Drywall Installation and Repair in Cottonwood Heights, Utah

There is no charge for an estimate and no obligation. Call (801) 735-8491 or use the estimate form to describe the rooms, the damage or the change you have in mind, and the year your house was built if you know it.

Why so many Cottonwood Heights homes date from the 1970s

Eight families settled the area in 1849, according to the Utah Division of State History. After World War II it began to shift away from farming to meet the demand for suburban housing: several subdivisions were built and the population boomed. Residents petitioned to incorporate, and it became its own city in 2005.

The housing count shows how fast that happened. Of 13,046 homes in the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 estimates, 4,186 were built in the 1970s, the busiest decade by far, and another 1,988 in the 1960s. The median home was built in 1978. Only about 155 homes, roughly 1 percent, date from before 1950.

With about 9 in 10 homes built in 1960 or later, most walls here were drywall from the start, finished with the spray and hand textures of their day. The work now is matching those finishes and repairing the cracks and nail pops that come with decades of settling.

Matching 1960s and 1970s wall and ceiling textures

Most homes here are large. About 70 percent are detached single-family houses, and the median home has 7.4 rooms, the Census Bureau reports. The bigger the room, the easier a mismatched patch is to see.

A patch disappears only when its texture, sheen and paint match the wall around it. That means trying the spray or knockdown pattern on scrap board until it looks right, feathering compound well past the repair so it doesn't show as a raised square, and priming before paint. Without primer, new compound can flash, showing as a dull or shiny spot even when the texture is right.

When a wall has been patched many times over the years, re-texturing the whole surface often looks better than another round of spot repairs.

Popcorn ceilings and Utah's 1992 asbestos line

Utah's Division of Air Quality no longer requires an asbestos inspection before renovating homes of four or fewer units built on or after January 1, 1992. About 7 in 10 Cottonwood Heights homes predate 1990, so a ceiling here usually gets sampled before it is scraped.

Its asbestos FAQ describes the white, popcorn-textured ceiling coating found in homes as a sprayed-on surfacing that can contain asbestos, and lists sheetrock and floor tile among other suspect materials. Material in good condition that nobody disturbs is generally safe, the division adds, and the EPA says a trained, accredited professional should take the samples, not the homeowner.

With a clean result, removal means sealing off the room, misting and scraping the texture, repairing the board underneath, and skim coating before primer and paint. If the test finds asbestos, hire a company from the state's list of asbestos firms to take it out, and have the new ceiling finished once that work is cleared.

Finishing a basement in a city with little open land

The city's water plan, adopted in December 2025, describes Cottonwood Heights as built out, with little undeveloped land left and growth shifting to infill and redevelopment. For a family that wants more room, the basement is often where to find it.

Utah's building code requires a permit to build, alter or repair a building. Its list of exempt building work covers finish work such as painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets and countertops, plus outdoor items like small sheds and fences. Framing rooms and hanging drywall in a basement aren't on it, so check with the city's building staff before work starts. These rules from the code, as Utah adopted it, apply to most basement finishes:

• Rooms and hallways people live in need 7 feet of headroom, though a beam or duct can hang as low as 6 feet 4 inches.
• The basement needs an emergency escape opening, and if it has bedrooms, each bedroom needs one.
• A wall between the house and an attached garage needs at least half-inch gypsum board on the garage side, and a garage ceiling under a room needs 5/8-inch Type X board.
• A permitted remodel triggers smoke alarms placed the way the code requires for new homes.

Opening up a 1970s floor plan

Opening a kitchen to the living room starts with finding out what the wall between them supports. If it bears weight, a properly sized beam and posts take its place, under a permit with inspections. Utah's Division of Air Quality also asks for a demolition notice when load-bearing structural members come out, even in newer homes.

After the framing, the drywall work is patching the ceiling where the wall stood, filling the strip at the floor, and carrying the ceiling texture across the old wall line. Your framer can build new walls in wood or light-gauge steel, and the board goes on either; steel studs stay straight and don't shrink, which helps in a basement.

First steps before drywall work in a Cottonwood Heights home

A little homework before the estimate visit keeps the job on track:

• Find out the year your house was built. If it was before 1992, plan on an asbestos test for any texture or board that will be removed.
• If the work adds rooms, moves a wall or finishes a basement, call the city's building staff about a permit before anything is cut.
• If water caused the damage, stop the leak and start drying. EPA guidance gives a window of 24 to 48 hours to head off mold.
• Call (801) 735-8491 or send the estimate form with the rooms, the size of the area and what you want changed.

Drywall questions from Cottonwood Heights homeowners

Does a basement finish in Cottonwood Heights need a permit?

Yes. Utah's building code exempts finish work such as paint, wallpaper, tile, carpet and cabinets, but framing and drywall for new rooms need a permit. Ask the city's building staff what your plans must show.

My house was built in 1977. Should the popcorn ceiling be tested?

Yes. Utah dropped the pre-renovation asbestos inspection only for homes built on or after January 1, 1992. Have an accredited professional sample a ceiling from 1977 before anyone scrapes it.

What are the small round bumps popping out of my walls?

Those are nail pops. As framing lumber dries and shifts over the years, drywall nails work loose and push the compound out. The fix is to drive a screw beside each one, sink the old nail, then coat, sand and paint the spot.

Can an interior wall come out to open up my floor plan?

Often, once you know what it supports. A non-bearing wall can come out with patching on both sides. A bearing wall needs a sized beam, a permit and inspections, plus a demolition notice to Utah's air quality division.

What affects the cost of drywall work in Cottonwood Heights?

Mostly how much board is involved, the number of corners and openings, the finish level, and extras such as testing or a permit. A 1970s texture that has to be matched adds steps. The estimate is free and carries no obligation.