Repairing a Hole in a Plaster Wall
Plaster is a great building material and quite robust if you take care of it. Keeping your plastered walls in good condition will save you money in the long run and minimise the cost of extensive plaster repairs when those small plaster cracks turn into large plaster repairs. On the Gold Coast, you can quickly repair small plaster cracks yourself, but when it comes to larger cracks, professional plasterer help must be taken.
Repairing small holes and cracks in plaster is not tricky and doesn’t take much time, but getting them fixed is important.
Over time, moisture damage can occur in cracks or breaks in plasterboard. The Gold Coast climate is already humid, so the plasterboard must remain intact and resilient. Dust can also accumulate in cracks, and when moisture comes in contact with the dust, the crack enlarges, and the area discolours, making it very noticeable.
How to fill/cover small cracks in plaster?
Drywall touch-up kits are available at any hardware store and are easy to use. The Poly Kit, which is available from Bunnings, is easy to use and can touch up cracks and holes up to 8 cm in size, and everything you need is included in the kit.
It’s always good to know what colour the walls are painted and have some paint left over for touch-ups.
If you have a lot of large-sized cracks or holes, you may need to call in the experts. At Gold Coast Plastering, we can quickly repair and patch damaged walls.
Preventing Plaster Damage
The most common plaster repair we have to perform is when a doorknob or door handle has punched a hole in the wall. This damage can easily be prevented by making sure each door has a stop.
They only cost a few dollars and will save you hundreds of dollars in plaster repairs.
If you live in a rental, don’t risk not getting your security deposit back because you have wall damage.
Ask your property manager to put door stops on the doors or spend the money. This will save you trying to fix the plaster damage yourself or having the property management company use your deposit money to pay a local handyperson to repair the damage.
If you hang pictures on the walls, use suitable screws to hang them.
Screws hold better in drywall than nails or tacks. Also, the screw causes less damage to the plaster surface. Nailing a nail or stapler can chip the plaster when driving the nail.
Our subtropical climate on the Gold Coast and the additional humidity in the walls weakens the plaster and causes the plasterboard to absorb moisture and expand and crack, which is an ideal breeding ground for mould and mildew.
Gypsum can also crack when the house shifts on its foundation. This is also known as settling and usually occurs in a new house as the foundation adapts to its surroundings.
In case of drought, it causes the soil to dry out and compact, resulting in cracks in various parts of the walls of many new and older homes.
Getting the soil surrounding the house to a healthy moisture content will alleviate the problem of shifting foundations and the opposite if you tend to have a flooded area with poor drainage. It is a major task to direct water away from your home, and you may need to call a plumber or landscaper.
When do I need to call a plasterer?
- If you notice cracks widening near the top of the ceiling, the ceiling may be shifting or moving.
- The drywall has buckled and may need to be re-screwed to the wall if you notice the plaster bulging or buckling.
- If the plaster is either too heavy for the ceiling ties and is screwed incorrectly, or there are not enough ceiling ties to support the weight of the plaster.
Contact our professional plastering team is always on hand to help you with all your plastering and repair needs on the Gold Coast
