Finishes · Plastering
Plasterers in London for walls, ceilings and render.
Smooth walls, true corners and render that stays on. Our plasterers skim, board, render and repair across London homes, rentals and commercial premises, with the right material for the wall behind.
Plastering and rendering
services we cover.
A fresh finish coat over sound plaster or new board, ready for paint.
Plasterboard fixed by dot and dab or on battens, then taped or skimmed.
Cracked or sagging ceilings overboarded or replaced and skimmed flat.
Plain coving fitted and period cornice repaired or run to match.
Sand and cement, silicone and lime render for walls and extensions.
Patching after electricians, plumbers and new windows, blended in.
From survey
to finished wall.
We tap the walls, check for damp and confirm what the wall is made of.
Priced by room and by system, with any hacking off shown separately.
Floors and fittings protected, boards and beads fixed, plaster applied.
Waste removed and drying advice given before decoration starts.
Plastering services for London homes.
Skimming
Where existing plaster is sound, a skim coat of two to three millimetres gives a new smooth surface. Bare walls are sealed first so the skim does not dry too quickly and crack. Walls with layers of old paint get a bonding primer so the skim grips.
Plasterboard and dry lining
New partitions, extensions and lofts are boarded and skimmed. Dry lining is also a quick way to cover uneven walls. On cold walls, insulated plasterboard improves comfort too, detailed so condensation does not form behind it.
Ceilings
Old ceilings with cracks or a slight sag are usually overboarded and skimmed rather than taken down, which keeps the mess down. In older houses we first check for loose lath, because a ceiling that is coming away has to come down safely.
Coving and cornice
We fit plain coving and repair damaged period cornice, matching the profile where a section is missing. Mouldings clogged with old paint can be cleaned back to recover their detail.
External rendering in London.
Sand and cement render
Hard wearing and suited to modern block and brick, finished smooth or textured and painted. It needs sound brickwork, proper beads at corners and windows, and a bell cast above the damp course so water runs clear.
Silicone and through coloured render
Coloured all the way through and water repellent, so it does not need painting and keeps its look for years. Popular on extensions and refurbishments where a crisp, low maintenance finish is wanted.
Lime render
Breathable and flexible, used on solid brick period walls that need to let moisture out. It goes on in several thinner coats and cures slowly, so timing matters in winter.
Lime plaster for period properties.
Victorian and Georgian houses were built with lime. Covering their solid walls with gypsum or cement traps moisture and causes damp.
We also repair old lime plaster on internal walls, cutting out failed patches and filling them with a compatible lime mix so the wall keeps breathing.
Lath and plaster
Original lath and plaster ceilings can often be repaired and kept. Where they have failed, we replace them and explain why.
Commercial plastering.
Offices, shops and rentals
Partitions, ceilings, patch repairs at changeover and fire rated board, programmed around your trading hours or tenancy dates. Work in occupied buildings is planned to keep escape routes clear and dust contained.
Artex and textured coatings.
Testing before work
Older textured coatings can contain asbestos, so they are sampled before anyone sands or scrapes them. Most can be safely skimmed over. If a coating does contain asbestos and has to come off, licensed specialists are required, and we explain the options before anything is disturbed.
Before you decorate.
Drying times
New plaster needs to dry before painting, usually a few days for a skim and longer for thicker coats. Apply a mist coat first, then your paint. Ventilation helps, but forcing it with heaters can make plaster crack.
Questions we get
asked most.
If the plaster is sound, yes. Hollow or blown areas have to be removed first or the skim fails with them.
Yes. Most damaged ceilings are overboarded and skimmed, which is quicker and cleaner than taking them down.
Silicone render suits modern walls. Solid period walls usually need lime so they can breathe. We advise at survey.
Yes, including patching after other trades, and we can combine them with decorating.
Skimming an average room usually takes a day or two. Hacking off and replastering takes longer because of the undercoat and drying.
Yes. Floors are covered, dust is contained and all waste is removed.
Yes. Offices, shops and rental properties, scheduled around your access.
Tell us about the walls
and we will survey them.
A site visit, the right material for the job and a fixed written quote.
Often needed
alongside this.
Areas we cover.
We take plastering and rendering work across all 32 London boroughs. Most of our work is in west London, in Shepherd's Bush, Hammersmith, Fulham, Kensington, Chiswick and White City, and in south west London, in Putney, Wandsworth and Wimbledon. We also work in south east London, in Greenwich, Blackheath and Lewisham.
If your property is outside these areas, call us anyway. We travel across London and will tell you honestly if a job is too far to price properly.