For most plastering jobs, you just need a plasterer. We do our own prep. Here is when you genuinely need a builder first, and when a builder is just a middleman adding margin.
If the job is walls and ceilings, you need a plasterer. We strip back loose plaster, board out, seal, prep and finish. You do not need a builder to prepare a wall for us. That is our work, and we would rather do it ourselves anyway.
You need a builder when something structural is involved, removing a wall, forming an opening, fixing the cause of damp, or work across several trades that needs coordinating.
The thing worth knowing: if you hire a builder purely to bring in a plasterer, you are usually paying a margin on top for no benefit. Plenty of builders are honest about that. Some are not.
All of this is our own work. No builder needed.
Tired, cracked or patched surfaces brought back flat. We prep it, we seal it, we skim it.
Hacking off blown or crumbling plaster back to brick, then re-plastering. Ours from start to finish.
New plasterboard on studs, ceilings or dot-and-dab, then skimmed. Plasterers board.
All standard plastering work.
A renderer or plasterer, not a builder. Scaffolding we arrange as part of the job.
An experienced plasterer strips skirting, dado and picture rails as part of prep. You do not need a carpenter to take them off. You may want one to put new ones back.
These genuinely need someone else before we start.
Removing a wall, forming a doorway, putting in a lintel or an RSJ. That is a builder, and often a structural engineer.
We can re-plaster a damp wall, but we cannot fix a leaking gutter, failed pointing or a bridged damp course. Get the cause fixed first or the plaster blows again.
Blockwork, roofing, windows. We come in near the end.
If a ceiling is genuinely coming down, or joists have rotted, that is structural. We can re-board and skim once it is made safe.
Full renovations involving electrics, plumbing, joinery and plastering benefit from a builder coordinating the order of work.
Chase in the cables and pipes before we plaster, never after. Sparks and plumber first, us last.
This trips people up more than anything else, so here it is plainly. On a typical renovation, plastering is near the end:
Structural work → electrics and plumbing chased in → plasterboard and plastering → drying out → decorating → flooring and skirting.
If someone wants to plaster before the electrician has been, stop. You will be cutting channels into brand new plaster within a fortnight.
A good builder earns their margin on a complex job. They coordinate trades, they carry the risk, and that is genuinely worth paying for.
On a simple plastering job, they are a middleman. They will ring a plasterer, add their percentage, and pass on the price. If all you need is two rooms skimming, ring a plasterer directly.
Not sure which you have got? Send us a photo and tell us what you are trying to do. If it needs a builder first, we will tell you. We would rather say that than take on a job that is going to fail.
The ones we get asked most.
For walls and ceilings, re-skimming, removing old plaster, boarding, artex, rendering, patch repairs. You need a plasterer. Plasterers do their own preparation, including stripping back loose plaster, boarding out and removing skirting. You need a builder when structural work is involved, such as removing a wall or forming an opening, or when the cause of damp needs fixing first.
Yes. An experienced plasterer strips loose plaster, removes skirting and dado rails, boards out where needed, scrim tapes joints and seals the wall to control suction. You should not do this yourself, and you do not need a builder to do it for you.
Structural work first, then electrics and plumbing chased into the walls, then plasterboard and plastering, then drying out, then decorating, then flooring and skirting. Plastering comes near the end. Plastering before the electrician has finished means cutting channels into brand new plaster.
For a straightforward plastering job, usually yes. A builder engaged purely to bring in a plasterer is acting as a middleman and will add a margin. On complex multi-trade projects a builder earns that margin by coordinating the work and carrying the risk, but on a simple re-skim it is an unnecessary cost.
A plasterer can re-plaster a wall after damp has been dealt with, but cannot fix the cause. Leaking gutters, failed pointing, cracked downpipes or a bridged damp proof course all need addressing first. Plastering over unresolved damp means the new plaster will blow again, usually within a year.
Send a photo on WhatsApp. We'll tell you straight, even if the answer is that there's nothing wrong.