Drywall and plaster project manager job description
A drywall and plaster project manager runs board and plaster jobs on builder and general contractor schedules. They check the takeoff and hold board stocking until the building is closed in. They also line up crews and inspections, and close each house or floor with a clean punch list.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, drywall and insulation contractors · BLS, May 2025
You'll manage drywall and plaster jobs on builder and general contractor schedules. You check takeoffs, order and stock board, size hanging and finishing crews, and plan around inspections and the other trades. You know which finish level each area needs and which walls are fire rated, and you close out with a clean punch list.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Check the takeoff for board types, thicknesses, rated assemblies and finish levels before ordering.
Schedule board delivery and stocking with the supplier, including boom trucks and floor-by-floor loading.
Size hanging, taping and plaster crews with the Production Manager to match the builder's or general contractor's schedule.
Hold hanging until in-wall inspections pass, and book fire-rated wall or fastener inspections where your jurisdiction requires them.
Confirm finish levels, such as Level 4 for most walls and Level 5 under critical lighting, and the plaster or veneer finishes the specs call for.
Price change orders for added soffits, patching after other trades, and finish upgrades.
Lead punch walks with the superintendent and finish touch-up before paint and turnover.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Check which units or floors the general contractor has released and which are still waiting on inspections.
Walk a job with the Lead Finisher / Master Plasterer to check hanging, corner bead and taping before paint.
Confirm heat and ventilation are right for finishing and plaster, and shift the schedule if they aren't.
Order mud, tape, bead and fasteners, and replace damaged board.
Track hours by phase: hang, tape, finish and punch.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Labor hours per sheet hung and finished: [your target].
Areas turned over to paint on the scheduled date: [your target].
Units needing a second punch visit: [your target].
Board waste and reorders: [your target].
Jobs closed at or above the estimated margin: [your target].
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
[3+] years managing drywall or plaster jobs for builders and general contractors, or [5+] years as a finisher or hanging crew lead.
Can read architectural plans, wall types, reflected ceiling plans and finish schedules.
Knows finish levels, fire-rated assemblies and sound-rated walls.
Can check a takeoff and build a crew and stocking plan from it.
Can spot finish defects under a work light and explain the fix to a crew.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience with metal stud framing and acoustical ceilings, if they're in your scope.
Experience with veneer plaster, traditional three-coat plaster or decorative finishes.
Experience with production home builders and multifamily schedules.
Experience with shaft wall, area separation wall or other specialty assemblies.
7. Physical Requirements
Walk job sites, climb stairs and ladders, and check ceilings from rolling scaffolds or lifts.
Lift and carry mud buckets, boxes and small tools up to [50] pounds.
With or without reasonable accommodation.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Job sites across [your service area], from single homes to multifamily and commercial buildings.
Regular hours: [7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday], set around the general contractor's site hours.
Dust and noise from sanding and cutting, with dust masks and eye protection on site.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Pay: [range and hourly or salary basis].
Additional pay: [overtime, bonus or incentive terms, or none].
Benefits: [health, dental, vision, retirement, paid time off, and when they start].
10. Company Culture and Overview
[Two or three sentences on what your company does, the area you serve, and the support a new project manager gets in the first 90 days.]
11. How to Apply
[Apply link or email]. Our process: [phone interview, in-person interview, and next steps]. Contact [hiring contact] if you need an accommodation during the application process.
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
Most of the job is the takeoff, the dates and the punch list. These are the places where drywall jobs go wrong in ways a project manager from another trade might not see coming.
Ceilings that won't sag
CGC's handbook names heavy insulation on top, wet texture and board too thin for the framing among the causes of ceilings that sag after they're hung. USG's half-inch UltraLight panels, made for ceilings that aren't fire rated, can go on ceilings framed 24 inches apart that get a water-based texture. Its sheet sets a limit, though: the loose insulation resting on them can weigh no more than 2.2 pounds per square foot. So the project manager checks each ceiling's framing, texture and insulation against the takeoff. Source: USG: Sheetrock UltraLight panels submittal sheet.
Stocking waits for a closed building
USG's handling sheet says gypsum panels belong under cover, out of bad weather, direct sun and sustained heat above 125 degrees. Board left unprotected can take on moisture that favors mold. So the project manager books stocking only once the roof is on and the windows and doors are in, even when a builder wants the board on site early. A soaked unit of board means a reorder and a hang date that slips. Source: USG: Safety considerations and material handling for gypsum panels (WB2333).
Sound walls only work sealed
Where plans call for sound-rated walls between units, the seal matters as much as the board. USG's tips for its acoustical sealant say to start only once the building is closed in and at least 55 degrees. Crews run a bead around the wall's edges on both sides, around every outlet and light opening, and over the outside of electrical boxes. The project manager confirms whose scope the sealing is at the kickoff, and checks the beads and boxes before the second side is hung. Source: USG: Sheetrock acoustical sealant application tips (J1759).
Townhouse firewalls follow the listing
A townhouse common wall may be a gypsum area separation wall: one-inch liner panels in steel H-studs and runners. UL says it's tied to the units' framing with aluminum breakaway clips, with at least a three-quarter-inch gap. Without that gap, the design doesn't meet the fire test standard. USG explains the clips melt on the fire side, so a burning unit's frame falls away and the wall stands. The project manager schedules the wall with the framer and checks that nothing bridges the gap. Source: UL Solutions: Update on gypsum area separation wall designs.
