Gyprocker and plasterer in Bulli
We cut, fit and finish plasterboard through Bulli and up at Bulli Tops above the escarpment. Bulli holds two of the nine heritage conservation areas in the whole Wollongong council area. No other suburb in that council area has two, and a good share of Bulli sits inside one. The town has an 1860s mining village core with Federation and post war housing over it. Most of what we do here is careful work in old rooms.
Common gyprock problems in Bulli
Bulli was built by coal from 1863 and its oldest streets have never been rebuilt. That gives us century old framing, decorative cornice and two conservation areas over the top of it. Nearly every job here starts with matching something that is already there.
Two of the nine conservation areas are here
The council area has nine heritage conservation areas in total, and two of them are in Bulli. They are named Bulli and Old Bulli, and no other suburb in the council area holds two. The controls are mostly about what is visible from the street rather than about interior rooms. On a listed item that is different, because interior fabric can itself be protected.
Old Bulli and New Bulli are two towns
The town has always described itself in halves, split at Slacky Flat and running up to Chilby's Hill. New Bulli grew north of that from 1887, with the railway precinct at the centre of it. Old Bulli is south of it and carries the earlier street pattern and the tighter lots. Which half an address is in changes both the access and the age of what is behind the wall.
Cornice profiles nobody makes any more
Original decorative cornice is common in this stock and it is usually the thing an owner most wants kept. Some profiles can be matched from stock, some can be run to match, and some cannot be had at all. We say which of those three you have before the job starts rather than after the old one is down. Where a run can be saved we save it, because a matched profile is worth more than a neat new one.
There is time to look before anything is cut
Most work here is a planned renovation rather than an emergency, and that is a real advantage. It means a suspect lining can be found before demolition starts instead of halfway through it. Work stops at a lining we are not sure about, and the right person is brought in for it.
Four landslips on the Pass, and the rain behind them
Bulli Pass is the escarpment road west, and it needed repairs at four separate landslip sites. Three were in the top section between the motorway and the hairpin bend, and one about a kilometre below. The escarpment took almost five times its average monthly rain in March 2022, then eight and a half times the June average. The Pass closed five nights a week for five months, which is the kind of thing we plan deliveries around.
The salt runs out as you go up the hill
Bulli runs from the surf at one end to above the escarpment at the other, so the exposure changes with the street. Near the beach the fixings, beads and trims are specified for salt, because they will not last otherwise. Up at Bulli Tops they are an avoidable cost and we do not put them in the quote. We ask the address before pricing, not the suburb.
Why Bulli properties choose us
We sheet, coat and sand plasterboard across Bulli and the rest of the Wollongong City Council area. The owner is on the job rather than running it from an office.
How a gyprock job runs in Bulli
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.
The Princes Highway runs through Bulli and Bulli Pass climbs the escarpment behind it to the motorway. That means two ways in, and the Pass has a history of closures that we plan the delivery around. On the older streets the side access is narrow, so we ask about it at the quote. Where a truck cannot get close the sheets are carried, and we would rather know that beforehand.
Gyprock and plasterboard in Bulli homes
Bulli's oldest housing was built by coal miners and a good deal of it is still standing. The Bulli Coal Mining Company was founded in 1863 and the first shipment left in June of that year. On 23 March 1887 an explosion at the colliery killed 81 men and boys, and a memorial service is still held each March. The cottages those families lived in, and the Federation houses that followed, are the stock this page is about.
Above that sits an interwar and post war suburban layer, and then a heavy renovation overlay on all of it. Nobody publishes when any part of the suburb was built out, so the house tells us and the street does not. Framing a century old bows, twists and cups, and board mirrors every one of those defects. We string line and pack, or fur off, before a sheet goes anywhere near an old wall.
The work here is mostly discretionary and mostly planned, which changes how it is quoted. Kitchens, bathrooms, wall removals and extensions come with a date on them rather than an emergency. Blending flat new board into a wall carrying a hundred years of paint is the visible test. Where the plane will not take a patch we skim the whole wall, and we say so at the quote.
Get a free quote in Bulli
Tell us what you need done in Bulli 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 Bulli
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 Bulli and surrounds
Our service vehicles cover every suburb within the Wollongong City Council area and the surrounding localities. If your suburb is not listed below, contact us to confirm coverage.
Frequently asked questions about Bulli
Do you service all suburbs in the Bulli area?
Yes. Our service vehicles cover every suburb within the Wollongong 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 Bulli?
Our service hours are Monday to Saturday, 7am to 5:30pm. Work in Bulli 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.
How do I find out if my house is in one of the two conservation areas?
The council's planning certificate for your address is the document that answers it, and it is worth having before a renovation. Bulli has two conservation areas and a good share of the suburb sits inside one, so it is a fair question here. What surprises most owners is how little it usually affects interior work. The controls are mostly about what can be seen from the street. On a listed item it is different, because interior fabric can be protected, and we check before quoting.
The cornice in the front rooms is a pattern we cannot find anywhere. What are the options?
There are three, and which one you have is worth settling before anything comes down. Some old profiles are still made and can simply be bought. Some can be run to match, which costs more and takes longer but gets you the same shadow line. Some cannot be had at all, and then the choice is between keeping the original run and accepting a different profile. We will tell you which of the three you are looking at, in writing, at the quote.
We are planning a renovation. When should you look at the house?
Before anything is booked, and preferably before the trades that follow us are booked either. A planned job is the one case where there is time to find out what is behind a wall calmly. In a house of that age it matters, because work stops at a lining we are not sure about. Finding that out at the quote stage costs you about a week. Finding it halfway through a demolition costs a great deal more, and it lands at the worst moment.
Does the Pass closing affect when you can start?
No, not for the work itself, because the highway runs along the coast and we come in that way. The Pass matters for material coming over the escarpment from the motorway side, and it has closed for repairs before. Four separate landslip sites were repaired on it after the escarpment took several times its average monthly rain. We book material with that in mind rather than assuming a clear run. If it moves a start by a day, you hear it early.
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