Gyprocker and plasterer in Bomaderry
We hang, joint and finish plasterboard on both sides of the railway line in Bomaderry. Bomaderry exists because the railway stopped at the river in 1893 instead of crossing it. It is still the end of the line more than a century and thirty years later. The oldest houses sit west of that line, because that is where the Berry estate was subdivided and sold in 1892. Knowing which side of the railway a house is on tells us a lot before we arrive.
Common gyprock problems in Bomaderry
Bomaderry is a small town with an unusually well documented set of buildings and an unusually undocumented growth history. That combination is worth knowing before anybody quotes a job here. Which side of the railway you are on is the short version.
The railway stopped here, and the town followed
The line reached Bomaderry in 1893 and never crossed the river, because a rail bridge over the Shoalhaven was judged too expensive. It is still the southern terminus. That single decision put the station, the shops and the oldest streets where they are. It is why Meroo Street rather than the river is the centre of town.
The oldest housing is west of the line
After David Berry died in 1889 the estate was subdivided. In 1892 hundreds of blocks were offered for sale west of the new railway corridor. That is the founding residential subdivision and it locates the oldest stock quite precisely. So a house on the western side is more likely to be old enough to need checking before anything is cut into it.
Lath and plaster is still here, and it is documented
Lynburn, a Federation weatherboard house on Mattes Way built in 1894 and 1895, is locally heritage listed. Its citation specifically records original lath and plaster ceilings, preserved after a roof fire in 1981. That is a rare thing to have written down, and it tells us what the oldest Bomaderry interiors are actually made of. Behind a later lining in a house of that age, lath and plaster is what we expect to find.
Fibro from the forties through the seventies
Three separate heritage records for Bomaderry buildings describe fibro and asbestos sheet. They cover a garage from around the 1940s and cottages built between 1964 and 1973. That is unusually concrete evidence for a town this size. We treat any lining in a building put up or altered before 1990 as needing a look before it is cut. Where that is what we find, the job stops and a licensed removalist takes over.
One home in six shares a wall
About 17 per cent of Bomaderry dwellings are semi detached, which is roughly double the share in North Nowra, South Nowra or Vincentia. These are duplexes and villas rather than walk up flats, so access is by driveway and full sheets usually make it in. What changes is the party wall, and the fact that noise and dust reach a neighbour who did not book the job.
The town is growing on its northern edge again
Two urban release areas sit north of Bomaderry, one for roughly 950 dwellings and a larger one identified for several thousand more. There is also a build to rent development underway on Bolong Road. So this is one of the few places we work where new construction and hundred year old cottages are a few streets apart. The two need completely different things from us.
Why Bomaderry properties choose us
We sheet, coat and sand plasterboard across Bomaderry and the rest of the Shoalhaven City Council area. The owner is on the job rather than running it from an office.
How a gyprock job runs in Bomaderry
You call or send the form, and the more you can tell us the better. For a repair, a photo of the ceiling or the wall usually settles the question before anyone drives out. For a new build or a renovation we quote from the plans. Suspended ceilings are always quoted from plans rather than from a description.
The owner is on site, and the ceilings go up first, then the walls, then the cornice. The sander runs with a bag on it and the rest is done by hand, so there is dust in the air. We clean up and take the offcuts and the empty bags away with us. The walls are left sanded and ready for the painter's primer coat, because we do not paint.
Bomaderry is over the bridge from Nowra, so both sides of the river are one trip for us rather than two. Bolong Road, Cambewarra Road and Meroo Street cover most of the older town, and the new release areas run north from there. The town has both nineteenth century cottages and houses still going up now. So we ask which part of it a job is in before quoting.
Gyprock and plasterboard in Bomaderry homes
Bomaderry's housing has a documented beginning and an undocumented middle, which is unusual and worth being straight about. The 1892 subdivision west of the railway is well recorded, and so is the run of dated buildings that followed it. What nobody has published is when the rest of the town was built out. So we do not put a decade on a Bomaderry house from the street, and we would rather look than guess.
The dated fabric that does exist tells a clear enough story. There is 1890s weatherboard, including a house whose heritage citation records original lath and plaster ceilings. There is inter war and post war brick, including a 1946 station building. And there is fibro sheet in buildings from the 1940s through to the early 1970s. Add the current estates on the northern edge and the span runs from lath and plaster to modern board.
The work we are asked for reflects that span. In the older streets the work is repair and matching. A ceiling has moved, or a wall has been opened up, and the room is well over a century old. In the newer parts it is sheeting, setting and cornice on work that is going up now. In between there is a steady run of bathroom and laundry relining in post war houses whose wet areas have simply reached the end.
Get a free quote in Bomaderry
Tell us what you need done in Bomaderry and we will get back to you with a price as soon as we can. There is no obligation to go ahead.
Services we provide in Bomaderry
New home builds
Renovations and extensions
Patio and alfresco ceilings
Suspended ceilings
Bulkhead ceilings
Soundproofing and acoustic walls
Fire rated walls and ceilings
Sagging ceilings
Wall repairs
Cornice
Water damage and wet areas
Commercial
Asbestos in older homes
Suburbs we service in Bomaderry and surrounds
Our service vehicles cover every suburb within the Shoalhaven City Council area and the surrounding localities. If your suburb is not listed below, contact us to confirm coverage.
Frequently asked questions about Bomaderry
Do you service all suburbs in the Bomaderry area?
Yes. Our service vehicles cover every suburb within the Shoalhaven City Council area and the surrounding localities, including the ones listed below. The service area runs from Helensburgh in the north to Nowra in the south, and west up the escarpment to the Southern Highlands. If your suburb is not shown on that list, contact us and we will confirm whether we cover it.
What are your service hours in Bomaderry?
Our service hours are Monday to Saturday, 7am to 5:30pm. Work in Bomaderry is booked in during those hours, and the phone is answered then too. Outside those hours you can leave a message or send the form on this page. If a ceiling is sagging and you are not sure it is safe, say so when you get in touch. A photo sent with it usually tells us more than a description.
Nobody seems to know when Bomaderry was built. Does that matter?
No, not for the work itself, and it is worth explaining why that is. We do not need a construction date, we need to know what is behind the lining. The framing, the cornice profile and the way a ceiling is fixed tell us that on the day. So the missing history costs you nothing at the quote.
What about asbestos in a house like mine?
Nobody can tell without looking, and that is the honest answer for any pre 1990 building. What is documented in Bomaderry is fibro sheet from around the 1940s to the early 1970s, which covers a lot of this town. If it turns out to be something we do not touch, we stop and tell you who does.
We are in a duplex. Will the neighbour be affected?
Yes, to some extent, and it is better raised before we start than after. About one in six homes here shares a wall, so this comes up more in Bomaderry than in most places we work. Sanding and cutting carry through a party wall as noise, and there is dust in the air on our side of it. We can tell you which days are the loud ones so you can give your neighbour some warning.
The house is brand new and the ceiling has hairline cracks. Is that normal?
Yes, it is common in new work, and it is still worth having looked at rather than ignored. A new house dries and settles for a good while after it is finished. Fine cracking at joints and cornice lines is often part of that. What matters is whether it is still moving and how wide it gets. Send a photo with something for scale and we will tell you whether it wants patching now or watching for a few months.
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