Walls & Ceilings

Hairline cracks at door and window corners are common in Central Texas because the clay soil swells and shrinks with rainfall. Recurring small cracks usually mean cosmetic patching every few years. Cracks wider than a quarter inch, cracks that keep growing week to week, or doors that suddenly stick deserve a structural look.

Yes for nail holes and small dings using spackle and a fine-grit sand. Holes larger than a fist usually need a backer board or a patch piece cut to size, plus joint compound feathered out and a texture match. A clean DIY patch is doable; a clean texture match is the harder part.

Three usual sources: a roof leak directly above, condensation around the HVAC drain pan, or a plumbing leak from above. Stop the source before patching; painting over a wet stain bleeds through and the underlying problem keeps spreading.

A patch with proper backing, joint compound, primer, and a matched texture holds as long as the surrounding wall, typically decades. Patches that fail early are almost always either an unaddressed water source or a movement issue (foundation, framing) that the patch alone could not fix.

Drywall patches need primer and a matched texture before paint goes on, or the patch flashes differently in light. A pro will skim, texture, and prime before paint; the result reads as one continuous wall instead of a patch under a coat of color.