Plastering · Replastering
Replastering in London when the plaster has blown.
Hollow, cracked or crumbling plaster has let go of the wall. Filling it only hides the problem. We hack it off and replaster properly.
When a wall needs
replastering.
Replastering means removing failed plaster back to the wall and applying a new system. It is not the same as a skim, which only goes over sound plaster.
Sounds hollow when tapped and has parted from the brick.
Salt damaged plaster replaced once the leak or damp is fixed.
Sagging lath and plaster taken down and boarded.
How a replaster
is done.
We tap every wall and mark the hollow areas in pencil.
Taken back to sound brick, with dust sheeted and waste removed.
Undercoat built up level, then a smooth finish coat.
Left to dry fully before any paint goes on.
How to tell if plaster has blown.
The knuckle test
Sound plaster is dull. A hollow note means it has debonded and is held up only by paint and its edges.
Cracks
Fine random cracks are cosmetic. Straight or diagonal cracks can mean movement, so we check the cause before replastering.
Replastering after damp.
Fix the cause first
Gutters, pointing or ground levels are sorted before new plaster goes on. Otherwise the new plaster fails the same way.
Salt resistant plaster
Walls with salts get a renovating plaster that resists them. Standard gypsum would blister.
Gypsum or lime?
Gypsum
Bonding or hardwall undercoat and a skim. Right for most modern walls, and it sets fast so rooms are back in use quickly.
Lime
Solid period walls need breathable lime, not gypsum, which traps moisture and fails.
Replastering Victorian and Edwardian houses.
Lath and plaster ceilings
Many London terraces still have original lath and plaster ceilings. Where a ceiling has sagged or come away from the laths it is taken down safely and either boarded and skimmed or, in listed and conservation properties, relathed and replastered in lime.
Horsehair and lime walls
Older walls often have lime plaster with animal hair. Patches are repaired in lime to match, so the wall can still breathe and the repair does not crack at the joins.
Cornices and coving
Original cornices are protected or repaired in place. Missing lengths can be matched so the room keeps its period detail.
Replastering after a rewire or refurbishment.
After a rewire
Cable chases and back boxes leave walls patched and uneven. Replastering after a house rewire gives flat walls ready for decorating.
Preparation and protection
Floors are covered, furniture moved or sheeted, and doorways sealed. Waste is bagged and taken away the same day where possible.
Drying times
A skim finish is usually ready for a mist coat within a few days. Thick undercoats and lime take longer, and we tell you when it is safe to paint.
Old ceilings.
Lath and plaster
Repaired where sound, replaced where sagging. We check the laths are still nailed firm.
Overboarding
Boarding over a sound ceiling avoids heavy mess. The new board is screwed through to the joists.
Before decorating.
Drying
Thicker coats take longer to dry than a skim. Good ventilation helps.
Mist coat
Diluted emulsion first, then paint.
Replastering
questions.
No. It will crack again. It needs hacking off.
Usually several days to a few weeks, depending on thickness.
No. A skim is a thin finish coat over sound plaster. Replastering replaces the whole thickness.
Yes, including old lath and plaster ceilings.
Yes, it is included in the quote.
Not usually. We work room by room, sheet floors and furniture, and seal doorways to keep dust in the room being done.
Yes. Skirting, sockets and switch plates come off so the plaster runs down behind them, then go back on once it is set.
Yes. After a rewire, damp treatment or a full refurbishment we replaster room by room, usually alongside the decorating.
Get a written
price.
A survey and a fixed written quote.
Often needed
alongside this.
Areas we cover.
We take replastering 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.