In my 10 x 11 foot entry room, I had a substantial part of the ceiling come crashing down, It was probably put up at least 80 years ago, with inadequate nails.

I thought of buying a drywall lift and repairing it myself, but decided NO!

I left messages with a couple drywall contractors - but they didn't call back. I called a ceiling specialist, but he said they only did whole houses, not just a room, and specialized in replacing popcorn ceilings (I had to Google that).

I found a broader gauge contractor who actually answered the phone. He did a quote on Friday, based on photos I emailed. He said the entire ceiling had to be torn out (which I expected). He promised a crew would start work Monday between 8:00 and 9:00 am.

Fortunately, I had the weekend to strip everything out of the room, which was quite full. Took me over 8 hours to remove a large glass top table, a large expanse of shelving, copy/fax/printer, a heavy cabinet, chairs, and much more. Last, I took down the ceiling light fixture.

At 8:30 am, a Mexican, a large white guy, and a woman showed up and went to work. They packed up and left at 4:00 in the afternoon - the job done to perfection, all smooth and painted. The speed with which they did this work was almost unbelievable. All I had to do was put up the ceiling fixture (never a picnic).

Of course, it'll take me days to get the room back together, Everything has to be cleaned, sorted, and some thing selected not to return (mostly computer oriented stuff). But today I washed the walls and floor, and the big glass top table is back in. I had to unhinge the front door for that, and it cleared the doorway by less than 1/8 inch.

Yes, it cost some bucks, but it sure saved one hell of a lot of hard work, and the job was far better than I could have done.