Gut to studs? Drywall question

[Account Closed]

Hi there, I am in a process of renovation of a house. The house is quite old, and has smell in it. The previous owner had pets. I will be changing plywood floor here and there. But I am more concerned about the drywall. I have popcorn ceiling everywhere and the drywall was covered with some kind of strange wood. I took the wood off already and the drywall is in a good shape. I wonder if I should or should not gut it to studs. I might be able to recover several rooms, but I am not sure about the smell and about the cost to finish this drywall. I would like to have level 5 finish, but the drywall was just taped and nothing more. Wouldn't it be cheaper just to take everything down and hang a new drywall?

[Seth Borman]

Drywall is not inexpensive. Home Depot will charge you something like $11 for a 4'x8' sheet of 1/2" drywall. You'll pay around $6 to hand, mud and tape. So you are at $17 for 32/SF or $0.53/SF. A room that is 10'x12' (a typical bedroom, for example) will be 1,642 SF. So figure $800. For one bedroom.

If you are doing permits you'll need to bring the plumbing, electrical and insulation up to code.

Probably easier to sand it down, skim it and move on. 

If it is a rental then this is an especially easy question.