Gyprock Ceilings in Perth
Licensed, insured, and quoted in writing within 48 hours. We tell you straight whether it can be saved.
Most people ringing about a gyprock ceiling are not asking about a product. They are asking whether the ceiling in their extension, their converted garage or their opened-up kitchen will end up flat, quiet and free of joints you can pick out from the couch.
That result is decided by three things: the right sheet for the room, framing that is straight before a single screw goes in, and set work that is given time to dry. None of them are the sheet itself.
This page covers new gyprock ceilings and the sheet choices behind them. If your existing ceiling has failed and needs to come down, the detail you want is on the plasterboard ceiling replacement page.
Gyprock Or Plasterboard: Which One Do You Actually Need?
This is the question we get asked most often, and the honest answer disappoints people. Gyprock is a brand. CSR has made plasterboard in Australia under that name since the 1940s, and it became the word everyone uses, the same way people say Esky when they mean a cooler.
So a quote that says gyprock and a quote that says plasterboard are describing the same material. What matters is which grade and thickness is written next to it, and whether the quote says how it is being fixed.
A quote that says only 'supply and install plasterboard ceiling' is not specific enough to compare against another one. You want the sheet grade, the thickness, the framing type and centres, and the set finish level. Any of those left out is a decision someone else makes on site, on the day, without you.
Where The Brand Does Make A Difference
Different manufacturers name their specialty sheets differently, and the names are not interchangeable on a quote. Gyprock's wet area sheet is AquaCHEK, its fire grade is FyreCHEK and its acoustic grade is SoundCHEK. Other brands have equivalents under their own names.
If a specification calls for a named product and something else turns up, that is worth a conversation before it goes on the ceiling, particularly where the sheet is doing a job beyond looking flat.
Where A New Gyprock Ceiling Goes In
Not every gyprock ceiling is a replacement. A good share of our work is a ceiling that has never existed before, or one that has to be re-formed because the room underneath it changed shape.
Meeting An Existing Ceiling
Joining new work to an old ceiling is where most of these jobs are won or lost. The existing ceiling is rarely level, because thirty years of roof loading and Perth's clay soil movement do not leave it that way.
We set out from the existing ceiling rather than from the new frame, so the join lands flat even when that means packing the new furring down to suit. A join that is set to the frame instead will show a shadow across it the first time afternoon light rakes down the room.
What You Get When You Hire A Gyprocker
Gyprocker, ceiling fixer and plasterer get used loosely in Perth and they are not quite the same job. A ceiling fixer sets out and fixes the sheets. A plasterer flushes and sets the joints. Plenty of crews do both, ours included, but a quote from someone who only does one half leaves you finding the other half yourself.
Set out and check the frame
Before any sheet goes up, the framing is checked with a laser for level and packed where it needs it. Sheets follow the frame, so a frame that is out puts a wave in a ceiling that no amount of set work will hide.
Fix the sheets
Sheets are screwed, never nailed, running the long edge across the framing so the recessed edges land where the joints are set. Butt joints are backed rather than simply filled.
Flush, set and sand
Joints and screw heads are taped and coated, then left to dry properly between coats. Rushing this is the single most common reason a new ceiling shows its joints within a year.
Check under raking light and clean up
We check the finished surface with a light held flat against it, not from directly underneath, then leave the ceiling paint-ready and the room clean.
- Set out, framing check and packing
- Supply and fix of the specified sheet
- Flushing, setting and sanding to the agreed level
- Cornice, where it is part of the same quote
- Rubbish removal and site clean
- Painting, including primer, you will want your own painter
- Electrical, so downlights, fans and exhaust units are wired by a licensed electrician
- Insulation is quoted separately, see the note below
- Structural framing or roof work beyond the ceiling itself
- Licensed asbestos removal, which is a separate quote after testing
If downlights, a ceiling fan or an exhaust unit are going in, the wiring wants to be run while the ceiling is open. Doing it afterwards means cutting into a finished ceiling and patching it, which costs more and never looks as good as a clean cut-out made before the sheet went up.
The Sheets That Are Not Standard White
Standard sheet suits most of a house. Four situations do not, and each one has a specific sheet made for it. Putting the standard product in these rooms is a decision that shows up later rather than on handover day.
| Room or situation | What standard sheet does | What goes up instead |
|---|---|---|
| Bathroom, ensuite, laundry | Absorbs steam over years, the paper face lifts and the surface goes soft near the shower | A moisture resistant sheet such as Gyprock AquaCHEK |
| Garage ceiling under a habitable room | Offers no fire separation, which the code requires in this position | A fire grade sheet such as 13mm Gyprock FyreCHEK |
| Bedroom or theatre under a second storey | Passes footsteps and voices straight through | An acoustic sheet such as Gyprock SoundCHEK, usually with insulation in the cavity |
| Wide spans and heavy cornice | Deflects between the framing and the ceiling reads as slightly dished | 13mm sheet, or closer framing centres, or both |
A moisture resistant sheet handles the humidity of a bathroom in use. It will not survive a roof leak or a burst pipe above it, and no ceiling sheet will. If water has come through, that is a water damaged ceiling and it needs to come down rather than dry out.
Why We Will Not Patch A Gyprock Ceiling
We get asked to patch fairly often, and we usually say no. It is not a upsell position, it is that a patch is only honest when the rest of the ceiling is sound, and by the time someone rings about a hole or a crack it often is not.
Where the sheets themselves are still good and only the strapping has gone, restrapping is the cheaper answer and the ceiling stays up. Where the sheets have had it, replacement is the only thing that lasts. We will tell you which one you are looking at before quoting either.
“A patch that fails costs more than the replacement you were avoiding, because you pay for the patch, the paint and then the replacement anyway.”
Get a fixed-price quote for Gyprock
We come out, look at the ceiling properly, and put the price in writing. No blow-outs on the day, no surprises after.
Questions homeowners ask us
Yes. Gyprock is CSR's brand of plasterboard and it is the most common brand in Australia, so the words get used interchangeably in Perth. What matters on your quote is the sheet grade, the thickness and how it is being fixed, not the brand name.
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Read moreTell us what's going on with your ceiling.
We'll come out, take a proper look, and quote you in writing within 48 hours. If repair is the right call, we'll tell you. If it's beyond it, we'll replace it properly.