Drywall contract template — finish level is the whole agreement
Drywall disputes are almost always about finish level. Name it in the contract, in the industry's own terms, and the argument disappears.
This is a checklist of what a drywall contract has to settle — not a ready-to-sign legal document, and not legal advice. Most states regulate home improvement contracts: required disclosures, cancellation windows, deposit limits and licence display all vary, and some trades carry extra rules. Adapt this, then have a lawyer in your state review it before you put it in front of a customer.
Download as a spreadsheet to work through, or print it to sit alongside your own agreement.
What a drywall contract has to settle
A drywall contract has one clause that matters more than the rest: the finish level. Level 3, 4 and 5 are defined industry standards with genuinely different labour, and a customer who was never told which one they bought will expect the highest. Lighting is the corollary — critical lighting reveals imperfections that pass at Level 4, so the acceptance clause should say what lighting the work is judged under. Coats need drying time, so the schedule spans days the crew is not on site.
Clauses it needs
- Parties, licence number, and the areas in scope
- Finish level per area, named as Level 3, 4 or 5
- Board type and thickness: standard, moisture-resistant, fire-rated
- Texture type, and whether it must match an existing surface
- Acceptance: the lighting conditions the finish is judged under
- Drying time between coats, shown in the schedule as non-working days
- Who supplies and stocks the board, and site access for delivery
- Debris removal and the cleanup standard
- Payment split between hanging and finishing
- Warranty on cracking, and what is excluded as normal settlement
What drywall contracts actually get argued over
- Level 4 delivered against a customer expecting Level 5
- Imperfections found under a work light that pass under normal lighting
- Texture match on a repair judged by eye with no agreed standard
- Settlement cracking claimed as a workmanship defect
The estimate this contract is built on
A contract can only be as clear as the scope it references. BidWand drafts the itemised estimate — labour, materials, exclusions and assumptions — that the scope and exclusions clauses point at.
Draft the drywall estimate this contract references
This generates the estimate, not the contract — describe the job and you get the itemised scope to attach. No email needed to see the first one.
What you get — see the format first
A complete estimate you can send to the customer, built from the rate you enter:
| Description | Qty | Unit | Unit price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor — itemized by task | hrs | hour | your rate | — |
| Materials — with your markup applied | qty | ea / sq ft | cost + markup | — |
| Permits, disposal, access | — | — | — | — |
Plus a plain-English scope summary, assumptions (what had to be guessed), exclusions (what you are not doing — the section that prevents most change-order arguments), and a validity period. Printable, or send the link.
Every figure comes from the rate and markup you supply. We never fill in a market price for you.
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How to estimate
How to write a contractor estimate · Estimate vs quote vs bid — and which one you should send · What to include in a contractor estimate · How to price a job as a contractor · Should you charge for estimates? · How to follow up on an estimate · How to handle change orders · Estimate vs invoice: what's the difference? · How to raise your prices as a contractor