A wall crack is a hairline, a leak, or something moving
The ceiling page prices a hairline crack or water-stain repaint, after the leak is fixed, at S$150 to S$400. A crack that keeps growing is not that paint. Spalling is S$150 to S$300 for a small patch. This page sorts which sentence you are in.
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Photo: Stiller Beobachter, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
How it works
- 1
Send one photo per task on WhatsApp, with the block and whether the home is HDB, condo, or landed.
- 2
We match each task to a published band, or we say quote on inspection.
- 3
You confirm the scope before anyone comes. Licensed work and permit work are named, not folded into the hour.
- 4
The fitting is repaired and tested. Parts that a row does not include stay off the invoice.
What this job actually is
Hairline cracks in paint are common in Singapore flats that dry and swell through the year. The ceiling page’s sentence is a hairline crack or a water-stain repaint after the leak is fixed, S$150 to S$400. The words “after the leak is fixed” are the whole caution. If the stain returns when upstairs showers, the source is still live. Painting it is how you pay twice. The ceiling-leak guide explains who pays when the slab is shared. We make good the surface. We do not adjudicate the neighbour.
Spalling is not a paint crack. Concrete has popped and the steel is rusting, often on an old toilet ceiling in Ang Mo Kio, Woodlands or Tampines. A small patch is S$150 to S$300 on the ceiling page. A large area is not that sentence. Send the photo of the steel, not only the brown paint. Covering rust with filler is how the patch falls off. The spalling service page is the longer description. This page sends you there when the photo is concrete, not emulsion.
A crack that lengthens, that is wider than a hairline, or that is at a corner of a beam, is quote on inspection. We will not sell the hairline band for a crack you can fit a coin into. HDB structural walls are not a handyman diagnosis. If we think the crack is movement, we will say so and stop. V On Construction is the permit contractor if the work becomes a hack or a structural repair. Homey Furnishing does the exempt making-good.
Holes from old brackets are the hole patch, S$150 to S$280, which is round damage, not a crack. A gallery of picture holes may be the handover package from S$298. Do not add the crack band and the hole band and the package without reading what each includes. One wall can be one of them. Tell us which marks are cracks and which are screws.
Condo cracks at a party wall still start with the leak. Landed cracks at a gate pillar or a beam are outside the hairline sentence. External paint is also weather. We will not coat a wet wall because a viewing is tomorrow. Same-day paint on a dry hairline is sometimes possible. Same-day paint on a wet spall is not. Weekday or not, the wall has to be dry.
Homey Furnishing Pte. Ltd. (ACRA UEN 202018148K), 27 Mandai Estate, #06-10 Innovation Place, Singapore 729931, invoices the permit-exempt visit. V On Construction Pte. Ltd. (ACRA UEN 201611708H), on the HDB Directory of Renovation Contractors, invoices hacking, a new layout, windows that are not exempt, and the household shelter. Homey Furnishing is not a MOM-licensed employment agency and does not place helpers, nannies or caregivers.
What to do first
- Photo the crack in daylight, and the ceiling if it is brown.
- Say whether it grew, and whether upstairs has a bathroom.
- Do not paint a damp stain.
- Use S$150 to S$400 only for the hairline sentence after the leak is fixed.
- Use the spalling row if steel is showing. Otherwise quote on inspection for a moving crack.
| What you see | Safe check | Stop |
|---|---|---|
| Hairline in dry paint | Ceiling-page repaint sentence | S$150 to S$400 |
| Brown ring that returns | Leak first | Do not paint yet |
| Concrete popped, steel visible | Spalling patch | S$150 to S$300 if it is small |
| Crack is widening at a corner | Stop | Quote on inspection. Not a cosmetic band |
HDB, condo and landed
Licences do not change by town. Access and the MCST do.
| Question | HDB | Condo | Landed |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDB | A crack from the flat above is a leak story first. The town council may own a common stack. Paint comes after. | EMA rules apply in every block, including older ones. | No hourly electrical rate is published. |
| Condo | The unit below will see the stain. Tell the MCST if the leak crosses a unit. | Management may want notice. The band does not become a mall night rate. | A deposit is the MCST’s. |
| Landed | A crack at a beam or a settlement line is not a hairline repaint. Quote on inspection. | Outdoor points need the right enclosure. | A workshop circuit is designed, not tapped off a socket. |
How you're charged
How you're charged
These four lines are the published handyman charges. A job that already has its own band uses that band. The hour is not added on top of a band unless the written scope says so. There is no fuel surcharge.
| Charge | What it covers | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Per hour | Permit-exempt handyman time | S$45/hr |
| Minimum charge | One task on one visit | S$55 |
| Call-out | The same single-task visit. No separate trip fee | S$55 |
| Materials | Parts, unless a job row says they are included | quote on inspection |
Small, medium, and large visits
Times are planning estimates for the work itself. They are not a promise of when someone arrives.
| Size | Example tasks | Planning time |
|---|---|---|
| Small | One generic hinge, tap labour on the existing outlet, or a socket on an existing circuit | Often under an hour |
| Medium | An exposed cistern siphon, one silicone zone, or two or three small tasks on the same visit | About 1 to 3 hours |
| Large | A typical HDB bathroom regrout, a dishwasher bay, or an exposed storage-heater labour visit | Half a day or longer |
Ways to keep the bill smaller
Ways to keep the bill smaller
- Put several tasks on one visit. The S$55 call-out is one task. Extra permit-exempt time is S$45 an hour, not a second trip.
- Buy the part when the row is labour only. Tap labour is S$55. Toilet-bowl labour is S$168. Instant-heater labour is S$108 to S$260. Exposed storage-heater labour is S$188 to S$380.
- Send the photos first, so the reply can use a published band instead of a vague hour.
WhatsApp the photos to +65 8561 0630.
Price, or quote on inspection
A faceplate is not a rewire. A new circuit is not a faceplate.
| Scope already published | 2026 band in the repo | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Hairline crack or water-stain repaint after the leak is fixed | S$150 to S$400 | Ceiling repair |
| Small spalling concrete patch | S$150 to S$300 | Ceiling repair |
| Small hole patch and repaint | S$150 to S$280 | Holes, not cracks |
| A widening or structural crack | quote on inspection | No cosmetic band |
Anything not in that table is quote on inspection. A second trade, when the law requires one, is named. It is not folded into a handyman hour.
WhatsApp the photos to +65 8561 0630. The reply uses a band already printed on HomeySG, or it says quote on inspection. It does not invent a third number in the chat.
Related pages
Frequently Asked Questions
How much to repair a wall crack?
A hairline or a water stain, after the leak is fixed, is S$150 to S$400. A small spalling patch is S$150 to S$300. A crack that is still moving is quote on inspection.
Should I paint over a leak?
No. The stain comes back. Fix the source, then the paint.
Is spalling the same as a crack?
No. Spalling is concrete and rusting steel. The small-patch row is S$150 to S$300. Read the spalling page if the steel is visible.
Who pays if the flat above caused it?
The ceiling-leak guide explains the shared slab. We repaint after the source is fixed. We do not decide the dispute.