Resources
Straight answers on drywall specs, bids and finishes
What we have learned framing, boarding and finishing across Toronto and the GTA. Written for the general contractors, property managers and homeowners who have to make the call.
For General Contractors
Drywall ceilings or T-bar, and how to choose
Neither ceiling is better in general. Each answers a different question about access, sound, height and finish, and the right call is made room by room.
20 October 2026
For General Contractors
Where drywall sits on a construction schedule
Drywall is a sequence of steps, each waiting on a different trade. Most delays come from a few handoffs between those steps, and they can be planned for.
13 October 2026
For General Contractors
Writing a drywall tender package that prices cleanly
Bids come back far apart when the tender lets each bidder fill the gaps differently. A package that closes the gaps gets numbers you can compare on the first pass.
6 October 2026
Spec Notes
STC ratings in commercial partitions, and what breaks them
An STC rating describes a wall built and sealed under laboratory conditions. Most of the points lost on a real job are lost to a short list of field conditions that a schedule can prevent.
29 September 2026
For General Contractors
Firestopping on a drywall package, and whose scope it actually is
Firestopping and drywall are two different scopes that meet at the same wall, and on most tenders nobody has actually assigned who carries the sealant gun.
22 September 2026
Spec Notes
Type X and Type C drywall, and why the substitution only runs one way
Type C is a stricter version of Type X, not a swap for it. The difference is what the board does when it gets hot, and that decides which listed assemblies will accept it.
15 September 2026
Spec Notes
Shaft wall assemblies, and when a project actually needs one
A shaft wall is not a rated partition with a different name. It is built from one side, out of components picked to match a tested assembly, and neither of those facts is optional.
8 September 2026
For General Contractors
Hoarding walls in occupied malls and retail, done to the landlord's standard
A hoarding wall in an occupied mall is not a plywood screen with a coat of paint. It is a life safety barrier, a dust and noise seal, and the first thing a shopper sees of the build-out behind it.
5 September 2026
Spec Notes
Level 4 vs Level 5 drywall finish, and how to spec the right one
The finish level is the single line in a drywall spec that most often gets argued about after the painter shows up. Here is what each level actually buys you.
5 September 2026
Spec Notes
Steel stud gauge and spacing for commercial partitions
Depth, gauge and spacing are three separate decisions and they get made for three different reasons. Mixing them up is what puts a wall back on the schedule.
5 September 2026
For General Contractors
What a drywall bid should include before you award the work
Three drywall bids on the same drawings can be twenty percent apart and all three can be honest. The spread is almost always in what was left out.
5 September 2026