Terms
Terms and conditions, written so you can actually read them
What a quote is based on, what counts as a variation once a surface is opened, why drying time sets the programme, and what a plastering price leaves out.
Most disagreements on a building job come from three things: something found behind a surface that nobody could see, a date that moved, and an assumption about what the price covered. This page deals with all three in advance, in ordinary language.
None of it substitutes for the written quote issued for your job. That quote sets out the scope, the inclusions, the exclusions and the price. This page explains the thinking behind it, so that none of it arrives as a surprise on the day.
- No price until it is in writing
- Variations shown before they happen
- Paint ready at handover
Nothing on this website is a fixed price
Every page on this site describes what plastering work involves and what moves the cost of it. None quotes a figure, and nothing here is an offer. A price exists once a written quote has been issued and accepted.
The same goes for anything said on the phone while working out what a job is likely to be. A range given out loud tells you whether the job is worth pursuing; it is not a number anyone is held to.
What these terms are
This is a plain-language summary of how plastering work is quoted and carried out by All Walls & Ceilings Plastering. It is not legal advice and not a contract on its own. The document that governs your job is the written quote issued for it, and where the two differ, the quote wins.
All Walls & Ceilings Plastering is operated by MI BUILDING SOLUTIONS PTY LTD (ABN 61 668 551 899). That company is the contracting entity behind any quote issued and any work carried out under these terms.
Nothing on this site is a price
No page here quotes a rate, a minimum or a fixed figure, and nothing said on the phone is a price until a written quote has been issued and accepted. Two ceilings that look identical in a photograph can be very different to repair once the access, the height and the cause are known.
Quotes are based on what could be seen
A quote covers what was visible and reachable when it was prepared. On a photo assessment that means what the photographs show. On a site visit it means what could be seen without opening a wall or ceiling, lifting flooring or removing fixtures.
Plaster hides what it is fixed to. Frame condition, old fixings, previous repairs, services in a cavity and water that has tracked along a joist are invisible until the surface comes off.
Concealed damage is a variation
If a surface is opened and the condition behind it is materially different from what the quote assumed, that is a variation rather than part of the original price. Typical examples are damage in the frame, a ceiling that needs re-sheeting instead of patching, fixings that will not hold, or water damage running further than the stain suggested.
It is handled the same way every time: work stops, you are shown what has been found, and the options and the cost of each are set out before anything else happens. Variations are never carried out on an assumption.
The cause has to be dealt with first
Where damage has a live cause, resolving it is the customer's responsibility before plastering starts. An active roof or plumbing leak has to be stopped and the area allowed to dry properly. Structural or frame movement has to be assessed by a builder or an engineer.
Plaster set over a live cause will fail again, usually in the same place, and that failure is not a defect in the plastering. If we are asked to proceed anyway, that is noted in writing.
Drying time, and why the programme is not compressible
Setting compound is built up in coats and every coat has to dry before the next goes on. Drying depends on the depth of the repair, the weather and the ventilation, so a job with hands-on work measured in hours is often spread across several days and more than one visit.
That sequence is not padding and cannot be shortened by adding people. A finish forced into one thick coat is why so many repairs shrink, crack or read as a line once the paint is on. Dates given at the quote can move with the weather.
Site access and protection
The customer arranges access to the work area: keys, building access hours, lifts, parking where a permit is needed, and any approval required by a strata scheme, a landlord or a building manager. Power and water on site are assumed available unless the quote says otherwise.
Floors and anything that cannot be moved are covered before cutting starts, and the area is cleaned at the end of each visit. Even so, sanding makes fine dust. Clearing the area and moving anything fragile out of it is the customer's part, and items left there are worked around at the customer's risk.
What a plastering quote covers
Unless it says otherwise, a quote covers the plastering described in it: protection of the area, removal of failed material where that is in scope, supply and fixing of board, setting, sanding and a clean-up that leaves the surface ready for paint.
What is not included
- Painting, sealing and priming. The surface is handed over paint ready and painting is a separate trade.
- Waterproofing. Membranes are licensed work by others. What we provide is a flat, correctly specified substrate, as set out under wet area linings.
- Asbestos and other hazardous materials. Assessment, testing and removal are licensed work by others. Work stops until a suspected material is cleared, and an older sprayed or textured ceiling coating is assessed before it is disturbed.
- Electrical, plumbing, roofing and leak detection. We make good around them but do not carry them out.
- Structural work of any kind, including load-bearing walls, beams and roof framing.
- Scaffolding, hoardings, waste bins and traffic control, unless the quote lists them.
- Colour and sheen matching between fresh compound and aged paint.
What a repair will and will not look like
A repair is finished flat, feathered past the damage and checked under a raking light before it is called done. What it cannot do is match the paint around it, so a patched area normally needs the full wall or ceiling plane repainted. Where a surface carries many old repairs at different levels, a full skim is quoted as the alternative.
Texture matching on an older ceiling is approximate by nature. Where an exact match is not achievable, you are told at the quote rather than afterwards.
Looking after the finished surface
New plaster should be painted reasonably soon after handover, because bare compound marks easily and picks up dust. Keep the room ventilated while it cures. Buildings move seasonally, so fine hairline movement at a junction in the first year is normal in plasterboard rather than a fault.
Delays, cancellations and rescheduling
Dates are agreed once the scope is settled. Weather, drying times, other trades running late and access that does not eventuate can all move a booking, and you are told as early as it is known. If you need to change a booked date, give as much notice as you can.
Payment and consumer rights
Payment terms, any deposit and the stages at which invoices are issued are set out in the written quote rather than on this page. Nothing here limits your rights under the Australian Consumer Law or New South Wales home building legislation, or removes any statutory warranty that applies to residential building work.
Business details and review
- Trading name: All Walls & Ceilings Plastering
- Operated by: MI BUILDING SOLUTIONS PTY LTD
- ABN: 61 668 551 899
- NSW contractor licence number: 244708C, issued under NSW Fair Trading
- Service area: Greater Sydney, New South Wales
- Website: allwallsplastering.com.au
Enquiry details and photographs are covered in the privacy policy.
Before you book
Ask about anything on this page that is unclear
If something here matters to your job, raise it before the work is booked. The contact page sets out what to send, and the about page explains how a job is assessed.