Last updated October 28, 2026

How to bid drywall jobs

What a drywall bid has to say, a worked hang-and-finish price by the sheet, why the paint question causes most of the arguments, and when a drywall deposit makes sense.

Drywall customers do not know what a level 4 finish is, but they know what a wall that looks patched looks like. The argument on almost every drywall job is about paint: did the wall leave primed, painted, or just finished. The bid that says it in plain words wins the job and keeps it from turning into a callback.

What a drywall bid has to answer

The scope by area: sheets hung, square feet finished, or the patch by size. "Garage, 42 sheets of 1/2-inch, hung and finished" is a bid.
The finish level in plain words: taped and sanded ready for paint, or textured to match, with the texture named.
Whether primer or paint is included. Most drywall contractors leave it primed or just finished, and the bid says which.
Return visits: a patch is usually two or three trips for the coats to dry, and the bid says so.
Dust control, floor protection, and who moves the furniture.

How to price it

Example numbers for hanging and finishing a two-car garage, 42 sheets of 1/2-inch board, level 4, no texture, in a typical market. Yours will differ.

Material: 42 sheets at $16, plus screws, tape, mud, corner bead, $900 with markup.
Hang: $12 to $18 a sheet. At $14, $590.
Finish: $18 to $28 a sheet for a level 4. At $22, $925.
Return trips for coats and sanding: built into the finish price, but say on the bid it is three visits.
Floor protection and cleanup: $150.
Total: about $2,565. $2,650 is where this job commonly lands. Priced by the square foot instead, it is the same math at about $1.75 to $2.50 a foot hung and finished.

Patches price by the visit, not the inch: a small patch is still two or three trips. Texture matching is its own line, and a ceiling repair after water damage carries a line for cutting out and checking the framing above it.

Where drywall bids go wrong

The bid did not say primed or painted, and the customer expected a finished wall in color.
The texture was not named, and the match on the patch was argued about for a week.
A one-trip price was given for a patch that takes three, and the second and third trips were free.
Water damage was patched without a line for what is found above it, and the wet insulation became a fight.

A finished drywall bid, line by line

Three sample drywall estimates: garage hang and finish, patch and texture, and ceiling water damage repair. The drywall proposal template is the blank version with the paint question answered on it.

Deposit and payment terms

Patches and small repairs are paid on completion. On a hang-and-finish job the board is delivered before the first screw, so half at signing is normal and covers the material. Say the number of visits on the bid and that the final payment is due after the last sanding, so the customer is not holding the check waiting for paint you never offered.

Getting more drywall jobs

Most drywall work comes from other trades and from repeat customers, so the bid is also your reputation with the remodeler who hired you. Text it the same day with the sheet count or the square footage on it. Say the finish and the paint question in writing every time. Follow up once at three days. Ask the homeowner for the review after the final sanding, and ask the contractor who sent you for the next job while you are on this one.

BidWriter Pro writes the bid from your notes with the finish level, the visits, and the paint line on it, and the customer signs on their phone. $29 a month, 30 days free.

Questions contractors ask

How much should I charge per sheet for drywall?

Hanging commonly runs $12 to $18 a sheet and finishing $18 to $28 for a level 4, plus material at cost plus markup. By the square foot that is about $1.75 to $2.50 hung and finished. Texture and high ceilings are extra lines.

Should paint be on a drywall bid?

Say which it is: finished only, primed, or painted. Most drywall contractors stop at finished or primed. The line prevents the most common drywall argument.

How do I price a drywall patch?

By the visit. A patch is two or three trips for the mud to dry, so price it as a small job with a minimum, and name the texture match as its own line.

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