I put my foot though the floor of my attic/ceiling of my living room, creating a large hole in the plasterboard. I I needed to fix it, what would be the type of person I’d call, I’m not sure what term to look for.
I see them called drywall finishers or plasterers. General handyman could also do that sort of repair.
I second a drywall specialist. Ceilings are basically horizontal walls. If it’s plastered instead of painted, you might want to check if they do ceiling plastering.
I agree, a plasterer is what you need. They tend to do drywall and (wet) plastering. I recently had my dining room ceiling redone due to a leaking shower above, and this is who I called.
The problem is that this is a small job and it’s doubtful a specialist wants to deal with it unless he is paid very well (it’s not only the time he spends working on it at your house but also travel time, the time spend bidding on the job, time to get the drywall…). So I think the specialist is going to prefer doing larger jobs so will turn you down. While a general handyman is more set up to deal with small jobs I think this is exactly the kind of things you can find Youtube videos on how to repair it yourself.
Before you have someone come out, assess whether there is any electrical work you want done like adding/moving outlets or light fixtures. Then you’re drywaller/plasterer/painter can roll those finishing projects in with your ceiling repair on one visit.
Unless you’ve done drywall work before, I wouldn’t recommend trying to do this type of ceiling repair on your own unless you are the type of person who enjoys a challenge. If it was a wall then you could do it yourself even as a first-timer, but ceilings have extra challenges. They are large, flat surfaces which show up defects easier than a wall. If you don’t get the patch flat and smooth, it will stand out. You’ll have to match the texture. You’ll probably have to paint the whole ceiling. You’ll have to properly support the patch and remaining drywall so it doesn’t droop. And it’s overhead, which can present physical challenges. You can do it yourself if you’re the type of person who will take the time and effort to figure out how to do it correctly, but it’s not really the type of job for someone who wants to do it quick and easy. But if you want to try it, go for it! The worse that happens is that it doesn’t work out and you have to do it again or hire someone to redo it.
It’s going to be a little challenging to hire a professional since it is a relatively small job for them. They are normally going to be doing whole house jobs. What you might do is explain that it’s just one room and that you’re super flexible on the time frame. If they want to do it on the weekend 3 weeks from now, then that’s okay. If they can’t do it, ask if they know anyone who does small drywall jobs like this. Do a google search for “handyman” and you’ll find lots of links for websites where you can search for people that do this work. When you contact them, be sure to include lots of photos.
If you can post a photo here, it would help figure out what you need to do.
I’m surprised by this. There are many, many times a plasterer is needed to fix a wall or ceiling that doesn’t involve the whole house. Self employed plasterers are often happy to pick up smaller jobs that they can use to fill in downtime. Maybe it’s different where you are - where I am, single room renovations are much more common that whole house jobs, perhaps because we have more older properties than new builds.
I wouldn’t use a handyman for a plastering job as I wouldn’t trust them to do a good enough finish.
Try to fix it yourself first. Requires little effort. You could just attach a piece of anything to cover the hole initially and paint it to match the ceiling and it won’t be a gaping hole or even noticeable until you get a pro in to handle it. Or it can be the introduction into a real repair by yourself which requires no great skill because it drywall and not actual plaster. The hole should not be very large and a less than expert job won’t be noticed on the ceiling.
If you don’t feel like doing it any drywall/plaster contractor can get it done in a couple of hours, and then it will still need painting which is not their specialty. Prime any exposed drywall compound (plaster) or let a coat of paint dry on it to seal it or the change in texture will be obvious when you paint over it. Use a dry brush to blend the paint across the joints.
Don’t do it yourself. Hire a plasterer. They will do small jobs.
One of my gf’s aunts was in her attic hanging laundry to dry (their HOA doesn’t allow hanging clothes outside). She fell through the ceiling and hit the floor, just missing the marble countertop with her head.
