5 Levels of Drywall Finish

When finishing out your homes drywall, there are five different levels of drywall finish to consider when finalizing your drywall labor contract. It will also be important so you can understand the pricing and why the quote is the price that it is. Make sure the quality and level of drywall finish is included in the contract. You do not want to accept a better priced drywall labor bid to realize that it is for a poor quality drywall finish not acceptable to you.

Level 0 Drywall Finish

At the level 0 quality of drywall finish you are only hanging drywall. This level requires to taping, floating, finishing, corner beads.  This is a good drywall finish for the DIY drywall finisher or in areas that finish is undecided.

Level 1 Drywall Finish

At the level 1 quality of drywall finish the contractor will hang the drywall and install tape into drywall mud at all interior angles and at drywall joints. But not necessarily on the screws/nails. Once again, this level is good for the simple do it yourselfer who may wish to save money up front and finish out the drywall in certain areas at a later date. This could be used in attics, garages, workshops, toolsheds, etc. where drywall quality is of less importance.

Level 2 Drywall Finish

At this level of drywall finish you go one step further than the level 1 drywall finish. The contractor will install the tape on all joints, interior corners, and float in the corner beads. The contractor will also apply an additional coat of drywall mud on all of the joints, interior corners, screw heads, and other accessories with flanges that need to be floated into the drywall. This level of drywall is also acceptable for use in garages, workshops, toolsheds, attics or other areas that quality is not important. This application is also useful in showers where the finish product will be tile and so the level of drywall quality is not important.

Level 3 Drywall Finish

When moving into the level 3 quality of drywall finishes you are beginning to get into conditions that are typically acceptable for wallpaper, paint, or other finishes to be applied to, all though the quality is still not perfect. At this level of drywall finish, the drywall joints might be obious to some, and not to others. It will depend on the person judging the drywall. At this level all joints and interior corners have tape embedded in drywall mud plus one additional layer of drywall mud. All accessories, flanges, and screws/nails will have two seperate coats of drywall float applied. At this level it is not acceptable for the drywall to have ridges or tool marks. All surfaces must be smoothed and sanded down to be ready for the painter to prime the walls. This level of drywall finish is acceptable for most when light colors are used which do not bring out the drywall imperfections. If you intend to use dark colored paints you might consider specifying level 4 quality drywall for those particular areas.

Level 4 Drywall Finish

With a level 4 drywall finish you will have all joints, interior angles corners with two seperate coats of compound installed over the tape and corner bead flanges. All accessorie flanges and screw/nail heads will have three seperate coats of drywall mud installed. A level 4 quality drywall finish is a very nice drywall finish and is typically acceptable for most applications. The only time you might want to consdier moving into a level 5 quality of drywall finish is when you intend to use semi gloss or high gloss paints which bring out the imperfections in the drywall and make them more visible.

Level 5 Drywall Finish

With a level 5 drywall finish you will do the same skim coats as mentioned in the level 4 drywall finish, plus move forward and apply a thin skim coat over the entire drywall. Every part of the wall will recieve a skim coat and be sanded down so that the wall is free of any imperfections. This level of drywall finish is what should be used in homes with incredibly high levels of finish throughout the entire unit, or for areas that will use paints that are semi-gloss or high-gloss in nature. It is also a best practices to use this quality of drywall finish in areas where the wall will have lighting elements shining down them that will bring out the imperfections in the drywall. This level of drywall finish is typically not recomended unless you are very familiar with drywall work and have intricate design elements which demand high drywall quality.