Questions
Questions.
General answers for drywall work in Surrey. Anything about your job — price, dates, what's included — is a phone call.
Do I need a permit?
Often, yes. Surrey usually requires a building permit for interior renovations and basement finishing; some small repairs don't need one. The City's Building Division confirms it for your job.
Condos and townhouses have their own renovation permit, and strata approval is part of it.
Structural changes can need drawings signed and sealed by a registered professional. Electrical and plumbing work have their own permits.
Could there be asbestos in my walls or ceiling?
It can't be ruled out by looking. Asbestos was used in B.C. building materials for decades, and newer buildings can contain it too. If old mud or ceiling texture is going to be cut or sanded, it gets tested first.
A licensed asbestos surveyor takes samples for a lab. If asbestos is found, a licensed abatement contractor removes or contains it before the work goes ahead.
Since 1 January 2024, that work in B.C. has to be licensed by WorkSafeBC, which publishes the list.
Why does drywall take several visits?
Each coat has to dry before the next one goes on: tape, fill coats, a finish coat, then sanding, then primer. Coating over compound that hasn't dried is one of the ways joints end up showing later.
Drying time depends on the compound, the temperature and the humidity in the room.
After the last sand, the dust is cleared before primer. The number of visits depends on the job.
What's the difference between Level 4 and Level 5?
Level 4 is the usual finish for flat paint. Level 5 adds a thin skim over the whole surface, for smooth walls with shinier or darker paint, or strong light from the side.
These are the Gypsum Association's finish levels (GA-214).
Level 5 does more than Level 4 to keep joints from showing, but no finish level guarantees a joint can never show under every light. Paint, texture and lighting play a part too, which is why the paint and the room's light matter before the level is chosen.
Why do joints show after paint?
Usually one of four things: the joint isn't flat; the compound and the paper take paint differently; the primer or paint; or light crossing the wall at a low angle, which shows all of them. It's why our walls are checked under light harsher than the light you'll live with.
If a patch looks shinier or duller rather than raised, that's usually the paint; painters call it flashing.
If it looks raised, or like a band when light comes from the side, it's the drywall.