Sydney plasterers for walls and ceilings

Usually a repair is enough, and that is what we would rather do. Cracks that follow a sheet joint or a cornice line get raked out, reinforced, taped and re-set so the join does not open again. The exception is a ceiling that has been patched repeatedly over the years, because every one of those repairs sits at a slightly different level. Under a ceiling light it shows as shadowing and no further patching will fix it. That is the point where a skim coat over the whole ceiling, or re-sheeting, is the cheaper answer in the long run, and we will tell you when we think you have reached it.

If the board around the damage is still sound and still properly fixed, a patch is the right answer. The damage is cut back to firm edges, a new piece goes in, the joins are reinforced and set, then sanded flush. Replacement is the answer when the board itself has stopped working: it has taken on water, it is crumbling, it has come away from the frame, or it has been cut about so many times there is not enough sound material left to fix a patch to. We will tell you which one you have when we look at it.

Yes, once the water is stopped. Replastering over an active leak wastes your money, because the new plaster will stain and can fail again. Get the plumber or roofer to it first. In the meantime, photograph the damage before anything is cleaned up or dried out, since insurers usually ask for this. If a ceiling is bulging or feels heavy, keep the room clear and call us to look at it rather than pushing on it. Once the source is resolved, the failed plaster comes out, the area is sealed so the stain cannot bleed through, and the ceiling is rebuilt and set back flush.

Almost always the fixing rather than the sheet. In older homes the original plaster ceilings are held up by plaster and hessian wads that dry out and let go over decades. In newer homes the sheet is screwed to battens and glued with adhesive daubs, and the adhesive can release, often after a period of heat or moisture. Water through a ceiling will do it to either. A sagging sheet is worth acting on quickly, because once it has started to come away it does not stop, and a full sheet coming down is dangerous. There is more on how we deal with it on the sagging ceiling repairs page.

Both. We sheet new walls and ceilings for renovations, extensions and fit-outs, re-sheet rooms where the old board has failed, and line walls over existing framing or brickwork. The sheeting is only half of it. Joints are taped and built up in coats, fixings are spotted, and the whole surface is sanded flat, because a well-sheeted wall with rushed joints still looks like a rushed wall once the light hits it.

In most cases, yes. Standard cove profiles are readily available and a repair or a new run will sit in with the rest of the house. Older decorative and ornamental profiles are harder, and honesty is worth more than optimism here: sometimes the closest available profile is very close, and sometimes it is not close enough and running the repair through a whole room is the better answer. Send us a photograph of the section and a straight-on shot of the profile and we will tell you which situation you are in.

Yes, that is how every job is handed over. The repair or the new sheeting is set, sanded flat and checked under a raking light, the dust is cleaned up and the surface is left paint ready. We do not paint, so there is no argument about where the plastering ends: your painter gets a flat surface and can start on it. If your painter has a particular preference for how the surface is left before they prime, tell us and we will work to it.

Most repairs are not a single visit, because compound has to dry between coats. A typical crack or hole repair is a short visit to cut back and set, then a return visit to finish and sand. Re-sheeting a room, or a ceiling that has come down, runs longer. You almost never need to move out, but the room being worked in should be cleared and will be out of use for the day. We will tell you before we start which rooms are affected and for how long.

We cover Greater Sydney, from the CBD and the inner suburbs out to Penrith, north to the Northern Beaches and south through the Shire. We work in individual apartments and in strata common areas such as corridors, lobbies and car park ceilings. Strata work usually needs access arranged through the building manager or the committee, and sometimes needs to happen outside normal hours. Tell us it is a strata property when you enquire and we will factor that in rather than discovering it on the day.

Quite a few things, and we would rather be clear about them. We do not paint. We do not do external rendering or cladding, tiling, roofing, plumbing, electrical or structural work. We do not provide engineering advice or sign off on movement, and if what you are describing sounds structural we will tell you to get that assessed before any plastering happens. We also will not do a quick cosmetic fill over a problem that will come straight back through it, because that is not a repair.