Plastering Services and Rendering in Potters Bar
Whether you found Robert by searching for plastering near me or a neighbour passed on his number, here is what he does, and the jobs each service covers.
Plastering and Replastering
When old plaster is cracked all over, sounds hollow or is coming away from the wall, patching it only moves the problem along. Replastering takes the wall or ceiling back to a sound, flat surface that decorates properly.
Robert plasters single rooms, large kitchen-diners and new extensions and sun rooms, where the walls are boarded first and then skimmed. Customers often mention how clean he leaves the house for a job that makes this much dust.
Typical jobs
- Replastering whole rooms and kitchen-diners
- New extensions and sun rooms
- Plasterboard (dry lining) and skim
- Walls opened up for a radiator or rewire
Worth knowing
- Fresh plaster dries from dark pink to an even pale colour. Wait for that before painting.
- New plaster needs a thinned mist coat of emulsion first, or the paint can peel.
- Keep a newly plastered room aired but not heated hard, so it dries evenly.
Plaster Skimming
Skimming puts a thin finishing coat over walls that are sound but tired: filled cracks, old paint, patched holes or a surface that never looked quite flat. Done well, it gives a smooth wall that takes paint or paper cleanly.
Plaster skimming is the job Robert's MyJobQuote reviews mention most, from a single wall to a whole room finished in one long day. He also fits standard coving.
Typical jobs
- Skimming walls and chimney breasts
- Small bathrooms and cloakrooms
- Walls with filled cracks and patches
- Standard coving
Worth knowing
- Skimming suits walls that are sound underneath; loose or hollow plaster needs replacing first.
- Move what you can out of the room, and the rest can be covered over.
Ceiling Plastering and Artex
Ceilings take the brunt of a leak from the bathroom above, and older ceilings crack and sag with age. Depending on how bad the damage is, a ceiling can be repaired and skimmed, or boarded and skimmed again.
Artex ceilings and walls are usually skimmed over rather than scraped off. Robert puts a bonding coat on first so the new plaster grips the pattern, then skims it smooth.
Typical jobs
- Lounge, bedroom and kitchen ceilings
- Water-damaged ceilings once the leak is fixed
- Bathroom ceilings boarded and skimmed
- Skimming over Artex ceilings and walls
- Taking Artex off a wall and filling
Worth knowing
- Artex put up before the mid-1980s can contain asbestos. Have it tested before anyone sands or scrapes it.
- A water-stained ceiling needs to dry out fully before it is repaired.
Plaster Repairs and Patching
Not every wall needs a full replaster. After a rewire, a new radiator or new windows, the plaster around the work needs making good so it can be decorated without the patches showing through.
Robert does a lot of these smaller jobs, and many of them are finished in a day.
Typical jobs
- Making good after electrical work
- Repairs and skim around windows
- Patching walls for a new radiator
- Cracks, holes and blown plaster
Worth knowing
- Tap a wall: a hollow sound means the plaster has come away and will need cutting out.
- Leave patched areas to dry fully before painting, or they show through as dull spots.
Rendering and Pebble Dashing
Rendering covers outside brick or block walls with a hard-wearing coat that keeps the weather out and gives a clean, even finish. Garden walls, garage walls and house walls all benefit when the old render has cracked or blown.
With pebble dash, the hard part is a repair that doesn't stand out. Robert patches damaged areas, dashes over old openings such as a bricked-up doorway, and blends the new dash into the wall around it. He can paint rendered and pebble-dashed walls afterwards.
Typical jobs
- External rendering
- Garden and garage walls
- Render repairs
- Pebble dash patches blended in
- Painting rendered walls
Worth knowing
- Render needs a dry spell to cure: frost and heavy rain can spoil it while it is fresh.
- Cracked render lets water behind it, so it is worth repairing before winter.
Walls or Ceilings That Need Plastering?
Tell Robert about the job. There is no call-out charge to come and quote.