Throughout central and northern Sydney
Let us repair your damaged plaster walls or ceiling. We can handle all types of plaster repairs: holes, cracks, water damage, bulging walls, sagging ceilings, damaged cornices and any other type of damaged plaster / gyprock that needs repairing.
We are a small, friendly plastering company based in Sydney’s Inner West and have been providing plaster repair services to the surrounding suburbs for over three decades. We specialize in small to medium sized jobs, so no job is too small. We are also happy to work as contractors on larger projects.
For small plaster repairs, we might be able to give you an instant quote over the phone.
Types of Plaster Repairs
Repair Small Holes
To repair a small hole in plasterboard / gyprock:
- First we enlarge the hole to make it a rectangular shape, so that it is easy to fit a plaster patch that’s the same shape.
- Then we attach new timber or a furring to the inside of the hole, so that we can then screw the plaster patch securely in place.
- Next we apply paper tape and three layers of plaster. Each layer must dry before next one is applied.
- Finally we sand it back to a smooth finish so that the repair won’t be noticeable after it has been painted.
Repair Large Holes
Fixing a large hole in a plaster wall or ceiling can be very similar to repairing a small hole, the main difference being that we will cut out a rectangle hole that is the width of the gap between the wall studs, so that we can then easily screw the new plaster patch to the wooden studs on either side.
For holes that are even larger, it is sometimes easier to replace the entire sheet of gyprock, rather than trying to patch it. Replacing an entire sheet requires two people to lift it into place. Sometimes it may be necessary to also remove and then re-apply the cornice.
Repair Water Damaged Plaster
Repairing water damaged wall or ceiling plaster can be tricky because we may need to replace more than just the part that is bulging out. Gyprock soaks up water like a sponge and may not be as strong once it dries out. So for water damaged ceilings we need to also replace the area around the bulging part, to prevent it falling on someone in the future.
It may be necessary to use a moisture reader to check whether there’s any moisture left in the plaster surrounding the hole to be replaced. If there is, we need to wait a few days for it to dry completely, to prevent the new plaster reacting with the moist plaster.
Plaster Crack Repairs
Repairing cracks in plaster can be trickier than it appears because we need to figure out the cause of the crack so we can apply the best solution that will prevent it cracking again in the future. Possible causes:
- If the house is moving or sinking, the joints are always going to crack.
- Excessive expansion and contraction due to temperature differences.
- Rooms with over 3 or 4 joints needs to be back blocked.
- No support behind the joint.
- Expansion joints must be added if there’s more than a certain length of plaster.
Repair Plaster Cornices
The most important aspect of repairing plaster cornice is whether the same shape is still available for sale. If it is, we simply cut the old one out and replace it with the new cornice. But if it’s no longer sold, we must replace all the cornice in the room with the new one (not just the damaged section).
Possible complications:
- If the ceiling is not quite level because it is more difficult to cut the new and old cornice at the correct angles so that they match up correctly (especially if the cornice is patterned).
- When attaching cornice to a painted surface it’s best to apply a coat of diluted bondcrete first.
Repair Bulging Plaster Wall
There are many different reasons that plaster walls can bulge including:
- Plaster is incorrectly screwed to the wall frame.
- Plasterboard sheets are installed too close together.
- The house is settling.
- It has been damaged by water.
- Previous repairs weren’t done correctly.
An expert plasterer will quickly be able to spot the cause of the damage and apply the appropriate type of repair.
What Thickness Plaster / Gyprock
The first step of repairing any damaged plaster is to acertain whether it is 10mm, 13mm or 16mm thick. These days most plaster is 10mm thick (especially ceilings), and 16mm is usually only used when fire resistance or sound-proofing is needed.
At Best Sydney Plasterer our Gyprockers are able to install all types of plaster / gyprock, including the 1-hour fire rated type.
Repair Hole in Plaster Wall
In this video we show the two main stages of the process of repairing a small hole in a plasterboard / gyprock wall:
- first insert a plaster patch,
- then tape and apply plaster and sand smooth.
PLASTER REPAIRS IN SYDNEY
We provide plaster repair services in Sydney to throughout central and northern Sydney, including (but not limited to): the Inner West: Homebush, Glebe, Anandale, Ashfield, Concord, Gladesville, Enmore, Strathfield, Five Dock, Leichhardt, Rozelle, Drummoyne, Croydon, Balmain, Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs: Double Bay, Surry Hills, Darlinghurst, the northern beaches: Seaforth, Balgowlah, Dee Why, Manly Vale, Narrabeen, Mona Vale, Newport, Brookvale, Belrose, Frenchs Forest, the lower north shore: Cremorne, Mosman, Neutral Bay, North Sydney, Northbridge, Crows Nest, Willoughby, Chatswood, Macquarie Park, Northmead, Parramatta, Kellyville, Baulkham Hills, Epping, Hornsby, Dural, Hunters Hill, Pennant Hills, Ryde, Carlingford, Pymble, Beecroft, Lane Cove, St Ives, Eastwood, Macquarie Park, Castle Hill, Wahroonga.
“We recently had John and Pascal doing plastering work in our 100-year-old house. The plaster in three rooms was in a very poor, lumpy condition. Some of the walls also had cracks running almost floor to ceiling. These guys are artists at what they do. Walls were first prepared with FibaFuse fiberglass sheeting, before being rendered with plaster. They transformed four entire walls into mirror-smooth surfaces. The rooms now look like they’ve been newly built. They were punctual, cleaned up, so that the rooms were not left in a mess and were very flexible with their schedule. We’d originally asked John to work on two walls, but after seeing the high quality of their work, we asked if he would repair two other walls.
Apart from having great skill at what they do, both John and Pascal are delightful people. John has a great, dry sense of humour and Pascal is unfailingly pleasant and polite. We spent several interludes swapping funny anecdotes with John and sharing some stories from our life-journeys. John also texted us every morning before arriving, to ask us if we wanted him to bring us a coffee. Never had any contractor doing work for us making such a thoughtful offer. Thanks, guys. Without doubt, the work you did was very good value-for-money. We cannot recommend you highly enough.”