Plasterboard is a great wall lining. It is quick to install, smooth and easy to paint. It is also easy to damage. A door handle without a stop, a chair pushed back too hard, a moving box carried round a corner, a picture hook pulled out in a hurry, and suddenly there is a hole or dent in the middle of a wall that everyone notices.

We repair plaster in homes, rentals and businesses across Cranbourne and the surrounding suburbs. The aim is always the same: a repair that disappears once it is painted, rather than a visible lump or a shadow line in the light.

The plaster problems we see most

• Door handle holes behind doors without stops
• Dents and gouges from furniture and moving
• Holes left by removed TV brackets, shelves, blinds and curtain rods
• Cracks above door frames and window corners
• Gaps between the cornice and the ceiling or wall
• Popped screws and nails showing as small bumps on the surface
• Cracked or lifting joints between plasterboard sheets
• Water-damaged ceiling patches after a roof or plumbing leak has been fixed
• Damaged corners where the corner bead has been knocked
• Holes cut by other trades for cables or pipes

Why plaster cracks in newer Cranbourne homes

Many homes in the newer estates of Cranbourne East, Cranbourne West, Clyde and Clyde North were built on reactive clay soils. These soils swell when wet and shrink when dry. As they move, the slab and frame move slightly with them, and plasterboard joints, cornices and the corners around door and window frames are where that movement shows.

Hairline cracks in these spots are very common in the first few years after a house is built and usually stabilise over time. They are generally cosmetic. Wider cracks, cracks that keep growing, doors that suddenly will not close, or cracks in brickwork as well as plaster can point to something more serious. In those cases, the right first step is an assessment by a building inspector or engineer, and we will say so rather than simply filling the crack.

How we patch holes properly

The right method depends on the size of the damage.

Small dents and screw holes

Small dents, nail holes and popped screws are filled with a lightweight filler or base-coat compound. A popped screw is first re-fixed with a new screw next to it so the board is held firmly, then the old head is pressed in and both are filled. Once dry, the area is sanded flush and primed.

Medium holes

Holes from door handles and removed fixtures are usually too big to fill directly. We fit a backing piece behind the hole or use a self-adhesive mesh patch, then apply setting compound in layers. Each layer is feathered out wider than the last so the patch blends into the surrounding wall.

Large holes and damaged sections

Large holes are cut back to a neat rectangle, timber or plasterboard backing strips are fixed behind, and a new piece of plasterboard is fitted. The joints are then taped, set and finished like any new plaster joint. This takes several coats with drying time between them, so larger repairs sometimes need two visits.

Cracks

Cracks are opened slightly with a scraper so the filler has something to grip, then filled with a flexible compound or taped and set depending on their width and location. Cornice cracks are often filled with a flexible gap filler rather than rigid compound, because cornices move slightly with the seasons.

Ceilings

Ceiling patches are harder than wall patches. They are overhead, light rakes across them at a low angle and any lump or ridge shows up immediately. We use proper ladders or platforms, keep coats thin and sand carefully to avoid ridges.

Water-damaged ceilings need the cause fixed first. If a roof, gutter or plumbing leak has stained or sagged the plaster, the leak must be repaired by the right trade before we patch. Once the area is dry, sagging sections are cut out and replaced, and stained areas are sealed with a stain-blocking primer so the mark does not bleed through the new paint.

Finishing and paint

Plaster repairs are only half the job until they are painted. A patched area that is left as bare compound, or painted with the wrong sheen, always stands out.

We prime every patch, then paint to match the existing wall where possible. Matching is easiest when you have leftover paint from the original job or know the colour name and brand. Many builders in the Casey area used a small number of standard ceiling and wall colours, and these are often still available. Where the exact colour is unknown, we can usually get a close match, but sometimes the best result is to repaint the whole wall from corner to corner so there is no visible edge. We will talk this through before we start. Our painting touch-ups page has more on this.

Plaster repairs for rentals

Plaster damage is one of the most common items in end-of-lease reports and bond disputes. Holes from wall hooks, TV brackets and door handles are typical. We work with landlords, property managers and outgoing tenants to patch and paint so the property is ready for the next inspection. See end of lease and rental repairs.

