- Skimming

Skimming walls and ceilings is a process of restoring the top surface, whereas plastering requires the building up the surface up from bare brickwork or breeze blocks. Therefore, skimming is often referred to as the ‘topcoat’ of plastering, as it is the fine layer which creates the smooth finish and crisp edges.

As it is the visible layer of the surface it does require the skills of a skilled and experienced plasterer to render the crisp, level and smooth surfaces which cover-up any minor blemishes and create the and clean lines between joins and edges.

One of the main uses of skimming is to create a smooth finish over plasterboard wall and ceilings, which are often fitted as part of home modifications and extensions. Skimming is also used on stud walls which are used to create separate living spaces or as part of a loft conversion.

Plaster boarding and stud work is another of the services we offer .

Once the studwork and plasterboard is in place, skimming is used to create the final smooth surface, concealing the joins between the boards, cut-outs and frames.

- Plastering

Plastering is a great way to finish your home walls. It gives a give a super-smooth flat finish. We can apply straight on to old plaster or new plaster board. Plastering can be great solution to covering up dated, textured, or rough finishes such as Artex.

Newly plastered walls are typically painted once finished.

- Lime Plastering

Lime plastering is primarily based in the restoration of the older structures/ homes/ flats. We have completed many restoration projects using the more traditional lime plaster to buildings including in Islington and Blackheath.

Lime plastering was the traditional method of finishing walls and ceilings prior to decoration in the late 19th /early 20th. However in the later part of 20th century lime plasters were mostly replaced by premixed gypsum products which did not require the same level of skill in their preparation or application. It has become apparent that in some situations these gypsum plasters were incompatible with some traditional buildings which if slightly damp need to breath. Therefore we have clients that require a plastering system that can accommodate slight movement in the building along with the breathability.

- Damp Proofing

Damp problems can be caused by something as simple as a blocked downpipe/ broken tile. However, they can also be a sign of something more serious such as cracked cement render or pointing trapping water in the walls, or external ground levels being higher than internal floors, which creates severe damp in the ground floor rooms. It is essential to understand and address the cause of the damp issues, both for the structure of the building and for your own health, as mould growth in damp properties can be very harmful.

We have undertaken a number of different projects and advising clients .

- Floor Screeding

Floor screed is usually made of a material that has similar properties to concrete, produced from a 1:3 or 1:4.5 ratio of cement to sharp sand. It can also comprise of cementitious and latex products as well as anhydrite binders and water.

Floor screed is most commonly used to level out a concrete sub-base such as a new extension.

- Dot and Dab (Drylining)

The dot and dab plasterboard method is also known as drylining. It involves directly bonding plasterboard to flat and secure walls that have a key, such as masonry and blockwork. ‘Dot and dab’ refers to the way the plasterboard adhesive is applied in evenly spaced dots and dabs across the surface of the wall.

Ceilings

- Coving

The cove is the decorative feature between the wall and ceiling. The term that is usually applied to a moulding that is uniform in profile, i.e. it projects across the ceiling say, 100mm (4″) and the drop down the wall is also 100mm. Coving also tends to be much simpler in design than cornice and is typically formed around the traditional quarter circle (or “C”) shaped profile.

- Fibrous Cornices

Fibrous cornices is a form of precast plasterwork. The plaster casts are reinforced with open mesh hessian scrim and strengthen with timber laths. This results in strong casts that are light in weight.We have years of experience in installing cornices in old properties where damage has been done or a client wishing to reinstate original features.

- Cornices

Cornices tends to be much more ornate in order to achieve a grander effect and is usually less uniform in dimension (though it could potentially still have the same projection and drop). So a profile could be 150mm across the ceiling but only 100mm down the wall (or vice versa). And the shape of cornice can be very complex indeed, with different “ins-and-outs” and a wide range of patterns reflecting changing architectural fashions.

- Panel Work and Ceiling Roses

Plaster panel mouldings can be applied to either ceilings or walls. Corners can be formed by mitring two sections of panel moulding or by linking them with matching quadrant corners or panel mould square blocks.

Ceiling roses, are generally in a concentric or floral pattern, can really liven up a ceiling by breaking up a large plain surface.

- Tacking & Board work

In preperation to older refurbished or new walls, plasterboard is tacked to exisiting surface prior to plastering . Tacking is a term for dry lining when you are applying the plaster board to metal or timber. If the plasterboard is being applied to masonry, it is sometimes called Dot and Dab —because the plasterboard is applied with dabs of plaster adhesive before the joints of the plasterboard are sealed.