Plaster gone crumbly, bubbling or coming away from the wall? We repair damp-damaged and blown plaster across Exeter and Devon, done right, once the damp's been dealt with.
Blown, hollow-sounding or crumbling plaster is usually a symptom, and the damp behind it needs sorting first.
When plaster bubbles, cracks in patches or comes away when you tap it, it's normally moisture and salts breaking the bond between plaster and wall. Older Devon properties with solid walls are especially prone to it. Here's the honest part: skimming straight over damp plaster just fails again. We'll look at what's actually going on. If it's a damp problem that needs treating or a wall that needs to breathe, we'll tell you straight rather than paper over it. Once the wall's sound and dry, we hack off the blown plaster, re-plasters (using a breathable lime where the wall needs it rather than trapping moisture in), and skims it back to a clean finish that lasts.
Fixed properly so it doesn't come back.
A proper look at why the plaster's blown, damp, salts, or an old solid wall that can't breathe.
The failed, blown plaster is taken back to a sound surface. No leaving soft patches behind.
Where there's a damp issue, it's dealt with and the wall allowed to dry before re-plastering.
Re-plastered with the right material, breathable lime for older walls that need to let moisture out.
Skimmed back to a smooth, paint-ready finish that blends with the surrounding wall.
If it's a bigger damp job, we'll say so, better to fix it once than keep patching it.
Older cottage or modern house. We cover the area.
Straight answers, no waffle.
Tap the wall with your knuckle. Sound plaster gives a solid, dull knock; blown plaster sounds hollow and drummy because it has come away from the wall behind. You will often see bubbling, crumbling or a powdery white bloom on the surface too.
No, and anyone who offers to is storing up a problem for you. Fresh plaster over a damp, blown wall will blow again within months. The old material has to come off, the wall has to dry, and the cause of the damp has to be dealt with first.
Yes. Plastering is the last job, not the first. If the damp is coming from a leaking gutter, failed pointing or rising damp, that needs sorting or the new plaster will fail. We'll tell you what we can see when we look.
Allow roughly 7 to 14 days for new plaster to dry out fully, longer in winter or on a thick coat. It goes from dark brown to a uniform pale pink when it is ready. Use a breathable mist coat first, thinned emulsion, rather than going straight in with a full coat.
The plastering is the easy part. The damp is the job.
Be wary of anyone who'll plaster a damp wall without asking where the water's coming from. Fix the leaking gutter, the failed pointing or the bridged damp course first, or the new plaster blows again within a year and you pay twice.
A small blown patch is a couple of hours. A whole wall hacked back to brick is a day, plus a skip.
A wall that's still wet can't be plastered. Sometimes the honest answer is to wait. We'd rather tell you that than take your money twice.
Below ground or in a persistently damp spot, a waterproof render or tanking coat may be needed before the finish goes on.
Rising damp brings salts up into the plaster. Those need dealing with properly or they'll come through the new finish as white bloom.
Cob and solid stone need lime, not gypsum. Sealing them with modern plaster traps the moisture inside the wall.
Sometimes the right answer is "get the damp sorted first and call us back". If that's what we can see, that's what you'll hear.
Blown plaster is always a symptom of something else, damp, salts, poor prep or the wrong plaster on an old wall. We've set out the causes and how to spot which you've got: why is my plaster blowing?
Send us a photo on WhatsApp and we'll give you a free quote and our take on what's actually needed.