Full room re-plastering in Woolwich and Plumstead. Blown plaster taken off to the brick, bonded out and finished — the right job when a skim would only cover the problem.
Re-plastering is what a Plumstead or Shooters Hill terrace needs when the original has genuinely failed rather than aged. It is the most disruptive plastering work there is, so it is worth being certain it is necessary — and worth doing before a floor or a kitchen goes in, never after.
Many Plumstead terraces had front rooms opened up or chimney breasts removed decades ago, and the making good from that work was rarely done well. When a room is re-plastered those old repairs are found and dealt with, so the new finish is not sitting over a weak spot that was simply hidden before.
The dirty part of the job, and the part that decides whether the new plaster is still sound in twenty years.
Old south London brickwork is rarely flat. Bonding coat brings the wall true before any finish touches it.
Corners and window reveals beaded so they are straight and stay straight, rather than hand-formed and chipped within a year.
Before flooring, before the kitchen, before decorating. Plastering after those is how people end up paying for two trades.
Former openings, filled-in fireplaces and past repairs found during the strip-out are made good properly before the room is plastered.
Cables and pipes in the walls are found before any hacking off, and anything that needs moving is left for a qualified electrician or plumber.
Send a photo or a quick video of the room on WhatsApp, or get a free fixed quote — no obligation, and we’ll tell you straight what it needs.
Tap it. A dull hollow sound across most of the wall means the plaster has separated from the brick, and a skim on top of that is a smooth surface over a failing one. Isolated hollow patches can be cut out and made good instead.
Three to four days of work on a typical Plumstead room, plus drying before decorating. In a flat it is worth agreeing the noisy strip-out day with your neighbours rather than surprising them.
Before, always. Plastering is wet, dusty and involves a lot of ladder work, and doing it over a new floor means either damaging it or spending a day protecting it. The same goes for a new kitchen.
Sometimes loose brickwork or an old lintel shows up once the plaster is off. You are shown it and told who deals with it, usually a builder, before plastering carries on, rather than finding out after it has been covered.
Hairline cracks at corners can appear in the first year as a room settles and dries, and they fill and paint easily. Beads at the angles and a properly bonded base keep that to a minimum.