just put some drywall screws in about every foot or so.  Screws need to hit a stud (and if you miss, pull them back out.)  And you need to sink them just a little below the paper so you have a little divot.

The only joints you'll likely have is at the corners.  Sadly, corners are the trickiest.  Get some drywall tape.  (I have found fiberglass mesh tape works best for us DIY'ers.)  Fold the tape lengthwise so that it will land in the corner with 1/2 the tape on the wall and half on the ceiling.  Take a drywall knife and spread a little drywall mud on each side of the joint.  Keep it thin.  Don't put too much on.  There will be multiple layers here so mostly you want it to stick.

Let it dry... repeat with slightly larger drywall knife.  Keep this up using larger knives until you have a nice even surface.   If you have a spot where you didn't get it smooth, it helps to sand that a little between coats.  It might also be good to invest in a corner knife.  (I like corner knives... some people don't.)  They make a nice pass on both the ceiling and the wall at the same time.

After 3-4 coats with a day of drying between them, you'll end up with a nice finish.  Sand it down with some drywall sanding paper.  If you want texture... this would be the time for texture.

Prime it with a couple of coats of primer intended for new drywall.

[sokoloff]

This job is going to fall into the "whatever the minimum charge in your area to get a skilled contractor to show up" is. Around here (Cambridge, MA), that's a $200 job for a non-handyman (skilled plasterer), maybe $100 for a handyman.

By comparison, I had a whole room done in blueboard with skimcoat plaster for $800 cash, probably 20x the area of your job at only 4x the cost.

Small jobs the guys will spend more time and energy scheduling and coming to the job than doing the job and you're paying for that (or they're not coming).

If you're replacing the whole ceiling in an area, that's a pretty forgiving job in terms of not having to critically match surfaces and get the joint compound perfect. Youtube will have many videos on how to do drywall. Fundamentally, it's cut, screw, mud/tape, mud, and sand. The skill comes mostly in the mud steps. If you're bad at it, expect a lot of sanding. IMO, the specialty "knives" (mud tools) are worth it. For your job, get an inside corner knife (90* blade) and a ~4" blade. If you have to join to another flat piece in the same plane, also get a wider knife (8+ inches). Trying to muddle through with only a 4" straight blade will cost you a ton of time in sanding and you'll probably still not get a great outcome.