Plastering
Skimming, full replastering, ceilings and lime plaster for older homes, with floors and furniture protected and every room left tidy.
Good plastering is the difference between walls that look right for decades and walls that show every lamp shadow. We skim, replaster and board walls and ceilings in homes of every age, and we look after your home while we do it.
Skimming
A skim coat is a thin layer of finishing plaster over sound existing plaster or new plasterboard. It is the quickest way to smooth, paint-ready walls, and it is often all a tired room needs.
Full replastering
Where the old plaster is loose, hollow, cracked or damaged by damp or salts, we take it back to the brick or block and apply a backing coat followed by a finish coat. It is more work than a skim, but it is the only lasting fix for failing plaster.
Ceilings and plasterboard
We board and skim ceilings, including over old textured coatings. Textured coatings put up before 2000 can contain asbestos, so we never sand or scrape them without a test first, and we will arrange one if it is needed.
Older buildings
Houses built before about 1920 usually have solid walls that need to breathe. Gypsum plaster and modern paints can trap moisture in them and cause damp, so for these we use lime plaster, which lets the wall dry out naturally.
Clean, tidy and ready to paint
We cover floors and furniture, keep dust to a minimum and clear up at the end of each day. New plaster needs to dry before it is decorated: a skim usually takes a few days to a week, thicker coats longer. It is ready when it has turned an even, light colour all over. Seal it first with a mist coat of watered-down emulsion so the top coat does not peel.
Questions people ask
Do my walls need skimming or full replastering?
If the existing plaster is firmly stuck to the wall, a skim coat will give a smooth finish. If it sounds hollow when tapped, is cracking away or has been damaged by damp, it needs to come off and be replastered. We check every wall and tell you which it needs.
How soon can I paint new plaster?
Wait until it has dried to an even, light colour with no dark patches: usually a few days to a week for a skim, longer for thicker coats and in cold weather. Then seal it with a mist coat of watered-down emulsion before the top coats.
Can you plaster over a textured ceiling?
Yes. We can board over it or skim it once it is prepared. Textured coatings from before 2000 can contain asbestos, so we never sand or scrape them without a test first.
How much mess will there be?
Less than you might expect. We sheet floors and furniture, mix outside where we can and clear up at the end of each day. If a room needs emptying first, we will tell you when we quote.
Not sure what the problem is?
Send a photo and we'll tell you honestly — no charge, no pressure.