We also thought that sounded high, thats why we got a total of four estimates and they were all in the same ball park.We went with the one that our homeowner's insurance recommended. We have not paid them yet. Can they put a mechanics lien on our house? They also have some carpet repairs upstairs to do and they want to do it on Tuesday. I'm thinking I should probably hold off until they straighten this up, if they can. The area of texture they did looks like a horrible splotchy mess of rougher texture that looks nothing like the rest of our ceiling. Does anyone know what process needs to be done to make it look right? Does anyone know why the area of texture would look so splotchy. You can see roller brush marks. I tried another coat of paint in a small section and it did nothing. Should the whole ceiling be skimmed or can texture go over old texture and still look right? If they try to fix it and it still looks bad can we only pay for the actual drywall repair itself and find someone else to retexture and paint? Thanks Lisa

If you had doubled up that stud on the left, the issue would be non-existent. Now the shower is in place, I don't know how you'd attach another stud without taking out more drywall. But in reality, drywall is easy to remove. go ahead and open up the wall on the left to the next stud You can put as many instaback plates as you need for support along the top. 2 between each stud is enough. 3 if you want to go crazy. The patched piece is just as strong as a continuous sheet, as long as you mud and tape it correctly. The correct way is to use hot mud. Force plenty into the seam, place the tape, skim over it to set the tape in the mud. An hour later when the mud is dry, skim over it with another coat of hot mud. I've used these things for over 10 years and never had a problem. It's really the best drywall patch system for small pieces. Anyone who knows drywall, who tries these things, will be sold. Professional time costs money, and these save a bunch of time.

Kudzu and Joseph Corlett, he said that when he dug down he saw gravel. He didn't dig into the gravel, but assumed it was surrounding a drain. That area of the driveway does have water that doesn't flow away well during heavy rain. Not tons of it, but it is definitely the least well-drained section of the driveway. The driveway was installed about 8 years ago and it is better than before, but still not perfect. So, if he digs down and finds the drain, would you expect it be clogged and need to be removed and replaced? Would it be possible to tie it back into the existing line to the storm sewer (assuming it currently is)? Also, what type of waterproofing product or process do you recommend when he digs it up? Thanks again for your advice.

The inside corner should be paper tape, not a metal/plastic bead. I'd use spackle to fill the crack. The texture is going to make any repair difficult. Outside corner bead comes in three types, metal, plastic, and metal or plastic with paper edges. Most of the metal and plastic beads have to be installed with nails or screws. The paper edged bead is installed in a mud base and mudded in place the same as joint tape. The repair is going to depend on the type of bead and method for installing. However, I'd try the spackle first to fill the crack. It is possible the problem has been caused by the building settling, in which case, an involved repair may well crack again. If that does not work, you may need to remove some of the texture to find what is loose/pulling away.