Lansing Elite Drywall is a drywall contractor for homes and commercial buildings across Lansing, MI. We hang and finish new gypsum board (Sheetrock to most homeowners) for basement finishes, additions and whole remodels, and we fix what is already on the walls. That runs from a single nail pop to a ceiling a leak brought down. Drywall replacement starts where patching stops making sense, and each room gets the board it needs, from 5/8-inch Type X over a garage to moisture-resistant panels in a bathroom.
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Since one in four homes in Lansing was built before 1940 or earlier, most of them contain the lath and plaster. For us that means that before putting any price we will determing if it would make more sense to resecure it rather than removing.
Fresh sheets get screwed on at the spacing Table R702.3.5 of the residential code sets, which is no more than 16 inches apart on walls framed at 16 inches and 12 inches apart on ceilings. Every edge lands on framing unless it runs across it. Ceiling sheets run across the joists, which the code requires once joists sit 24 inches apart. Hanging drywall is the fast part of the job. Taping and finishing take longer.
Some walls are past patching. Board that stayed wet for days or cracked across most of its face comes out to the studs, and new sheets go in with fresh tape on every seam. Replacement usually beats repair once damage covers more than about 60 percent of a wall. With the cavity open, it's also the easiest moment to swap out insulation that got soaked.
Doorknob holes, furniture dents, screws backing out and corner bead that took a hit. The damaged spot is trimmed to sound board and backed where needed, then taped and coated in thin layers feathered wide enough that side light doesn't catch the edge. The hands-on part of a small patch is often an hour or two. Dry time is what turns it into a second visit. Honestly I would not call a pro to patch a small hole in my garage. But I would consider calling even for a small hole is in a very visible place that I'm not confident to mask well.
Most ceiling cracks follow a taped seam where the tape has let go. We cut out the loose tape, re-tape the joint and coat it again, because more compound over a failed seam just cracks a second time. Sagging sections come out, and the replacement sheet takes screws every 12 inches. A crack that keeps coming back points to settling or seasonal swings in humidity, and we say so before patching it again.
Lansing gets about 50 inches of snow a year and 142 days with a low at or below freezing, which is how ice dams and split pipes end up as brown rings overhead. Wet board sags and loses its grip on the screws. We find the edge of the damage with a moisture meter and cut back to dry board. The ceiling gets closed up only after the leak is fixed and the joists above have dried. Obviously we wont just patch the water damage without ensuring with you that actual root-cause of the leak has been fixed before. Putting more paint on the join that has a water pipe leaking behind makes no sense for your wallet.
About a quarter of Lansing's housing was built in 1939 or earlier, when walls were plaster troweled over wood lath. A crack or bulge usually means the plaster keys behind the lath have snapped while the face is still sound. Plaster washers screwed through the loose area pull it back tight, and a thin finish coat hides the repair. The house keeps its original walls, and the bill stays well under a tear-out.
When the lath behind it is rotten or a ceiling has pulled free of its keys, the plaster comes out and drywall goes in. Nearly 80 percent of Lansing housing predates 1980. In any house built before 1978, that tear-out falls under the EPA lead renovation rule, since demolishing painted plaster never counts as minor repair, and it has to be done by a lead-safe certified firm.
Finished basements need board that tolerates damp air. We keep the bottom edge off the slab and use mold-resistant panels below grade, since the code bars interior gypsum board anywhere it's directly exposed to water. Near the Grand River the risk is real. The river at Lansing crested at 14.62 feet in February 2018, past its 13-foot moderate flood stage and the highest reading since 1975.
Section R302.6 of the residential code calls for at least 1/2-inch gypsum board on the garage face of the wall it shares with the house. A bedroom or bonus room above the garage raises that to 5/8-inch Type X overhead in the garage, fastened every 6 inches. Garage drywall thickness is decided by what sits on the other side. Enclosed storage under a staircase follows the same logic, with 1/2-inch board on the enclosed side under R302.7.
Paper tape bedded in compound goes on first, followed by a fill coat and a finish coat, each sanded and each left to dry 12 hours or more. In an unheated Lansing garage in January that stretches, so we bring heat and plan the coats around it. Most rooms get a Level 4 finish, the grade the Gypsum Association sets for flat paint. Our Lansing drywall finishers check every seam with a light held flat to the wall.
Knockdown, skip trowel, orange peel and sand swirl each need a different tool and a different mix. A patch with the wrong texture shows from across the room, even after paint. We spray or trowel a sample on scrap board first. Then we hold it to the wall under the light that room actually gets and adjust the hopper tip or the mix until the two disappear into each other. I would think of drywall finishing like patching a clothe. Most people are good enough to get the actual fix done, but to make it actually invisible, then it's more about mastery and equiptment.
