Absolutely do NOT recommend. Also avoid Home advisor or whatever it is, the WORST contractors are from there.

No idea. I get ecstatic over mediocre contractors who barely gouge. We’ve genuinely just started DIYing almost everything because if it looks “okay, I guess” then at least it didn’t cost $8000 and I semi-learned a new skill.

Edit: our best contractor was from a random Google maps search for handy person. I picked a relatively new business with few reviews entirely because they were the only ones to call back. But they worked out great and I was happy with the work.

I think it is honestly trial and error.

Edit edit: the vibes you get from the in home estimate are helpful. If they don’t try to upsell you at all, hire them.

In fact, the aforementioned best contractor we ever hired told me not to contract them to do something because it was a really simple to DIY. They showed me the exact kit to buy and told me how to do it. Theoretically he could have screwed himself out of money but we decided to do a bigger job than originally planned because of that move.

I have to agree with the other commenters. It’s not perfect but professionals do the same thing. I paid 10x what you did and got the same result so you honestly win.

Also you can still fix it with joint compound but you’d have to retexture and paint.

They don’t clash or anything, I think the whole thing looks good.

Fiberglass insulation is not inflammable (which means the same thing as flammable), it is fire-resistant. But yeah if you’ve got the money mineral wool is really good.

Maytag MDB9959SKZ

Pricey but you can get it on sale for like 400 off. We bought ours because the one we wanted wasn’t in stock anywhere and we ended up taking the floor model at an additional discount.

That said we’re very happy with it. I’d honestly buy another with no hesitation if I needed to.

Quiet, efficient, and no maintenance issues after a couple years. Highly recommend.