Perth-wide ceiling repair

Plasterglass & Plaster Ceiling Repairs in Perth

If your house went up between the late 1950s and the mid-1980s, the ceiling over your head is almost certainly plasterglass: heavy sheets of fibrous plaster hung from the joists with plaster and hessian. It is a good ceiling that was never designed to last forever in a Perth roof space. We re-fix, patch and replace plasterglass ceilings every week, and we will tell you straight which of those yours needs.

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Plasterglass ceiling in an older Perth lounge room sagging across the span with cracks opening along the sheet joins
When to call

What you will usually notice first

A long, shallow sag between the walls

Plasterglass sheets are heavy. When the straps let go, the sheet hangs from whatever is left and bellies toward the middle of the room. Sight along the ceiling from the doorway: a dish you can see from the floor is a fixing problem, not a plaster problem.

Cracks that follow the sheet joins

Plasterglass was hung in sheets with the joins set flush, and that set is the weakest line. A crack that runs dead straight across the room and then turns a corner is tracing the sheet edges, and usually means the sheet on one side has dropped.

A gap or crack along the cornice

The cornice is bedded to the wall and stays put. When the ceiling drops it tears away from the cornice first, so a shadow line or hairline crack running the length of a wall at ceiling height is the earliest warning you will get.

Water marks on plaster that has gone soft

Fibrous plaster drinks water. A brown stain on plasterglass is rarely just a stain: press it gently with a broom handle and if it gives, the plaster has softened and the straps above it have probably let go as well.

Hollow sound, dimples over the fixings

Tap a section that is still held and it knocks short and dull. Tap one that has come off the joists and it rings hollow. A line of small dimples across the ceiling is the sheet pulling down over the original nails.

It has moved after someone was in the roof

Insulation, ducted air, solar, pest work. A strap that was hanging on by habit does not survive a boot or a dragged duct. If the ceiling changed within weeks of a trade being in the roof space, say so when you call.

How we fix it

The way the job actually gets done

Identify what you have first

Plasterglass, plasterboard and the odd lath-and-plaster or fibre-cement ceiling all repair differently. The age of the house and a couple of photos usually settle it, and many jobs are quoted from those. When they do not, we check the thickness at a light fitting or manhole, the join pattern and the way the cornice was set, and get into the roof space to look at the straps, the glue daubs and the timber. Older textured coatings are left alone until we are sure what they are.

Re-fix and re-strap where the sheet is sound

Most plasterglass that has sagged is still a sound sheet on failed fixings. It is propped back to the joists in stages, screwed off through the face with washers, and new straps are laid over the joists from the roof space so it is held from above as well as below. Our ceiling re-strapping page covers that job on its own.

Replace a section, keep the rest

Where one sheet has been soaked, broken through or deformed, that section is cut out to the joists and replaced with plasterboard. Plasterboard is thinner than plasterglass, so the new piece is packed off the joists to bring its face level with the old ceiling before the join is taped, set and feathered wide. Done properly, a section replacement under an original cornice is invisible once painted.

Full replacement when that is the honest answer

A ceiling that has sagged into a permanent curve, been wet more than once, or carries a patchwork of past repairs is better off coming down. It goes back as a new plasterboard ceiling on the existing joists with new or re-bedded cornice. We quote that as a separate line beside the repair price so the comparison is in front of you.

On the job

What the work looks like

  • Street of single-storey brick-and-tile homes in a Perth suburb in late afternoon light
    Brick-and-tile streets like this are plasterglass country: most of these homes were built with fibrous plaster ceilings
  • Older plaster ceiling with cracks running along the sheet joins and meeting the cornice near a downlight
    Cracks tracing the sheet joins and turning at the cornice: the sheet on one side has started to drop
  • Wide crack with water staining and mould running along an old plaster ceiling beside the cornice
    Water, mould and an open crack along the cornice line: this section is past re-fixing and gets cut out
  • Bedroom plasterglass ceiling with a shallow sag spreading from the window wall toward the cornice
    Shallow sag with the sheet still sound: re-fix and re-strap territory
  • Character home room with a new plasterboard ceiling section set under the original ornate plaster cornice, trestle and drop sheets below
    New section fitted under an original ornate cornice and set, before skim and paint
  • Bright living room with a finished flat ceiling and cornice lit from a large window
    Repaired plasterglass ceiling painted and flat again under raking light from the window
Process

From first call to paint-ready

  1. Call or send a photo

    Tell us the age of the house and what you can see. A photo from the doorway with the light on tells us whether it looks like fixings, water or both.

