A child picks up a permanent marker and “helps” decorate the wall. A visitor accidentally marks the wall while reaching for a light switch. A highlighter leaves a bright streak on the hallway wall. Marker damage on painted walls is a common household problem, and the challenge is that permanent marker ink penetrates paint rather […]
Your cat stretches, yawns, and instinctively digs her claws into the nearest vertical surface—your wall. Cat scratch damage is a common drywall repair problem in Chicago homes and apartments, and it has a distinctive appearance: vertical clusters of fine parallel scratches that can range from surface-level paint marks to deep gouges that tear through the […]
Your dog scratches at the door when he wants to go out. He scratches at the corner of the hallway when he’s excited. He scratches at the wall next to his crate when he’s anxious. Over time, those scratches add up—from light marks in the paint to deep gouges that tear through the drywall paper […]
You remove a baby gate—maybe the child has outgrown the need, you’re rearranging the space, or you’re moving out—and the wall where the gate was mounted is anything but pristine. Baby gate damage is a unique form of drywall damage because the mounting hardware is designed to resist significant force (a toddler leaning, pushing, or […]
A handrail bracket pulls out of the wall and suddenly you have a safety problem, not just a cosmetic one. Unlike a curtain rod or towel bar that inconveniences you when it falls, a handrail or grab bar is a safety device. People rely on handrails for stability on stairs, in hallways, and in bathrooms. […]
You yank the toilet paper a little too hard and the entire holder comes out of the wall. The anchors pull free, leaving two or four holes in the bathroom drywall and a toilet paper holder that’s no longer holding anything. Toilet paper holder pull-out is a small but surprisingly common bathroom repair in Chicago […]
You reach for a towel and the entire bar comes out of the wall in your hand. The anchors pull free, taking chunks of bathroom drywall with them. Towel bar pull-out is one of the most common bathroom drywall repair problems in Chicago homes and apartments. It happens because bathroom drywall is often compromised by […]
You reach for the curtains and the entire rod drops, pulling anchors and chunks of drywall with it. Or you try to remove an old curtain rod and the anchors don’t come out cleanly—they tear out of the wall instead. Curtain rod damage is one of the most common drywall repair problems in Chicago rental […]
You unmount your flat-screen TV—maybe you’re moving, switching to a TV stand, or rearranging the living room—and what you find on the wall is rarely pretty. TV mount holes are among the largest and most visible drywall holes in a typical apartment or home. Unlike small picture hook holes, TV mounts use multiple large lag […]
You finish painting a room and proudly peel off the painter’s tape—only to watch a strip of fresh (or old) paint come off with it. Or you remove masking tape that was covering a vent or outlet, and the tape has bonded to the paint over weeks or months, pulling it off in strips. Tape-related […]
You pull off a Command strip to take down a picture, a shelf, or a holiday decoration—and a chunk of paint comes with it. Sometimes it’s just the paint. Sometimes it’s the paint and the drywall paper underneath. Command strip damage is arguably the most common wall repair problem in Chicago rental apartments, and it’s […]
You peel off a Command strip, remove some old wallpaper, or pull at a loose corner of tape—and the drywall paper comes with it. Now you’re staring at a patch of wall where the smooth paper facing is torn, peeling, or completely gone, exposing the rough gray gypsum underneath. Torn drywall paper is one of […]