Smooth ceilings, fast.

Drywall ceiling repair across the GTA

Ceilings tell stories. A water stain says you have a slow leak somewhere above. A long crack across the centre says the trusses are flexing. A sag with screws pulling through says the wrong thickness was hung too far apart. We have repaired thousands of ceilings across Toronto, Mississauga, Vaughan, and beyond — most in one or two visits.

Ceiling repair is one of our most-requested services because ceilings are unforgiving. Every imperfection is lit at a raking angle by ceiling fixtures and natural light from windows. A wall patch you cannot see; a ceiling patch you can — unless it is feathered properly. Our crews specialize in the kind of feathered, paint-matched ceiling repair that disappears entirely after primer and topcoat.

What's included in a ceiling repair quote

• On-site assessment. Lead taper inspects the damage, identifies the cause (water, structural, framing flex, sag), and quotes scope in writing within 24 hours.
• Cause investigation. If water damage, we trace the leak source (or coordinate with a plumber/roofer) before any drywall goes up. If structural, we recommend whether sistering, strapping, or full panel replacement is the right approach.
• Cut-out. Damaged drywall removed in a clean rectangle (never a ragged hole) so the new piece has a square seam.
• Cavity work. Wet insulation removed and replaced. Damaged framing sistered or replaced. Cavity dried with fans and dehumidifier (typically 48–72 hours) before we close up.
• New drywall. 5/8 inch Type X under living space (code), 1/2 inch sag-resistant elsewhere if appropriate. Screwed at 12 inches on centre into joists.
• Three-coat tape. Setting compound on tape coat, all-purpose on fill, topping on finish. Feathered 14+ inches past the patch.
• Texture match. Smooth, knockdown, orange peel, or stomp — we match sample boards and test against your ceiling before committing.
• Drywall primer (PVA). Rolled across the patch and feathered area. Stain-blocking primer if water staining is involved.
• Paint touch-up. We use your existing paint if available, or colour-match from a chip. For older ceilings we sometimes recommend painting wall-to-wall to avoid sheen mismatch.
• 1-year workmanship warranty.

Common ceiling repairs

Water damage

Toilet leaks, dishwasher overflows, AC condensation lines, and condo unit-above floods. We cut out the damaged drywall (always a generous square or rectangle, not a ragged hole), inspect and replace any wet insulation, sister or replace any damaged framing, then patch with new board, tape, three coats of mud, sand, prime, and paint-match. Most ceiling water-damage repairs are done in two visits over five to seven days, mostly because the cavity needs time to fully dry between visits. We see this constantly in Etobicoke condo towers and older Scarborough bungalows.

Cracks

Hairline cracks usually mean seasonal expansion — common in older homes or rooms above a garage with poor air sealing. Wider cracks running diagonally from corners often mean truss uplift or framing movement. We cut out the failed seam, re-tape with paper tape and setting compound, three-coat the area, and feather it out beyond the original crack. For recurring truss-uplift cracks we recommend an L-bead or floating L-bead at the wall-ceiling joint to give the truss room to move without breaking the tape.

Sagging ceilings

Sometimes from drywall that was too thin (1/2 inch hung on 24-inch centres without strapping), sometimes from absorbed moisture, sometimes from screws missing the joists, sometimes from blown-in insulation overload. We open the area, add strapping or sister joists if needed, replace the panel with proper 1/2 inch sag-resistant or 5/8 inch board, and refinish. We use sag-resistant board (CGC Sheetrock UltraLight Ceiling) when the joist spacing prevents adding strapping.

Popcorn removal

The 80s and 90s love affair with popcorn ceilings has not aged well. We wet-scrape texture down to the original drywall, skim the entire ceiling smooth (Level 5 is standard for ceilings — they are always lit at a raking angle), prime and paint. Pre-1980 homes may have asbestos in the texture; we recommend a $75 lab test before we scrape any older ceiling. Once removed, the smooth ceiling typically adds 6+ inches of perceived height to the room and dramatically modernizes the space.

Old plaster ceilings

Lath and plaster ceilings in older Toronto homes can be repaired with drywall. The most common approach is to scrape failing plaster, apply a 3/8 inch or 1/2 inch drywall lid over the existing surface (or remove the plaster and reframe if the lath is loose), then tape and finish. See our drywall vs plaster comparison for when to keep the plaster and when to switch.

Ceiling repair pricing follows the same structure as the rest of our work — see the installation cost guide for ranges by project size, and the cost breakdown post for where every dollar actually goes.

Materials and standards we use

• Ceiling board: CGC Sheetrock UltraLight Ceiling for 24-inch joist spacing without strapping. CGC Firecode C 5/8 inch Type X for code-required basement ceilings under living space. Standard 1/2 inch CGC Sheetrock elsewhere.
• Sag-resistant board: CGC Sheetrock UltraLight Ceiling for problem ceilings — engineered to span 24-inch on-centre framing without sagging.
• Joint compound: CGC Easy Sand 90 setting compound for tape coat (hard bond, low shrink), CGC Sheetrock Plus 3 all-purpose for fill, CGC Topping for finish.
• Texture matching: Hopper gun for spray textures (orange peel, knockdown), trowel for stomp, brush or roller for swirl. Sample boards for test pattern.
• Stain-blocking primer: KILZ Original or Zinsser BIN for water stain coverage. PVA primer over the rest.

Common project types

Insurance-claim water damage repair

Easily our most common ceiling repair scenario. Toilet leak from the unit above, dishwasher overflow, dishwasher line failure, AC condensate line back-up, washing machine hose burst. We work directly with insurance adjusters, provide itemized invoices in expected formats, and photograph every step for the claim file. Most insurance ceiling repairs in Toronto condo towers and North York apartments are a 5–7 day turnaround.

Popcorn ceiling removal whole-room

Living rooms, dining rooms, master bedrooms — the rooms where the dated texture hits eyes first. Wet-scrape, skim to Level 5, prime, paint. Adds significant value to older Scarborough, Burlington, and Oakville mid-century homes.

Crack repair across older homes

Hairline cracks at corner joints, longer cracks across the centre of a ceiling, repeating cracks from truss uplift in homes above a garage. Single-room repair typically 1–2 visits.

Sag and screw-pop repair

Sagging ceilings from undersized board or insufficient strapping. We replace with proper material and add strapping where it was missing.

Insurance work

We do regular work with GTA property insurers and condo corporations on water-claim ceiling repairs. We provide itemized invoices in formats their adjusters expect, and we can coordinate scope, timing, and photo documentation directly with your adjuster. Tell us when you call that this is an insurance claim and we will set the file up properly. Most major GTA insurers (Intact, Aviva, Wawanesa, TD Insurance, Belairdirect) have approved us as a vendor or will recognize our invoicing format on first submission.

Why hire pros over a DIY ceiling patch

Ceiling repair is the hardest drywall work to DIY well. Three reasons. First, gravity — joint compound applied to a ceiling is fighting you the entire time. Setting it with the right consistency and the right knife angle takes practice. Second, lighting — every ceiling fixture and every window pours raking light across the ceiling, so a patch that "looks fine" up close shows itself dramatically once you step back and the light hits. Third, texture matching — most older ceilings have orange peel, knockdown, or stomp texture, and matching that texture invisibly requires sample boards and a test pattern, not a Pinterest tutorial. We see DIY ceiling patches on every third call we go out on, and we end up redoing them. Pay once.