Drywall Installation and Repair in Riverton, Utah

Every estimate is free and no-obligation. Call (801) 735-8491 or use the estimate form with your name, phone, email, the service and a description of the job.

How Riverton grew from farm town to suburb

Riverton's own history tells the early part. Settlers farmed along the Jordan River bottoms and the bench land that canals opened up, the town became a city in 1948, and its population more than tripled from 2,820 in 1970 to around 10,000 by the mid-1980s as farms gave way to subdivisions. The 1990 Census counted 2,832 homes.

The big growth came after that. Census estimates for 2020 to 2024 show about 14,400 homes in Riverton. Some 56 percent were built between 1990 and 2009, the 2000s were the busiest decade, and close to 4 in 5 homes date from 1990 or later. About 16 percent were built in the 1970s and 1980s.

For drywall, that means most work here is repair and finishing in houses roughly two to three decades old: water-stained ceilings, holes and cracks, texture that has to match, and basements finished long after move-in.

Riverton's sheetrock rules for basement finishes

Riverton's building department hands out code specifications for residential basement finishing, based on the 2021 International Residential Code, with a section just for sheetrock. Only a basic plan is needed, labeled with each room's use, the electrical layout, doors, windows, the furnace and the water heater.

The same sheet sets the size of the rooms: habitable rooms of at least 70 square feet and 7 feet across, and 7-foot ceilings, with beams spaced 4 feet or more apart allowed to drop 6 inches below that. Furnaces and water heaters can't be reached through a bedroom or bathroom, which decides where the mechanical room walls and door go.

For the board and framing, it asks for:

• Backing at every joint, and at all wall and ceiling corners.
• Water-resistant board in tub and shower enclosures. Behind tile in the wet area itself, the residential code (R702.4.2) calls for a tile backer: glass mat gypsum, fiber-reinforced gypsum or cement board.
• Screws no more than 12 inches apart, set at least 5/8 inch into the framing.
• At least half-inch board on the walls and ceiling of any usable space under the stairs, with every joint fire-taped.
• Non-bearing walls framed no more than 24 inches on center, with redwood or pressure-treated wood wherever it sits on the slab.
• R-13 insulation on basement exterior walls, and on mechanical room walls and ceilings that bring in outside combustion air.
• Fire stops the full height of the stud wall at least every 10 feet.

Basement apartments and Riverton's ADU permit

Riverton allows accessory dwelling units in all of its single-family zones, and that includes a rented basement inside an existing home. Besides the building permits to finish the space, the city requires a one-time ADU permit, which isn't needed when the space is rented to family members.

For the drywall, a rental basement is a full finish: bedrooms with egress windows, a bathroom with a tile backer around the tub or shower, a fire-taped closet under the stairs if there is one, and walls ready for the smoke alarm the city wants in each bedroom and the combined smoke and carbon monoxide alarm outside them.

From application to final inspection in Riverton

Riverton takes permit applications, plans and engineering by email to its building department, along with an owner-builder form naming who does each trade. The city's permit page says permits are required by state law and city ordinance, and that working without one is a class B misdemeanor. A walkout also needs a land disturbance permit from the stormwater division, and new homes need a lot-specific geotechnical soils report.

Inspections are requested one working day ahead, before 1 p.m. The framing inspection comes once plumbing, electrical and mechanical work is in and the framing is done, and the insulation inspection checks the foam at windows, doors and plate penetrations. Drywall covers all of that, so hanging is scheduled after those inspections pass.

Repairs in Riverton's 1990s and 2000s houses

Repairs in houses this age usually come down to water, impact or movement: a stain under a bathroom, a hole behind a door, a crack over a window. The source gets fixed first. Then the damaged board is cut back to sound framing, new board goes in with backing behind any loose edges, and the joints are taped, coated and sanded flat.

The finish has to match what's around it, whether that's orange peel, knockdown or a smooth wall. In the 1970s and 1980s homes, a sprayed ceiling may also be present. Utah's Division of Air Quality requires an asbestos inspection of that texture before a contractor disturbs more than three square feet of it in a home built before 1992. Homes built in 1992 or later are exempt.

Asking for a drywall estimate in Riverton

Call (801) 735-8491 or fill in the estimate form. Say whether the job is a repair, a basement finish or a basement apartment, roughly how large it is, and whether the permit is already in hand. For a repair, describe the texture and what caused the damage.

Price follows the square footage of walls and ceilings, how high the ceilings are, how smooth the finish has to be, any texture to match, how easy the space is to reach and, in a basement, how many rooms and corners there are. The estimate is free and there's no obligation to book.

Drywall questions from Riverton homeowners

Does Riverton require a permit to finish a basement?

Yes. Riverton's permit rules cover any work that alters a building, and for a basement finish the city needs only a basic plan showing room uses, the electrical layout, doors, windows, the furnace and the water heater.

Can I rent out my basement in Riverton?

Basement rentals are allowed in all single-family zones as accessory dwelling units. You need the building permits for the finish and a one-time ADU permit, unless the tenant is family.

What size do basement bedroom windows need to be?

At least 5 square feet of net opening, at least 24 inches high and 20 inches wide, with the sill no more than 44 inches up. Window wells must reach 36 inches out and need a fixed ladder when deeper than 44 inches.

Do I need an asbestos test before a popcorn ceiling is scraped?

If the house was built before 1992 and a contractor is doing any part of the work, yes. Owner-occupants who do the work without hiring anyone are exempt, and homes built in 1992 or later need no inspection.

How do I get a drywall estimate in Riverton?

Phone (801) 735-8491, or fill in the form on this site: name, phone, email, which service, and what needs doing. It's free, and there's no obligation.