They can be easy to overlook, but the walls in your home do a lot of work. Every day they put up with bumps, splashes and scratches, and those tiny blemishes can add up over time. Maintaining your plasterboard finishes is one of the best things you can do to keep your property looking great and prevent unnecessary damage from building up. To ensure you get the longest life from your gyprock walls, ceilings and cornices, we’ve put together a list of maintenance items to help keep your home in top condition.
Paint Your Gyprock
The best thing you can do to protect the gyprock in your walls, cornices and trims is to paint it. Made from thick construction paper and gypsum, gyprock and other plasterboards are vulnerable to moisture, scuffs and other types of damage when unsealed. A few coats of paint will seal the surface and protect it against the rough and tumble of everyday life. Modern water-based acrylic paints are quick and easy to apply, and they will ensure your plasterboard is safe from spills, scrapes and small bumps.
Keeping Plasterboard Clean
There’s no way around the fact that the walls of your home or office will collect small marks over time. People bumping into walls, moving furniture and kids playing indoors all create small blemishes on plasterboard walls that need to be cleaned.
The most important thing to remember is that gyprock is a substrate. If your wall is painted or covered with wallpaper, you need to follow the manufacturer’s instructions to clean any marks off. Generally, marks on plasterboard walls can be cleaned using a damp cloth and mild soaps. Just remember to dry the wall after cleaning. While paint is a good barrier to moisture, it won’t prevent your gyprock from absorbing water if it’s left soaking wet.
For more stubborn marks you can use stronger soaps, but avoid scrubbing painted gyprock with scouring pads as these can eat through the paint, allowing the bare gyprock to absorb water.
Repair Small Imperfections
Just like smudges and other marks on your walls, small dents and scratches tend to build up over time. It’s always a good idea to stay on top of these blemishes and repair them as they occur. Scratches and dents are simple to fix with a plaster compound. These can be bought pre-mixed from your local hardware store and they are easy to apply yourself. With a little bit of sanding and a fresh coat of paint, no one will ever know that your wall was damaged.
Repairing imperfections makes a difference to the overall look of your home, but it’s also an important task in wet areas. Any damage that exposes the gyprock can leave your walls prone to absorbing moisture and becoming damaged, especially in laundries, bathrooms and kitchens.
Clean and Prevent Mould Growth
Mould and mildew can be a problem in rooms that are frequently wet or have poor ventilation. If you notice mould growing on your walls or ceilings, it should be cleaned off immediately. Most types of mould can be cleaned with soap or special cleaning products. But, where there is mould there is also moisture, which can cause further damage to gyprock. In addition to cleaning the mould off your walls, you need to locate the source of the moisture and fix the issue. This could be as simple as adding a ventilation fan to a bathroom, or it could be due to other problems such as leaking pipes or broken roof tiles.
Fixing Serious Damage
While it’s easy to fix minor dents in gyprock by yourself, repairing bigger holes or imperfections is much harder. In most cases, large holes in your wall need to be repaired by cutting out and replacing the damaged section of plasterboard. Repairing large holes in gyprock walls requires a few basic steps:
- Chip or cut away any plasterboard that’s showing signs of cracking, crumbling or water damage.
- Using a saw or plasterboard cutter, enlarge the hole to a regular square or rectangle to make it easier to cut a replacement section.
- Fit the replacement patch and secure it with jointing tape and plaster compound. Large repairs may need additional support on the inside of the wall cavity to hold the patch in place.
- Once the plaster is dry, sand the surface flat and prepare it for painting.
Need Plasterboard Maintenance or Repairs? Speak to Sydney Metro Plastering Today!
Just like the other parts of your home, the plasterboard that makes up your walls, ceilings and decorative mouldings needs maintenance from time to time. Whether you’re looking to repair small blemishes or major water damage, the team at Sydney Metro Plastering is here to help! We provide residential and commercial plastering services throughout the Sydney region. Our team comes prepared with the tools and materials they need to repair most issues with your plasterboard, restoring your spaces to their former glory. Contact us today to find out more about what we do or to book an appointment with our team!