Acoustic popcorn comes off wet, one section at a time, and the ceiling underneath usually has to be skim-coated before it's ready for paint. In a house built before 1980, a scraping goes to a lab before removal starts, because asbestos was still being added to joint compound until 1977. A positive result changes the plan, and we go through the options with you before anything is disturbed.
Describe the room and what happened to it. We call back with what the repair or hang probably involves and which details push the number up or down.
Commercial and multi-family work in Lansing goes through the same Building Safety Office as a house. When the Michigan Building Code requires construction documents, the city charges a plan review fee of 56 percent of the building permit fee, covering the first submission and one revision. We work around tenants and opening hours. Most of it happens after five.
Metal stud partitions and demising walls between suites. Walls between tenants often have to be a rated assembly, so board type and layer count follow the drawings. Suite build-outs usually need plan review. Board arrives once the permit does.
Storefront build-outs downtown and in Old Town, both National Register historic districts, plus back-of-house walls in restaurants. Kitchens take moisture-resistant or tile-backer board near sinks and dish stations. Everything is sequenced around your opening date.
Exam rooms need smooth, washable walls and sound control between them, so partitions get insulation in the cavity and 5/8-inch board on both faces. Lead-lined board for X-ray rooms is ordered to the shielding plan before framing closes.
Apartment buildings and attached townhomes fall under the city's commercial and multi-family plan review. Walls and ceilings between units follow rated designs. Turnover repairs get booked around move-out dates, which is usually a short window.
Classrooms and gyms take abuse-resistant board where carts and balls hit the walls. Most of this work happens over summer and holiday breaks. Plaster in older sanctuaries and school halls gets the same re-anchoring as plaster in a house, washers and all.
Level 5 is the top grade in GA-214, the Gypsum Association's finish standard. After a full Level 4 finish, a thin skim coat goes over the entire surface so the paper face and the taped joints take paint evenly. It matters most under critical lighting, the Association's term for strong side light from windows or surface-mounted fixtures. Level 5 drywall finish cost runs higher. The whole wall gets coated, not only the seams and screw heads.
Skim coating means troweling a thin layer of joint compound across a whole surface. It rescues plaster covered in fine spiderweb cracks and ceilings left rough after popcorn comes down. Walls stripped of wallpaper get a sealing primer first, so torn paper facing doesn't bubble under the wet compound. Two thin passes beat one heavy one. Sand between them.
Sound crosses a wall by shaking it, so heavier board and a break in the path stop more of it. We hang 5/8-inch drywall on resilient channel, which keeps the board from being screwed straight to the studs, and seal every edge with acoustic caulk. A second layer with damping compound between the sheets goes further. It suits shared walls in rentals, and in East Lansing about six in ten occupied homes are rented. For my own house I would definitely invest on soundproofing insulation for my and kid's bedroom, it's just one of those things that you never knew you needed before you try.
Type X board has additives in its gypsum core that raise its fire resistance. Beyond garage ceilings, it goes in furnace rooms and the walls between attached units whenever a rated assembly is called for. A rated wall only performs as built. Screw spacing, layer count and joint treatment follow the listed design exactly.
Bathroom walls outside the tub or shower take moisture-resistant board, and the code allows water-resistant board on bathroom ceilings. Inside the shower, section R702.3.7 bars it over a Class I or II vapor retarder and keeps it away from direct water, so tile there goes on cement board or a waterproofed backer. Laundry rooms and kitchen sink walls take the same moisture-resistant board.
About 46 percent of occupied homes in Lansing are rented, and each rental must be registered with the city's Office of Code Compliance and hold a Certificate of Compliance under the Housing and Premises Code. When an inspection turns up damaged walls or ceilings, we repair them between tenants. Landlords in pre-1978 buildings fall under the EPA lead rule, which homeowners working on their own houses do not.
Every job follows the same order, whether it’s one patch or a whole basement.
Lansing’s Building Safety Office, at 316 N. Capitol Ave., Suite C-1, requires a building permit before construction or remodeling begins. Trade work such as moving an outlet during a remodel needs its own separate permit. Where plan review is required it typically takes 10 to 15 business days, which matters for a basement or an addition. At the state level, anyone contracting for residential work worth $600 or more in labor and materials must hold a license from the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.
