Least expensive and fastest way would be to install 1/4" thick sheet rock over what is there. That will be less expensive(materials cost included) than trying to repair the present sheet rock. The only extra necessary with that solution is to have extenders installed on switch/receptacle boxes to bring the box edges even with the nes sheet rock.

I would rip that off too and just have a crew come in and rock the whole thing. Repair definitely is out of the question as ever being cost effective. And 1/4” has too much domino issues like all of the casings and moldings and electrical outlets wil now need to be touched.

Finish the demo. Hire a crew.

I had a 1970s house with paneling and I removed it from a small room. Because of some wall relocation I ended up removing and replacing the sheetrock on one wall. I put 1/4" drywall on another and a very small section I skimmed. While all options worked, I think the best and easiest was to replace the drywall. The 1/4" drywall was easy but the underlying drywall with the glue made the 1/4" drywall a little lumpy so the finish didn't look anywhere near as nice as the fresh drywall. I know it looks daunting to replace all that sheetrock but I think the end result will be better. Hope that helps some.

I ran into this with paneling last year and tried scraping (no way that worked) steam iron, letting steam hit it (that worked but was taking forever) I ended up doing a light skim of putting over it a few times till it covered it, and it worked best. But I agree if I would have had a large amount I would cut it out and put new drywall. I did have section I had to replace and it looked the best and was 100 times the easiest!

From the pix, the damage doesn't look too bad. I would scrape the glue off & use Zinsser Gardz on the torn paper. Then skim coat. Roll thinned drywall mud on the wall and use a squeegee to level. I used a regular window squeegee on a smallish area and it worked good. You can get regular drywall squeegees at Amazon. 'Magic Trowel' is one brand.

If you're not satisfied with the result, then Plan B. I suck at drywall work and so am partial to a troweled on texture known by different names like 'skip trowel' and Santa Fe knockdown. I use premixed mud straight out of the bucket, load the mud onto a drywall hawk and apply to the wall with a cement trowel. I go for a fairly subtle texture rather than a heavy one. (Be aware that if you use too heavy a coat, the drywall mud will crack when it dries. The cracks are ugly; you don't want that to happen.)

If you know that you like the skip trowel texture, then skip the skim coat (for all but perhaps the very most damaged spots) and just apply the texture. It goes on fast, is fun to do and is a really inexpensive fix. I love the look of the texture and have been know to use it to cover up perfectly acceptable (but boring) drywall finishes and that cottage cheese knockdown texture which I just don't like.

I’ve done this before. Best option is to rip down to the studs since you can put decent insulation in. That’s what I did, made a huge difference. Then pay a crew to come in and Sheetrock and mud. They’ll do it twice as fast.

I'm seeing more ugly than actual damage.

Adding a thin layer of drywall (1/4')--still have to tape seams and corners PLUS needing to add jamb extensions to doorways and window openings and extensions to outlet & switch boxes.. And lug the sheets down the stairs....

Removing existing drywall and replacing...lots of heavy work involving stairs. Old dusty drywall has to be lugged out of the basement (disposal fees) and new big sheets of drywall has to snaked thru the house and down the stairs. Heavy, nasty work.

Calling a crew sounds easy. Reality is that it is a small job and getting someone in to actually do the job may not be easy. Depends on the local market. If the housing market is hot and there is lots of work, drywallers are going to be choosey and go for whole house jobs, ground level jobs, etc.

Easiest, least expensive DIY approach is to what I outlined in my previous post...Gardz on the torn paper and any exposed gypsum, a quick skim coat of mud on the worst of the damage, fill screw/ nail dents and then a skip trowel texture, prime and paint. $2-300 expenditure, tops unless you're looking at $50-75 a gallon 'designer' paint.

It's a basement, a partially finished basement (exposed floor joists), not the formal front entry hall. If it was my house, I would go the sorta' patch and then texture route. (Seejanedrill has an excellent You Tube video on skip trowel texturing with examples of how well the texture covers up uncoated drywall tape, bad patches and assorted boo-boos.). Of course, I do admit to loving skip trowel texture, would use it in a brand new house but realize that not everyone likes it. However, OP indicated being amenable to using texture in their opening post.

IF OP opts for texture, one tip that I want to add is to pencil on the wall how far window, door casing and baseboard trim will extend and to NOT texture those areas. Makes for an easier and neater install of the trim at the end of the job.

As someone who's done a fair amount of DIY drywall work, I vote for the "pay a crew to replace it all" solution.

