Look at what is on the walls
Tapping for hollow areas, checking what has been papered or textured, and working out what can be skimmed over and what has to come off.
What plastering and skimming is, and when you need it
Skimming is a thin finish coat over something else, and what that something else is decides the whole job. A sound old plaster wall takes a skim straight over it. A wall that has blown has to come off first. New boards have to be taped at every joint before anything goes near them.
Most of the interior work we are called out for is one of four things: a wall that has been papered so many times it will not take anything else, a wall that has blown behind the plaster, textured or Artex finishes somebody wants flat, or new boarding that needs finishing.
Skimming over existing walls
If the plaster on the wall is still stuck to it, the quickest and tidiest answer is to prepare it and skim over it. The walls stay where they are, there is no hacking off and there is a fraction of the mess.
Whether that is possible is decided by tapping the wall, not by looking at it. Blown plaster sounds hollow and is often in the bottom metre of an outside wall, which is where damp has been getting in.
Hacking off and starting again
Where the old plaster has blown, it comes off back to the brick or the block. The stairwell in our work section shows that stage: hacked back, patched, then skimmed.
It is dusty and it is noisy and it is the right answer when the alternative is skimming over something that is already letting go.
Boarding, taping and making good
Chimney breasts opened up for a new fire, alcoves left behind when a built in cupboard comes out, stud walls and ceiling repairs are all boarding jobs before they are plastering jobs.
The board has to be fixed right and every joint taped, because a skim is only a few millimetres thick and it will not hold a joint together on its own.
How we do it
Start to finish
Protect the room
Floors, fittings and anything staying in the room covered before a bag is opened.
Hack off or prepare
Blown plaster off, sound plaster prepared, and any boarding or dubbing out done.
Tape and bead
Every board joint taped, angle beads to the corners and reveals.
Skim
Two coats of finish, trowelled up flat.
Clean out
Everything taken out with us and the floors left clean.
Three ways to start
Ring, message, or send the details
Ring 07501 844432
You get Fraser. Tell him the wall and he will tell you what it probably needs.
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A photograph of the wall tells us more than a paragraph of description can.
Open WhatsAppSend us the details
Fill the form in at the bottom of this page with a photo or two and we will come back to you.
Go to the formPast work
Plastering and skimming jobs we have done
Media wall, skimmed walls and a lit coffer ceiling
Plastering and skimming, Artex removal
See this job
Collapsed ceiling rebuilt, skimmed and coved
Ceilings and coving, Plastering and skimming
See this job
Before and after
The same wall, both ways
Media wall, skimmed walls and a lit coffer ceiling. Drag the handle to see the before.
Artex ceiling and chimney breast skimmed flat
Artex ceiling and a red chimney breast skimmed smooth
Stone effect cladding removed, chimney breast skimmed
Fake stone cladding hacked off a chimney breast and skimmed flat
Kitchen ceiling re-boarded and skimmed
Kitchen ceiling taken down to the joists, re-boarded and skimmed
Collapsed ceiling rebuilt, skimmed and coved
Collapsed ceiling with insulation hanging through, rebuilt with new skim and
Straight answers
Questions about plastering and skimming
Can you skim over my walls or do they need hacking off?
We tap them and find out. A lot of walls people assume need hacking off can be prepared and skimmed, which is far less mess. Walls that sound hollow need to come off, and no amount of hoping changes that.
How long before I can paint it?
It needs to be fully dry, and drying time depends on how thick the coat is, the time of year and how well the room is ventilated. The colour tells you: fresh plaster goes from dark brown to a pale, even pink. Painting while there are dark patches left traps the moisture in.
Will you make a mess?
Plastering makes mess. What we control is where it goes: floors and fittings covered before anything starts, and the waste leaves with us. We would rather spend twenty minutes covering up than an hour cleaning.
Can you do one wall rather than the whole room?
Yes, and sometimes that is clearly the right call, such as one chimney breast or one damaged wall. Be aware that a freshly skimmed wall next to three old ones will look different under paint until everything is decorated.
Get in touch
Get a price for your plastering
Tell us what the wall or the room looks like now and we will come back to you with a price and a straight answer about what it needs.
Call us for your instant, no obligation quote
07501 844432. Or send a photo of the wall on WhatsApp.