Plasterboard wall repairs in Newcastle
We patch holes, cracks and nail pops in plasterboard walls, from a single knock to a whole rental property, across Newcastle and the Hunter. Send a photograph of the damage and we price it over the phone, from $100 for a small hole. Most repairs run through in a single visit, because a coat of setting compound takes about an hour rather than a day. We leave the patch set, sanded and ready for your painter.
End of lease and make good repairs
We patch the holes a tenancy leaves behind and we quote the whole property from photographs. Send one photograph per room and we price the make good over the phone, usually as a single visit. We patch, set and sand, and the walls go to your painter from there. What a tenant is or is not liable for is a matter for NSW Fair Trading, and we stay out of it.
- Whole property quoted from photographs
- Usually one visit for the property
- Patched and set, ready for the painter
Making good after other trades
We patch the walls electricians, plumbers, data cablers and air conditioning installers cut into. The holes left when a wall mounted television, a handrail or a run of shelving comes off. We put backing behind the opening, sheet it, tape it and set it flush with the wall. Where the opening lands in a fire rated, acoustic or wet area wall, we put back the grade of board that came out.
- Service penetrations sheeted and set flush
- Backing put in before the patch goes on
- The same grade of board back into a rated wall
What decides a wall repair
The size of the damage picks the method, and what sits behind the lining decides whether a patch will hold. These are the eight things we look for in a photograph before we price a repair. Most of them are visible before anyone cuts the wall.
The size of the hole picks the method
There are four repairs hiding behind the phrase wall patching. A fine crack takes a flexible patching compound, smoothed flush and sanded at 180 grit. A hole between 50mm and 100mm takes a mesh patch. The mesh bridges the void and stops the compound sinking back into the hole as it dries. Up to about 150mm, timber backing blocks go into the cavity above and below the damage and a cut patch is screwed to them. Beyond that the lining is cut back to the studs and a full section is sheeted. We tell you which of the four your wall is from the photograph.
A patch with nothing behind it will crack
Every patch needs something solid carrying it. A cut piece of board pushed into a hole and skimmed over is held by the compound alone. The first knock or the first dry season opens it again. Backing blocks screwed through the lining, or a nogging where the repair spans an empty stud bay, hold the patch. That is what makes it part of the wall rather than a lid over a hole. We put the backing in before the board goes on.
A patch is still a three coat job
There is no short version of the three coat system that survives raking light. The seams around the patch are taped and a base coat goes over the tape. The high spots are scraped back once it sets. A second coat covers the tape completely, it is scraped again, and a top coat goes over the lot. Each coat runs wider than the one under it. We run all three in the one visit, because setting compound sets in about an hour rather than drying overnight.
The board that comes out decides the board that goes back
A hole in a fire rated wall, an acoustic wall or a tiled wet area wall is not a standard board repair. Fyrchek patched with standard board leaves a wall that no longer matches the system it was built to. Soundchek is recognisable by its yellow face paper and runs 13kg/m² at 13mm against standard board's 8.5. Aquachek belongs behind tiles. We put back the grade that came out, and we say which one it is on the quote.
Nail pops are the frame showing through the lining
Small circles or blisters across one wall are fasteners backing out as the timber shrinks, not a plastering fault. They cluster through the first drying season of a new house and they keep appearing while the frame is still losing moisture. The repair is to fix adjacent, deal with the failed fastener and set the heads flush. We will tell you when a new house is better off waiting out the season first.
A crack in the same place every year is not a patching problem
Plasterboard needs somewhere to move. The standard calls for a control joint at 12m maximum in a non tiled internal wall, at every storey or rise of studs. At every change of lining material. A wall without one cracks where it decides to, and it goes on doing it. Where a crack keeps reopening on the same line, another patch buys a year. We will tell you when what you have is a movement problem rather than a repair.
In Newcastle a diagonal crack has a second question
A crack running diagonally out of a window or door corner is a movement signal rather than a lining fault. Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland West, East Maitland, Branxton, Greta, Hue Hue and Muswellbrook all sit inside Mine Subsidence Districts. The ground under the house can move. Subsidence Advisory NSW is on 02 4908 4300, and in those districts that is the call worth making before a plasterer's. We would rather say so than patch the same crack twice.
Making a patch disappear is a lighting problem
Level 5 exists in the standard because of critical lighting, meaning windows, skylights and spot lighting. A patch on an otherwise flat wall creates that condition locally, even where the rest of the wall never had it. That is why the feather has to run far wider than the damage. CSR is honest that even a Level 5 finish cannot be expected to remove every glancing light issue. We feather each coat well past the repair rather than to the edge of it.
How a wall repair runs
We price it from your photograph
Send a photograph of the damage and one of the whole wall and we give you a figure over the phone. A small hole starts at $100. Quoting is free and we do not charge for travel, so one patch in Cardiff is priced the same as one patch in Hamilton.
