How much does skim coat walls cost in the Chicago suburbs?

Most homeowners in DeKalb County, the Fox Valley, and the northwest suburbs pay between $600 and $1,800. Labor and compound per room. Priming is included, painting is separate. Homes built before 1978 may need lead safe practices.

How long does it take?

Two to three days per room on site for a typical job.

Does this job need a licensed pro in Illinois?

No state license is required for this work in Illinois. Every pro we send is insured and background checked.

You pay the pro directly. Carpenter Next Door never asks homeowners for payment.

Skim coat walls

A pro spreads thin coats of joint compound over a whole wall to make it smooth.

Two to three days per room on siteLead-safe work if the home is pre-1978

What this job involves

A skim coat hides texture, old wallpaper glue, and years of patches. The pro cleans the wall, then spreads two or three thin coats of compound, letting each dry. The wall is sanded smooth and primed. It is dusty work, so the room is sealed with plastic. Old plaster walls can have loose spots that need screws or mesh first, which the pro finds as they go.

What to have ready

The rooms and the square feet of wall
Photos of the current wall surface
Whether there is wallpaper on the wall now
The year the house was built

What a fair price looks like

Most homeowners in our area pay between $600 and $1,800 for this job. Labor and compound per room. Priming is included, painting is separate. Homes built before 1978 may need lead safe practices.

This is a range to help you judge a quote, not a quote. The pro you are matched with gives you their own price, in writing for anything over $1,000, and you pay them directly. We charge the pro a small flat fee only after the job is done. We never ask you for payment.

What a good pro will ask you first

Is the wall textured, plaster, or papered?
How many square feet?
Are the walls cracking or loose anywhere?
Will you paint after, or should the pro?

People often add

Walls, ceilings, and paintInterior painting by roomA pro preps, cuts in, and rolls one or more rooms with two coats of paint.One day per room Walls, ceilings, and paintRemove a popcorn ceilingAfter a lab test clears it, a pro scrapes the popcorn off, skims the ceiling, and leaves it ready for paint.Two to three days per room Walls, ceilings, and paintDrywall repairA pro patches holes and cracks in drywall and sands them smooth for paint.Half a day, often across two visits Walls, ceilings, and paintHang wallpaperA pro preps the wall and hangs wallpaper with matched seams and clean edges.One day per room