How much drywall and plaster project managers make
The closest BLS group for drywall and plaster project managers is construction managers. Construction managers who work for drywall and insulation contractors earned a median of $98,660 a year ($47.43 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $114,990 median for construction managers in all industries. About 4,920 of the 380,360 construction managers in that survey work for drywall and insulation contractors.
Pay is left blank in this template. If you add a bonus, pay part of it on units closed without a second punch visit, since each return trip comes out of the job's margin.
Drywall and insulation contractors
$98,660$98,660 median Middle half $77,390–$131,500 10th–90th $56,750–$166,310
All industries
$114,990$114,990 median Middle half $88,550–$151,640 10th–90th $69,690–$189,440
$25k$50k$75k$100k$125k$150k$175k$200k$225k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Drywall and insulation contractors
$56,750
$77,390
$98,660
$131,500
$166,310
All industries
$69,690
$88,550
$114,990
$151,640
$189,440
BLS reports drywall and insulation contractors together. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Reads wall types, reflected ceiling plans and finish schedules
Checks a takeoff for board type, thickness, length and rated layers
Plans stocking and crews floor by floor from a release schedule
Prices a change order the day the extra work turns up
Keeps a superintendent's punch list moving until every unit closes
Teach these on the job
Your suppliers' stocking windows and boom truck rules
Each general contractor's portal, meetings and paperwork
Area separation and shaft wall systems, if they're new to the candidate
Your job cost codes for hang, tape, finish and punch
Each building department's steps for rated walls
This project manager lives in the plan set and its wall-type legend, the takeoff software, the supplier's stocking calendar and the general contractor's online portal. A laser measure for ceiling heights and a work light for joints come on every walk.
Drywall and plaster project manager interview questions
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Design changes
After your crew hangs a floor, the architect changes several corridor walls from regular board to Type X. What do you do?
A strong answer: Gets the change in writing, prices the tear-out and rehang as a change order, confirms the listed assembly, holds taping on those walls, and schedules the work with the contractor.
Behavioral · Punch walks
Tell me about a punch walk that went badly and how you fixed it.
A strong answer: Explains what was missed, how they closed it, and what they changed, such as walking with a work light before the contractor's walk, tagging items by room and assigning a punch crew.
Read labor hours and margin by house plan or building type. A production house and a rated apartment corridor don't take the same hours per sheet, and one average hides both.
Labor hours per sheet hung and finished
Crew hours by phase from timecards, divided by the sheets on the takeoff, figured when each floor or house closes. Read hanging and finishing apart, since a rushed hang can push hours into finishing.
Areas turned over to paint on the scheduled date
Units, floors or houses released to the painter on the date in the general contractor's schedule. Log misses the drywall crew caused apart from late inspections or releases.
Units needing a second punch visit
Units the crew had to come back to after the first punch walk, divided by units walked. Note what brought them back: the crew's misses, other trades' damage or late changes.
Board waste and reorders
Sheets reordered mid-job, plus full sheets left over at closeout, against sheets on the takeoff. Reorders usually point to a short takeoff, and a pile left over to a heavy one.
Jobs closed at or above the estimated margin
Each job's final margin against the bid, figured once the last change order is paid. When one misses, look first at crew hours by phase, board reorders and unbilled patching.
Career path
Lead finisherKnows which rooms, ceilings and finish levels eat a crew's hours.
Field supervisorSees every phase on many lots and learns how each builder runs a site.
Project managerAnswers for each job's board, dates, changes and margin, from takeoff to closeout.
Production managerSets crew sizes and work standards, with the project managers reporting in.
Who books the rated-wall inspection, the drywall company or the general contractor?
Settle it at the kickoff meeting, and find out whether the building department inspects fire-rated walls after the board is up and before taping. Ask the superintendent who calls for it and how many days ahead, then put the date on the floor schedule. Give the field supervisor the list of rated walls and the date, and keep the sign-off in the job file.
How much does a drywall and plaster project manager make?
Construction managers who work for drywall and insulation contractors earned a median of $98,660 a year ($47.43 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $77,390 and $131,500 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
What finish level should a drywall project manager assume if the plans don't say?
None. Ask the builder or architect in writing before ordering mud or sizing crews, since the level sets how many coats every joint gets. Write the answer room by room into the job notes. The painter and the superintendent will judge the walls against it, and so will a buyer's warranty list a year later.
Can one drywall project manager run builder houses and apartment buildings?
Yes, but ask which a finalist has run, since the two schedules behave differently. Builder houses come in batches of lots that each close in a few weeks, so the job is keeping many small dates straight. An apartment building opens floor by floor, has rated corridor and unit walls, and runs for months on one general contractor's schedule and pay applications.
How does the project manager work with the production manager?
The project manager brings each job's facts: areas released, inspection dates, stocking windows and the general contractor's deadlines. The production manager uses them to set crew sizes and decide when a job needs more hands. The operations manager places those crews on the daily board. When two jobs need one crew on one day, both project managers take it to the operations manager, who weighs one builder's release against the other.