We finish it in one visit
A patch repair is one visit. Setting compound sets chemically rather than drying out, and a coat takes about an hour. The tape coat, the second coat and the top coat run through the same day instead of across a week. The room goes back into use that afternoon.
We leave it ready for your painter
We set the patch, sand it and stop there. The repair stays visible until it is painted, because a set patch is a different colour and a different texture from the wall around it. Painting and priming are a separate trade and we do neither, so allow for a painter after us.
Get a free quote
Send one photograph of the damage and one of the whole wall from a few metres back. We can see the size of the repair and the light falling across it. Small repairs are priced over the phone from that. Quotes cost nothing and travel is never added to the bill. Quotes are free, including a site visit where one helps, and we do not charge for travel.
Brands we supply and install
Newcastle Gyprocker Heroes supply the board, the cornice, the compounds and the fixings on every job, so there is nothing for you to order and no delivery to wait on. That is worth saying plainly: if you have already bought your own sheets, you are looking for a different arrangement to the one we offer.
Service available across every Newcastle region
City of Newcastle
Newcastle CBD, Newcastle East, The Hill, Cooks Hill, Merewether, Bar Beach, The Junction, Hamilton, Islington, Wickham, Carrington, Tighes Hill, Mayfield, Waratah, Georgetown, Lambton, New Lambton, Adamstown, Broadmeadow, Jesmond, Wallsend, Maryland and Fletcher
Lake Macquarie
Charlestown, Kotara, Warners Bay, Speers Point, Boolaroo, Cardiff, Edgeworth, Glendale, Cameron Park, Belmont, Valentine, Eleebana, Redhead, Dudley, Swansea, Caves Beach, Toronto and Morisset
Maitland and the Hunter Valley
Maitland, East Maitland, Rutherford, Lorn, Bolwarra, Thornton, Beresfield, Chisholm, Gillieston Heights, Lochinvar, Farley, Branxton, Greta, Cessnock, Kurri Kurri, Weston and Singleton
Port Stephens
Raymond Terrace, Heatherbrae, Medowie, Williamtown, Fern Bay, Tomago, Salt Ash, Tanilba Bay, Lemon Tree Passage, Salamander Bay, Corlette, Soldiers Point, Nelson Bay, Shoal Bay and Anna Bay
Central Coast
Gosford, East Gosford, West Gosford, Erina, Woy Woy, Umina Beach, Ettalong Beach, Kincumber, Avoca Beach, Copacabana, MacMasters Beach, Terrigal, Wyoming, Wyong, Tuggerah, Watanobbi, Berkeley Vale, Bateau Bay, Long Jetty, The Entrance, Toukley, Budgewoi, San Remo and Lake Munmorah
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to fix a hole in a plasterboard wall?
A small hole repair starts at $100 with Newcastle Gyprocker Heroes. Send a photograph of the damage and we price it over the phone. The size of the hole picks the method and the method sets the cost. Nothing is charged for the quote and nothing is charged for travel.
Can you fix the wall in one visit?
Yes. Newcastle Gyprocker Heroes repair most plasterboard walls in a single visit. Setting compound sets chemically rather than drying by evaporation, and a coat takes about an hour. The tape coat, the second coat and the top coat all run through the same day. A make good across several rooms can take longer.
Do you repair cracks as well as holes?
Yes. Newcastle Gyprocker Heroes repair cracking as well as impact damage. A fine crack is cleaned out, filled with a flexible patching compound, smoothed flush and sanded. Cracks that follow a joint line or run diagonally out of a window corner are looked at differently. Those are movement rather than a failed joint.
Why does my wall keep cracking in the same place?
A crack that reopens on the same line is usually movement rather than a poor repair. Plasterboard needs a control joint at 12m maximum in a non tiled internal wall, at every storey. At every change of lining material, and a wall without one cracks where it wants to. Send a photograph and we will tell you whether you have a patching job or a movement problem.
What size hole can you patch?
Any size. Under about 100mm a mesh patch does it, because the mesh stops the compound sinking back into the hole. Up to around 150mm, timber backing blocks go into the cavity and a cut patch is screwed to them. Anything larger becomes a small sheeting job rather than a patch, and it is priced that way.
Do you repair holes in fire rated or acoustic walls?
Yes. Newcastle Gyprocker Heroes patch fire rated and acoustic walls with the same grade of board that came out. Standard board in either one leaves a wall that no longer matches what it was built to. Soundchek is recognisable by its yellow face paper. We install to the specification you or your certifier give us, and we do not certify the wall ourselves.
Will I be able to see the repair afterwards?
Yes, until it is painted. A set patch is a different colour and texture from the wall around it, so it shows until paint goes over it. We feather each coat wider than the one under it so there is no step left to see. Under a window or a run of downlights the feather runs wider again.
Ready to get a price?
Send plans or photographs and we will price the job. Quoting is free and so is the travel.