Preventing future damage

A few small additions stop the most common plaster damage:

• Fit door stops or wall buffers behind every door that can hit a wall.
• Use correct wall anchors when hanging heavy items, or fix into studs.
• Fit corner protectors in high-traffic hallways if kids or pets regularly knock them.
• Keep a small amount of leftover paint labelled with the room and colour for future touch-ups.

We can fit door stops and buffers on the same visit as the patch work. See our picture and shelf hanging service for help fixing heavy items properly.

What plaster repairs we do not do

We handle patching and small replacement sections. Whole-room re-sheeting, new ceilings after major water damage, fire-rated wall systems and decorative plaster restoration are better suited to a specialist plastering business. Rendering on external brick walls is also a separate trade. We will tell you if your job falls into those categories.

How to get a quote

Send photos of each area of damage through our quote form. A close-up and a wider shot help, as does a coin or tape measure in the photo for scale. Let us know if you have leftover paint. We cover Cranbourne, Cranbourne North, Clyde North, Cranbourne East, Botanic Ridge and all our other service areas.

Matching textures and finishes

Most plasterboard walls in Cranbourne homes have a smooth, flat finish painted in low sheen. A patch on a smooth wall must be sanded and feathered wide enough that the eye cannot see a hump when light rakes across it. This is why a small hole often needs a patch area several times larger than the hole itself. The joint compound is spread thin, extended outwards and sanded back until the edges disappear.

Some older homes have textured finishes, such as a light stipple or sand texture on ceilings. These are harder to blend. We can recreate common textures with a roller, sponge or brush, but a perfect match is not always possible. Where texture matching is critical, we will explain the options before starting.

Ceilings are especially unforgiving, because light from windows travels across them at a low angle and shows every ridge. Ceiling patches need extra care with feathering and often a full-ceiling repaint in the affected room for a seamless result.

Light, shadow and how patches are judged

Daylight from a window across a wall shows imperfections that are invisible with the room lights on. We check our work with a torch held flat to the wall, the same way a building inspector or careful property manager would. Any ridge or dip shows up as a shadow, and we sand or fill again until the surface is flat. This is one of the main differences between a patch that looks fine on the day and one that still looks right months later.

Drying times and the number of visits

Joint compound needs time to dry between coats. Quick-setting compounds allow several coats in a day for small patches. Larger repairs with standard compound may need overnight drying. Humidity and temperature affect drying; cold, damp winter days in Cranbourne slow things down. For bigger repairs, we may plan a second visit for final sanding, priming and painting. We will tell you when booking if that is likely.

Patching around fittings

Holes often sit right next to light switches, power points, door frames or cornices. Patching here takes extra care:

• Around switches and power points, we work carefully around plates. If plates need to be removed for a clean finish, an electrician may be required.
• Beside door frames, the architrave may need to be removed and refitted so the patch runs under it neatly.
• Near cornices, the joint between wall and cornice is re-formed with flexible filler so it does not crack again.

Dust control

Sanding plaster creates fine dust that drifts through a home. We minimise it by using sanders connected to a dust extractor where possible, covering floors and furniture with drop sheets, closing doors to the work area and vacuuming as we go. Even so, a light dust may settle nearby, so we recommend moving delicate items and electronics away from the work area before the visit.

When plaster damage points to something else

Some plaster damage is a symptom rather than the problem:

• Water stains and soft plaster point to a leak from a roof, shower or pipe.
• Long diagonal cracks, especially from the corners of doors and windows, can indicate building movement.
• Bulging or sagging ceilings can mean the plasterboard has come loose from the battens and may be at risk of falling.
• Repeated cracking in the same spot after patching suggests ongoing movement.

Sagging ceilings are a safety issue and should be checked promptly. If the plaster is wet, the leak must be fixed before we patch. For structural cracking, a building inspector or structural engineer should take a look.

New homes and settlement cracking

New homes on reactive clay commonly develop small cracks in plaster and cornices in the first couple of years as the house settles and materials dry out. Many builders include a check and repair of these in the maintenance period after handover. If your home is within that period, raise the cracks with your builder first. After that, we can patch them as general maintenance.

Frequently asked questions