Drywall Installation and Repair in Park City, Utah

Estimates are free and there is no obligation to go ahead. Call (801) 735-8491 or use the estimate form, and say whether the home is a house or a condo, what is damaged or changing, and who can provide access.

Park City's permit rule for drywall work

Park City's Building Department says that in general, any drywall work will require a permit. The examples it gives of work that needs no permit are carpet, paint, wallpaper, cabinets and countertops. So a ceiling repair after a leak, or a new wall in a basement, starts with a call to the department at 435-615-5101.

Applications go through the city's City Inspect portal. For a condo or a planned unit development, the department also has an HOA notification form for work that involves common walls and floors.

The city also limits work around holidays and events. On restricted dates, loud work, deliveries and anything that disrupts traffic or sidewalks are prohibited unless the city's Building Official grants an exception. A drywall delivery has to be scheduled around those dates.

Condo walls and ceilings shared with a neighbor

Only about 40 percent of Park City's homes are detached houses, and 28 percent sit in buildings with five or more units, according to the Census Bureau. The building code Utah enforces requires walls between units in the same building to be built as fire partitions, and floors between units as rated horizontal assemblies.

That changes how a repair is done. The board type and number of layers that were there go back in, every joint is taped and finished, and holes for pipes or wires are sealed so the assembly keeps its rating. A quick patch with ordinary board can weaken a wall that is meant to slow a fire.

Utah's asbestos rules treat these buildings differently, too. The newer waiver of the pre-renovation inspection covers only homes of four or fewer units built from 1992 on. Residential buildings with more than four units fall under the federal asbestos rules, and the waiver doesn't apply to them, whatever year they were built.

Second homes, deep snow and water damage that sits

Of Park City's 8,701 housing units, 4,232 are held for seasonal, recreational or occasional use, and only 3,596 are someone's usual home, the Census Bureau reports. Winters are long: the Western Regional Climate Center's Park City station averaged about 125 inches of snow a year from 1992 to 2016, with January lows near 13 degrees.

A frozen pipe or a roof leak in an empty house can soak a ceiling for days before anyone sees it. The EPA says water-damaged areas should be dried within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold, and that porous materials that get moldy may have to be thrown away.

So wet drywall is cut out past the stain, the cavity and framing are dried and checked, and new board goes in only after that. A cold house slows the job, because joint compound dries slowly without steady heat.

Ski-boom homes from the 1970s and 1980s

Park City's housing has an unusual shape. The Census Bureau counts 4,362 homes built in the 1970s and 1980s, half the city's total, but only 76 from the 1940s through the 1960s. The median home was built in 1989.

The Utah Division of State History explains the gap: by the 1950s the town was almost dead, skiing brought a rebirth in the 1960s, and the Deer Valley area was added to its development in the 1980s. Homes and condos from those two decades can have popcorn ceilings and spray-textured walls that have been patched more than once.

Matching them means copying the pattern on scrap board before touching the wall, then priming so the patch doesn't flash through the paint. Any popcorn or texture coming off a house built before 1992, or out of a building with more than four units, should be tested first.

Plaster in mining-era houses in the Historic District

Park City has more than 400 historic sites and two National Register districts. One, the Mining Boom Era Residences Thematic District, listed in 1984, covers houses built during the mining boom of 1872 to 1929. The Census still counts 249 homes in the city built in 1939 or earlier.

Most work in the Historic District needs a Historic District Design Review pre-application, and any work that modifies historic material needs a full review by the Historic Preservation Board. Ask the Planning Department before opening original walls in one of these houses.

Houses of that age were usually plastered: the National Park Service says plaster covered the walls of nearly all buildings until the 1930s or 1940s, and over wood lath it is usually three quarters to seven eighths of an inch thick. Patching it with half-inch drywall takes shims or furring so the repair sits flush, and loose plaster has to be secured first.

First steps for drywall work in Park City

A few checks before the estimate visit help the permit and the work go smoothly:

• Find out whether the property is in the Historic District, a registered HOA, or a condo building with more than four units.
• Note the year it was built. Before 1992, or in any building with more than four units, plan on an asbestos test for texture or board that will come out.
• If a leak caused the damage, stop the water and start drying right away.
• Call (801) 735-8491 or send the estimate form with the address, the rooms and what needs doing.

Drywall questions from Park City homeowners

Do I need a permit to repair drywall in Park City?

In most cases, yes. The Building Department says that in general any drywall work requires a permit. Its examples of exempt work are paint, wallpaper, carpet, cabinets and countertops, so call 435-615-5101 if you aren't sure.

Is the drywall between condo units different?

Yes. Walls and floors between units are fire-rated assemblies, so a repair has to put back the same board type and layers and seal any openings. The city also has an HOA notice form for work on common walls and floors.

I don't live in Park City full time. How do I get an estimate?

Call (801) 735-8491 or send the estimate form with the address, the problem and who can give access. A property manager, HOA or neighbor can open the door for the visit. In winter, leave the heat on.

Do I need approval to change walls in a historic Park City house?

Possibly. Most work in the Historic District starts with a design review pre-application, and work that modifies historic material goes to the Historic Preservation Board. Check with the Planning Department before opening original walls.

What affects the cost of drywall work in Park City?

The size of the damage, ceiling height, texture matching, rated walls in condos, any testing or drying, the permit, and access and parking. There's no charge for the estimate.