  2. Quote from photos, or inspect when it needs it

    Many plasterglass jobs can be quoted from your photos and a description. Where the drop, the water or the age of the ceiling calls for it, we come out, measure, and get into the roof space to check the straps, the timber and anything resting on the ceiling that should not be.

  3. Written quote with the options side by side

    Re-fix and re-strap, section replacement, or full replacement, each itemised, so the choice is yours and not ours.

  4. The repair

    Furniture covered, ceiling propped and re-fixed or the damaged section cut out and re-sheeted, straps renewed from above, cornice re-bedded where it has pulled away.

  5. Set, sand, paint-ready

    Screw heads, joins and cracks are set in several coats and sanded flush, with a skim where the surface needs blending. You get a flat ceiling ready for your painter.

What it costs depends on

What moves the price, and why some jobs need a look first

Many jobs can be quoted from your photos and a description. Others are a different job once someone is in the roof space, which is when we come and look first. These are the things that move the price for plasterglass ceilings.

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  • Floor area of the ceiling and how far it has dropped
  • Whether the sheet is sound enough to re-fix or a section has to come out
  • Roof-space access: manhole size, roof pitch and how much insulation has to be lifted and relaid
  • Condition of the original straps and whether the whole ceiling or only part needs re-strapping
  • Water or termite damage found above the ceiling
  • Surface finish: smooth set plaster blends easily, textured or swirled finishes take more work
  • Cornice profile and whether it needs re-bedding, patching or replacing along the same wall
  • Ceiling height, and the number of rooms done in the one visit
FAQ

Plasterglass Ceilings: your questions

What is a plasterglass ceiling?
Plasterglass is the Perth name for fibrous plaster: gypsum plaster cast in a factory into large sheets with sisal or hessian fibre through it for strength. The sheets are heavier and thicker than plasterboard, have no paper face, and were hung from the joists with plaster-soaked hessian straps and daubs of adhesive rather than screws. Most Perth homes built from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s have them.
How do I know if my ceiling is plasterglass or plasterboard?
Age is the best clue: before the mid-1980s it is almost always plasterglass, after about 1990 almost always plasterboard. Up close, plasterglass has a hard, slightly glassy set finish and the cornice is usually plaster bedded in place rather than a paper-faced cove. If you can see the edge of the sheet at a manhole or a downlight cut-out, plasterglass shows fibre through its thickness and plasterboard shows a grey core between two layers of paper.
Can a plasterglass ceiling be repaired, or does it have to be replaced?
Most can be repaired. If the sheet is dry, has not broken through and has not taken a permanent curve, re-fixing and re-strapping brings it back flat with far less disruption than a new ceiling. Replacement is the right call when the plaster has been soaked, has deformed, or has failed in the same spot before.
Can you patch plasterglass with plasterboard?
Yes, and it is the standard repair for a damaged section. The new plasterboard is packed out so its face sits level with the old plaster, the join is taped and set, and the surface is skimmed and feathered so there is no step. The difference in material is not visible once the ceiling is painted.
Is a plasterglass ceiling worth keeping?
Often, yes. A sound plasterglass ceiling is solid, quiet and sits under cornice and ceiling roses that are hard to replace like for like. If it is dry and the sheet has not deformed, re-fixing it keeps the character of the room and avoids a strip-out. We only push for replacement when the sheet itself has failed.
Could the ceiling contain asbestos?
Plasterglass itself is gypsum and fibre, but some textured coatings, vermiculite finishes and fibre-cement sheet ceilings from the same era can contain asbestos. If there is any doubt about a coating or a sheet, we stop and have it tested by a qualified assessor before it is disturbed. We do not remove asbestos.
Quote request

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Tell us what the ceiling is doing and where you are. We will call you back to talk it through and arrange a time to look at it.

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Plasterglass Ceilings near you

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Not sure what the ceiling is doing?

Describe it over the phone and we will tell you whether it needs looking at this week or can wait. Perth-wide, Monday to Friday.

Call 0485 084 943 Get a Quote
Call 0485 084 943 Get a Quote