Questions people actually ask
Drying times, mess, artex, asbestos and what harling actually is. If your question is not here, send it over and it will get a straight answer rather than a sales pitch.
The work
What the job actually is
What is skimming a wall?
Skimming is a thin finish coat of plaster applied over an existing wall or fresh plasterboard to leave a flat, smooth surface ready for paint. It is usually two to three millimetres thick. It is the most common plastering job in an occupied house, because it renews the surface without taking the wall back to brick. More on plastering and skimming.
What is the difference between dry lining and plastering?
Dry lining fixes plasterboard to the wall and finishes the joints. Traditional plastering applies wet material directly to the wall. Dry lining is faster, adds almost no moisture to the building and can take insulation behind it. Wet plaster suits solid walls and gives a harder, more solid surface. More on plasterboarding and dry lining.
Do you skim over wallpaper?
No. Paper is a weak layer, and skimming over it means the finish is only ever as well stuck as the paste underneath. We strip it, make good whatever the stripping pulls off, then skim. It is more work up front and it is the reason the finish lasts. More on re-skimming after wallpaper.
Do you do small jobs?
Yes. One wall, one ceiling, one patch after a leak. Plenty of plasterers will not turn out for a single repair, which is exactly why we do. Small jobs are also how most people find out whether they want us back for a bigger one. More on plaster repairs.
Timescales and drying
How long it takes
How long does plaster take to dry?
Usually four to seven days for a skim coat, depending on how warm and how ventilated the room is. It goes from dark brown to a patchy mix, then to an even pale pink. Wait until it is uniformly pale all over, including the corners, before you paint. More on living with a skimming job.
When can I paint new plaster?
Once it is pale and even right across, with no dark patches left. The first coat should be a watered-down mist coat, roughly three parts paint to one part water, so it soaks in rather than sitting on top. Full-strength paint on fresh plaster tends to peel.
Can I speed the drying up?
Ventilation helps, gentle background heat helps, and blasting it does not. Forcing plaster to dry too fast with heaters aimed at the wall causes cracking and a powdery surface. Open the windows, keep the room at a normal temperature, and let it take the time it takes.
Can render be done in winter?
Not in a frost. External render and harling need temperatures above about five degrees and rising, and they need time to cure before any freeze. In Central Scotland that usually means the season runs roughly March to October. More on rendering and the weather.
Mess and disruption
What it is like to live with
How much mess will there be?
Some, but it is containable. Floors get covered, furniture is sheeted or moved out and doorways are sealed before anything is mixed. Plaster dust travels, so the sealing matters more than the sweeping. Waste goes with us and the room gets vacuumed at the end.
Can I stay in the house while the work is done?
Almost always, yes. Plastering is done room by room, so the rest of the house stays usable. You will be told which rooms are out of action on any given day. Full-house ceiling work is the one job where people sometimes prefer to be elsewhere for a day or two.
Do you clear up afterwards?
Yes. Waste is taken away, floors are vacuumed and everything gets put back. The job is not finished when the plastering stops, it is finished when you have got your room back. It is the thing customers mention most often in reviews.
Artex and asbestos
Textured ceilings
Can you plaster over artex?
Yes, and it is usually the best option. A skim coat goes straight over shallow texture and leaves a flat ceiling ready to paint. Deeper patterns are better overboarded first. Both routes cover the artex rather than removing it, which keeps the material undisturbed. More on covering artex ceilings.
Do I need to remove artex before skimming?
No. Removal is not necessary to get a flat ceiling, and covering is the more common approach precisely because it leaves the material alone. If you specifically want the artex gone rather than covered, that is a job for an asbestos specialist. More on the two ways to cover artex.
Does my artex contain asbestos?
It might, if it went up before 2000. You cannot tell by looking. If you are unsure and it is worrying you, we can take a sample and confirm within one to two days. Knowing either way costs very little and it settles the question before any work is booked. More on artex and asbestos.
Do you remove artex or deal with asbestos?
No. We do not deal with asbestos and we do not take artex off. There are specialist companies who do that if you want it away completely. What we do is cover it, by skimming over or overboarding, and we will point you in the right direction if removal is what you need.
Rendering and harling
Outside walls
What is harling?
Harling is the traditional Scottish external wall finish, where a wet mix of lime or cement and aggregate is thrown onto the wall rather than trowelled smooth. It leaves a rough, hard-wearing surface that sheds rain well, which is why so much older Scottish property has it. More on harling and roughcasting.
How long does harling last?
Done properly on a sound wall, decades. What shortens it is water getting behind it, usually through a crack, a failed gutter or a bridged damp course. On a failing wall the first thing worth checking is not the render itself but what is letting water in behind it. More on render repairs.
Is a lath and plaster ceiling worth repairing?
Often yes, especially in an older property where the ceiling has cornice or a rose worth keeping. If the laths are sound and only the plaster has failed in places, repair is cheaper and less disruptive than replacement. Once the laths themselves are going, reboarding is the better spend. More on ceiling plastering and repairs.
Working with us
Quotes and areas
Do you cover my area?
If you are within about thirty miles of Falkirk, yes. That reaches Edinburgh one way and Glasgow the other, and covers Grangemouth, Stirling, Larbert, Bo’ness, Linlithgow, Alloa, Cumbernauld and everything in between. Bigger jobs further afield are considered, so it is worth asking either way. Every town we cover.
How do I get a quote?
Send a message through the form on any page, or email over what needs doing with a photo if you have one. For anything beyond a small patch we will come out and look at it properly before pricing. Quotes are free and there is no pressure after one. Get a free quote.
Do you work for builders and letting agents?
Yes. Subcontract plastering, new build, refurbishment, void turnarounds and boarding packages across Central Scotland. Trade work runs to your programme rather than a domestic timescale, and dates are agreed before the job starts. More on commercial and trade work.
Still got a question?
Send it over with a photo if you have one. You will get a straight answer, and a price if you want one.
Rather talk? 07821 809043 or WhatsApp (opens in new tab)