Professional drywall repair
This is repair work on walls that already exist. A door handle through the board, settlement cracks, a ceiling stained and softened by a leak that has since been fixed, or the holes left when shelving comes down. Homeowners, usually alongside an interior painting job.
Serving Wilmington, northern Delaware and southeastern Pennsylvania. See every area we cover.
What the job covers
- Holes, dents, cracks and popped fasteners
- Water-damaged board cut out and replaced
- Corner bead repairs
- Texture matched to the surrounding wall or ceiling
- Repairs primed so they do not flash through the finish coat
How it runs
Work out why it happened
A crack that keeps coming back is a movement problem, not a filler problem. If the cause is still live we tell you rather than covering it.
Cut back and patch
Damaged board comes out. New board goes in, taped and set.
Match the texture
A flat patch on a textured wall is as obvious as the hole was. Matching is the part that takes the time.
Prime the repair
Fresh compound drinks paint. Repairs get primed so the finish coat sits evenly across old and new.
What we get called out to
Repair work is defined by whatever caused it. Filling the hole is the quick part, and what happened to the wall is what decides whether the repair is still invisible next year.
Holes and dents
Door handles, furniture, wall brackets and the holes left behind when shelving or a television mount comes down. Small dents get filled. Anything that has broken the paper is cut back to a clean edge and patched with board rather than packed with compound.
Cracks that keep coming back
A crack over a door head, along a ceiling line or up a corner is usually movement rather than filler failure. If the cause is still live, filling it again just buys a few months, and we say that rather than take the work twice.
Water damage
A ceiling stained and gone soft under a leak that has since been fixed. Board that has taken water comes out, because sealing a stain does nothing about the board behind it. If the leak has not been fixed yet, that comes first and it is not our trade.
Corner bead
Outside corners take all the traffic in a hallway. A dented or split bead is cut out and replaced rather than built up with compound, which cracks along the same line within a year.
Plaster rather than board
Older houses are frequently plaster over lath, and it does not patch the way board does. Knowing which one is on the wall changes the method and the time, so it is identified before the work is quoted rather than discovered on the day.
Why a patch shows, and how we stop it
Nobody notices a good repair and everybody notices a bad one. The difference is almost entirely in what happens after the hole is filled.
Carried well past the repair
Compound finished tight to the patch leaves a raised ring that catches the light from across the room. It gets feathered well beyond the damage so there is no edge left to see.
Sanded flat and checked in raking light
A patch checked straight on looks fine long before it is fine. It gets looked at along the wall with a light held low, which is the angle the room will show it at.
Texture matched, not approximated
A flat patch on a textured wall or ceiling is as obvious as the hole was. Matching an existing texture is the slowest part of a repair and it is the part that decides whether the work disappears.
Painted to a break, not spotted in
Fresh compound drinks paint, so a spot coat over a repair flashes and reads as a patch even when the filling was perfect. Repairs get primed and then the wall or the ceiling gets taken to a corner or a natural break.
Common questions
Do I need drywall repair or new drywall?
Repair is work on a wall that already exists, patching holes, cracks and water damage back into the surface around them. If the studs are open and the space needs walls, that is drywall hang and finish, which is a different job and a different quote.
Will the patch be visible afterwards?
Not if the texture is matched and the repair is painted to a natural break rather than spotted in. Fresh compound drinks paint, so a spot coat over a repair flashes and reads as a patch even when the filling underneath was perfect.
Can you match a textured ceiling?
Yes. Matching an existing texture is the slowest part of a repair and it is the part that decides whether anybody can tell where the work was done.
My crack keeps coming back. Can it be fixed?
We can fill it, but a crack that returns is usually movement in the building rather than filler failure. Where the cause is still live we tell you that instead of taking the same work twice.
Do you paint the wall afterwards?
Yes, and most repairs want it. The repair is primed and then the wall or the ceiling is taken to a corner or a natural break, which is why drywall repair is usually quoted alongside interior painting.
Where we get called for repairs
Repairs come from everywhere, but the older and more settled the housing the more of them there are. The early twentieth century stock in Richardson Park and Elsmere was built in runs, so neighbors share more than a wall and a crack often follows the line of the row.
Post-war development housing through Brookhaven, Upper Chichester and Boothwyn is board rather than plaster and patches predictably. Stanton and Marshallton hold a century of housing standing side by side, which is exactly why what is behind the paint gets identified before anything is quoted.
The same work goes out across New Castle County and into Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
Customers on this work
- Google review7/12/2026
Justin and his team did an amazing job on our new construction home. The walls before had hideous flat contractor paint and needed a lot of repair. In less than three days our home was totally transformed to match our style. I recommend Modern Image Painting to anyone looking to take their home to the next level. Thanks again!
Billy D.
- Google review8/14/2023
Glad I chose Justin and his team to do some interior painting and drywall repair. Very professional and always on time. They do good quality work. Very satisfied.
Denise R.
- Google review8/26/2022
We have just completed a drywall and painting project with Modern Image and we highly recommend them. Justin and his team are top notch. They are punctual and work hard. They organized the work to make sure that the drywall dried before they painted…
Nancy P.
Get a free estimate
Tell us about the project. We assess it in person, or online when that suits the job, and your written proposal follows promptly. Call or use the form, whichever is easier.