Most of a drywall schedule is waiting for compound to dry. The hands-on work is short on small jobs.
| Drywall job | Typical time | What sets the pace |
|---|---|---|
| Small hole, crack or nail pop | 1 to 2 hours of work | Drying between coats |
| Larger patch with new board | 2 to 5 hours of work | Patch size, texture |
| Water-damaged ceiling | 1 to 3 days | Dry framing, then 12+ hours a coat |
| Popcorn ceiling removal | 1 to 5 days | Size, method, lab result |
| Whole house | 3 days to 2 weeks | Size, layout, finish level |
| Plan review, when required | 2 to 3 more weeks | 10 to 15 business days at the city |
A four-person crew hangs 45 to 80 sheets a day, so hanging is rarely the slow part. Times are HomeGuide’s national figures; plan review is Lansing’s own estimate.
Small repairs cost more per square foot than big ones because of labor minimums.
| Drywall job | Lansing range | Priced per |
|---|---|---|
| Small repair visit (hole, crack, ceiling patch or water stain) | $400 to $490 | Visit |
| Plaster wall repair | $410 to $500 | Repair |
| Hanging drywall on walls | $2.30 to $2.80 | Sq ft |
| Hanging drywall on ceilings | $2.80 to $3.45 | Sq ft |
| Taping and finishing joints | $1.25 to $1.55 | Linear ft |
| Skim coat over existing walls | $1.15 to $1.40 | Sq ft |
| Popcorn ceiling removal | $1.50 to $3.15 | Sq ft |
| Drywall replacement, tear-out included | $5.15 to $6.30 | Sq ft |
| Lath and plaster removal | $4.25 to $9.25 | Sq ft |
Ranges come from Homewyse cost calculators for Lansing zip code 48912, checked in September 2026 and rounded. They are market figures, not our price list, and HomeGuide’s national $300 to $500 for a small hole agrees. Your real number comes after a walkthrough.
Patch when the damage is local, such as a hole or a cracked seam on board that stayed firm. Replace when the board is soft or moldy, or when damage covers more than about 60 percent of the wall. Replacement costs more per square foot, $5.15 to $6.30 against $2.30 to $2.80 for a new hang, because the old board has to come out first.
A fist-sized hole and a two-foot patch both land near $400 to $490 in Lansing, because Homewyse builds a four-hour labor minimum into every small repair. Grouping several repairs into one visit gets the most out of it.
Yes. East Lansing is about 4.6 miles from central Lansing, Okemos 7.5, Grand Ledge 9.7 and Mason 11. The area reaches roughly 30 miles out, with Stockbridge and Owosso near the edge, and a larger job farther away is still worth a call.
The city's fee schedule, effective July 1, 2026, charges $120 for work valued up to $2,000, $140 up to $4,000, $175 up to $10,000 and $220 up to $15,000. Residential jobs over $3,000 add plan review at 20 percent of the permit fee. Starting without a permit adds an investigation fee.
It can. A paid contractor who disturbs over 6 square feet of paint in one room of a pre-1978 home must be an EPA-certified firm using lead-safe practices. Two jobs in one room inside 30 days count as a single job, so splitting the work doesn't get under the limit. In Michigan the EPA runs the program itself.
Yes. From the mid-1940s until 1977, chrysotile asbestos was added to joint compound at 3 to 15 percent, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission moved to ban it in patching compounds in 1977. Sanding turns it into airborne dust. A lab test on a small sample, taken before anyone sands, settles the question.
One or two, yes. Drive a new drywall screw beside the popped one, sink the old head, and cover both with lightweight spackle. You don't need a contractor for that. A long row of pops along one ceiling line is different, since it points to framing movement.
If river water reached the board, yes, cut out to a line above the wet zone. The National Weather Service puts the river at Lansing in minor flood at 11 feet, moderate at 13 and major at 15. The 1975 crest hit 15.43 feet, and the 1904 record reached 18.6.
Look the name up with LARA, the state licensing department. Michigan issues a residential builder license and a maintenance and alteration license, and the second lists the trades its holder qualified in, such as carpentry or insulation. LARA's own advice to homeowners is never to pay for the entire job in advance.
Cracked plaster, a stained ceiling and a bare basement all look different in person than in a phone description, so the firm price comes after the visit.
The fastest answer is a phone call to (517) 940-8317. Or send the details below and we will get back to you.
Lansing Elite Drywall serves homeowners, landlords, builders and property managers throughout Lansing, MI and the surrounding communities.
East Lansing's housing is younger than Lansing's, with a median build year of 1975 against 1959, so there is more drywall and less plaster east of the city line. It also rents more. Around 61 percent of occupied homes there are rented, and the city's Rental Housing Division licenses them.
Across Ingham County the median home was built in 1971, and 16.5 percent date from 1939 or earlier, so plaster turns up in Mason and Williamston as well as in Lansing.