Plastering · Birmingham and the West Midlands
Plastering that's flat, and stays flat
Reskims, Artex ceilings, board and skim, repairs and whole rooms. Our plasterers finish hospital corridors and school classrooms during the week, where a clerk of works runs a straight edge over every wall. Your hallway gets the same hands and the same standard.
Plastering jobs we take on
Reskimming walls and ceilings
The most common job we do in houses. Old plaster that's cracked, patchy or covered in layers of wallpaper glue gets a bonding coat where it needs one and a fresh 2mm multi finish skim over the top. One room usually takes a day, two if the ceilings are included.
Artex ceilings
Skimmed over after a bonding coat, or overboarded with new plasterboard and skimmed where the pattern is deep or the ceiling has moved. We never sand or scrape Artex, because older Artex can contain asbestos. Sealing it under new plaster or board is the safe way and the flat way.
Plasterboard and skim
New walls, extensions, garage conversions and rooms where the old plaster is past saving. Boarded with British Gypsum or Siniat plasterboard, joints taped, then skimmed. This is our core trade on commercial work, so it's the job we're fastest and best at.
Repairs and patches
Blown plaster, cracks, holes from rewiring or plumbing, the patch behind a removed radiator or kitchen unit. Priced from a photo, done in a morning, blended in so you can't see the join once it's painted.
What you get
- Fixed price before we start. Measured, written down, no surprises.
- Proper prep. Loose plaster off, walls sealed or bonded, beads on every external corner.
- Multi finish plaster. British Gypsum Thistle or equivalent, not a bag of whatever was cheap.
- Sheeted and cleaned. Floors and furniture covered, rubbish taken away.
- Drying advice. We tell you when it's ready and how to mist coat it.
- Insured and carded. Public liability cover and CSCS cards on every job.
Typical jobs and timings
A guide. Every job is priced on a visit or from photos.
| Single wall reskim | Half a day. Paint in about a week. |
|---|---|
| Room, walls only | One day for a standard bedroom or living room. |
| Room, walls and ceiling | One to two days depending on ceiling condition. |
| Artex ceiling overboarded | One day to board and skim a typical room. |
| Board and skim a new room | Two to three days for an extension or conversion. |
| Patch repair | A morning. Often done alongside another job to keep the cost down. |
Plastering questions
Can you skim over Artex?
Yes. Artex is either skimmed over after a bonding coat, or overboarded with new plasterboard and skimmed if the pattern is deep or the ceiling is in poor condition. Artex applied before the mid 1980s can contain asbestos, so we never sand or scrape it. Overboarding or skimming over seals it safely.
How long before I can paint new plaster?
Fresh plaster is dry when it turns a uniform pale pink, usually five to seven days in a heated room, longer in winter or on thick ceilings. Then a mist coat of watered down emulsion, then your colour.
Do you do small repairs?
Yes. Cracked ceilings, blown plaster, holes left by electricians and plumbers, and the patch where a wall unit came off. We'll price it from a photo.
Is it very messy?
Plastering is a wet trade, so there is some mess, but we sheet the floor and anything left in the room, and we take the rubbish with us. Empty the room if you can and it goes faster.
Do you do the decorating too?
No, we stop at plaster. We'll tell you exactly when it's ready to paint and how to mist coat it so the paint doesn't peel. If you want a decorator we can point you to people we've worked with.
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