They hired a drywall guy, but he explained he had a minimum fee for one day’s work. So, they found a few other things that needed addressed. They paid the one day minimum but the guy did 7 hours of work (they fed the guy a nice lunch).
I concur about getting a pro. I built a home theater and had drywall guys put up the ceiling drywall and tape it in. I didn’t want a plaster or popcorn treatment - I wanted the ceiling to look like a twilight blue sky. So I decided to finish it myself.
It took four coats of primer to hide the flaws, which wre imperceptible until I painted. Then another three or four coats of blue before it was all even. Terrible job, all done on a ladder looking up, for hours on end. Screwed up by back and neck for a while.
There’s a reason popcorn or knock-down plaster is popular for ceilings. They hide a lot of flaws that are otherwise quite visible.
Actually patching a drywall hole on a ceiling involved putting wooden support behind the hole to screw the patch into, getting the patch exactly level and at the right depth, probably sanding back the plaster around the patch so you can tape it in, then either blending the plaster or redoing the entire ceiling treatment.
We do small ceiling and wall repairs all the time. We have several tradesmen/ companies that handle both drywall and painting, but most of the time trades do one or the other.
What you ideally want is a drywaller that specializes in restoration. They will be used to small jobs like this, and can complete the whole job, painting included. You could try calling up the local restoration contractor and see if they know or have anyone.
Otherwise you need to find a drywaller and a painter that are willing to take on a small job…
I concur with those saying don’t do it yourself. I’ve done a lot of home improvements and repairs – plumbing, wiring new circuits, hardwood floor installation, tiling – and the only one I really wish I’d hired out was replacing drywall after removing an in-wall heater. Unless you do it regularly, it is really tough to get it smooth and matching the surrounding surface. I learned my lesson after that first attempt and now gladly hire someone for drywall and plaster work.
I’m sure some drywall people will turn you down for a small job like this. But there are plenty of people who will do it. You might pay a bit of a premium on an hourly rate, but it’s money well spent.
At my office, building maintenance had to open one wall to repair a plumbing leak from upstairs. After they were done, someone patched the drywall and then a commercial painter came in and repainted the wall to match. It was such a good job I couldn’t even spot where the wall had been patched. So professional skills do matter.
Ugg overhead drywall!! Some tricks and skillsets that are used for sure. When I learned the knockdown/spatter trick I was quite proud of myself. That finish goes a long way to cover irregularities.
Perfectly flat smooth is indeed tricky, as bad as doing bondo on a car finish. At least drywall mud is soft. Plaster not as easy as its much harder. Good luck with it!!
The replicant in Blade Runner wouldnt have made it past this question:
“Can you fix a hole in the drywall ceiling?”
Blam!!! 
“Fixin’ a hole where the rain gets in…”
McCartney perhaps?
Over head drywall is so hard to do. Getting the drywall hung is only half the battle.
But any good carpenter/handy person could do it. Whether they would is another question.
Good luck.
It will certainly get painted. Do you have any matching paint? If not, you might want to help move things along by taking a sample to a paint store and get them to match it.
At least then the paint will be on site ready to go.
You might want to see if painters do that sort of thing in your area. Around here, they tend to do everything aesthetic that’s not the actual construction work. Stuff like light drywall work, trim, caulk, texturing, painting, hole patching, etc… are all painter tasks.
If they do, then you’ve got the hole patched and painted and only have to deal with one tradeperson.
At our previous house, I decided to redo a wall in our living room. I removed the wallpaper using a steamer, applied mud, sanded, painted, etc. I really did my best, and it was a lot of work, but it didn’t look very good; you could tell it was done by an amateur. And then six months later the mud started to separate from the wall. I must have screwed up the mix or something.
I swore I would never finish drywall again. When I finished the basement at our new place, I did all of the plumbing, electric, and insulation. But I hired someone to cut, install, and finish the drywall. (I did the painting, though.) It looks great. I am so glad I didn’t do it myself.