I assume the reason for removing the paneling was going for an "updated" look. Personally I don't think heavy texture on walls is updated and modern. The glue will likely be very hard to scrape and sand down (I've been there), and you would likely have to skim coat everything to cover up all those screws and tears. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

Even if you don't hire a crew, replacing it all with new, taping, and mudding the taped joints and screws yourself looks like it would be less work to do than try and smooth out damaged walls.

To me, there is a lot of discussion here of complicated and time consuming workarounds to avoid the simplest and best-looking solution, which is to hire a crew to replace the mess and have a clean, professional result.

It’s the hgtv phenom, I tell ya. Everybody has been brain washed to diy even if it doesn’t make economic or practical sense. Hire crew and replace.

LOL! I've been DIY'ing since I was about 9 years old and painted the outside of our house. Over 5 decades of DIY'ing. Way back in the dark ages, we called it sweat equity.

Last summer, a large section of oak tree (about half the tree) came down during a storm and landed on my shop roof. Insurance adjustor totaled the roof. DH called six or eight roofing contractors, explained the job. Only one roofer even showed up to look at the job, said he would mail us a bid. You guessed it; the bid never arrived. It was a small job; shop is around 500 sq ft.

DH & I stripped the roof and DS & I put the new shingles on. (DH cobbled together a shingle elevator powered with the riding mower but wasn't up to the roof because he was having back trouble.) This was my fifth roof and DS's third one. Good thing that we had the know-how and the tools because the job was too small for the 'professionals' to bother with.

cilantro, good for you. but think about the enormous hgtv audience that is glued to the tv and then, after receiving enough tv radiation, decide they can handle every project b/c they saw it on tv.

But not that much different from when I was watching Bob & Norm & Roy every Saturday morning. Except we had four channels then and there are something like four hundred channels now. Plus hundreds/ thousands of bloggers, Youtube, Pinterest, this site....

Back when, you had to buy books to learn how to DIY. Now it is so much easier to get information. Not just how to do something but several different ways to do that something because the internet affords us a huge compilation of sources.

I've learned after many decades of DIY work and helping friends with projects, that there’s a difference between reading/seeing what is involved to carry out a project, and being able to do it competently...especially if it’s the first time on a particular task. Knowing enough to know when it’s time to call in a professional is an important part of the DIY skill set.

Omg calling a professional isn’t always an option! So y’all keeping on saying “call a professional” is just redundant. If you can’t afford to hire someone to come in and do it (probably why your here asking advice) then yes you can do it , your only limited to what you say you can’t do! You have been given good advice by all, follow any one of them! If you can afford it to be hired out then trust me do it! If you can’t then your only option would be skim it with putty and sand (watch YouTube) or to make it even more easy... buy new And rip that out! When filling lines trust me when I say thin thin layers. You might hate it and have to do again but it’s better than what u have at this moment!

My husband told me to stop calling it putty (it’s my name for it). But it’s actually called joint compound! Watch YouTube on how to mix and make thin enough to skim or thick enough to fill holes. Good luck

It took me years to learn how to do sheetrock well. And I can do perfect patches, too. In fact, I can probably do any home DIY task one could think of. And I typically do most of my own stuff because I will do it at least as well as a professional, even though I can't usually match the speed. But some things just aren't worth the time and the frustration. That wall needs a new sheetrock job, and, since it involves steps and ladder work, I'd call in professional. Yes, it would cost some money. But for me to do that wall right would take enough hours that I wouldn't break even unless my time was worth about $1 an hour.

I am the luckiest person I know. I have pretty good DIY skills, and love to fix things up around the house - but as Kudzu says, I know when I'm out of my league.

I have a good friend who is a general contractor. He is perfectly willing to come over to do relatively small jobs for me - install a new front door, patch drywall, install solatubes. He is quick, reliable, meticulous, and loves my dog. I always pay him more than he bills me (or I add a generous gift card to his favorite restaurant). Yep, I know how lucky I am!

Omg I couldn’t tell from the pics that was going down stairs that’s a lot of work for dyi. Will take awhile to get it done

Another drive-by, it appears. OP started thread 12 days ago and hasn't responded even once.

maybe someone will get some use out of the responses on a search for this issue... Lets hope lol

Thank you to everyone for your responses, they have been very helpful. We have decided to tear it all out and to get some contractor quotes to install new sheetrock and finish it for us. We are not confident in our skill level to do such a large space ourselves and we would rather focus our DIY time in other areas of our remodel project. Thank you for saving us time, frustration and dissatisfaction.