GIB repairs in Auckland: holes, cracks and water damage

What GIB repairs cover

GIB repairs put damaged plasterboard back to a flat, paint-ready surface that you cannot pick out once it is painted. All of it is interior work, on walls and ceilings. Most of the GIB repairs Auckland homes need fall into a few groups:

• Holes from door handles, knocks and fixtures that have been taken down
• Cracks along board joints and running out from the corners of doors and windows
• Screw pops and joints that have lifted
• Dents and gouges from moving furniture
• Stained, bubbling or soft board after a leak
• Holes left after electrical or plumbing work
• Old patches that still show through the paint

Holes in GIB walls

Small holes and dents are filled in thin coats, each one left to dry, then sanded and feathered out well past the edge of the damage. A patch that is built up too thick, or not spread wide enough, leaves a bump, and low light from a window will find it.

Larger holes need more than filler. We cut the damaged board back to a clean opening, fix backing behind it, screw in a new piece of GIB and stop its edges like any other joint. Where a whole sheet is broken or has been patched several times, replacing the sheet is usually quicker and gives a better result.

Cracks, and why some come back

Most Auckland houses are timber-framed, and timber moves with the seasons. That movement shows up as cracks along board joints and out from the corners of door and window openings. Filling a crack with compound on its own rarely lasts, because the next bit of movement opens it again.

A lasting crack repair opens the crack up, re-tapes the joint and builds the coats back up, so the tape takes the strain rather than the paint. If the cause is still active, such as a slamming door, a leak or framing that is still moving, the crack can return however well it is stopped. We look for the cause when we quote, and tell you if another trade needs to deal with it first.

Water-damaged GIB

Leaking roofs, showers and pipes, and condensation, all end up in the plasterboard. The signs are brown staining, bubbling or peeling paint, board that feels soft or sags, and mould along the ceiling line.

The leak has to be fixed first, by a roofer or plumber, and the framing left to dry. Stopping over damp board leads to bubbling and cracking, so the area needs to be dry before the repair starts.

Board that has gone soft, swollen or mouldy usually has to be cut out and replaced, because it cannot be patched back to strength. A stain on board that is still dry and firm can often be sealed and painted instead. Because we line, stop and paint, replacing a section of wall or ceiling is one job for one crew.

How we repair GIB

Every repair, large or small, goes through the same steps.

• Look at the damage and its cause during the free quote, and put the price in writing
• Protect floors and furniture before any cutting or sanding
• Cut out damaged board, and fix backing or replace sheets where needed
• Tape and stop in coats, letting each coat dry before the next
• Sand flat, feather wide, and check the repair under a raking light
• Seal and paint, usually the whole wall or ceiling, so the repair does not show as a patch of different sheen

What GIB repairs cost in Auckland

There is no fixed price for a GIB repair, because one dented wall and a leak-damaged ceiling are very different jobs. The ranges below are typical for Auckland and are a rough guide only. They are not IDW's price list: we price every job in writing after seeing it, and the price we quote is the price you pay.

What moves the price is how many repairs there are, whether board needs replacing, ceilings versus walls, the finish level, access, and whether painting is included. The free quote includes a wall health check valued at $397, so you know what actually needs doing before you commit.

How long GIB repairs take

The hands-on work for a small patch is often a couple of hours. Drying is what takes the time. Each coat has to dry before the next goes on, and in Auckland's humid winter weather that can mean 24 to 36 hours between coats. So even a small repair usually means coming back, and larger repairs or several rooms can take up to a week, including drying time.

Susan W, Google review: “Exemplary work between a team arriving as agreed, and courteously tidying up and returning on time once dry after the weekend to sand finish.”