Flat walls, ready to decorate.
The groundwork everything else sits on — done properly, so your decorator has nothing to fill.
What it covers
A fresh skim is the difference between a wall your decorator has to fight and one they can just roll. Everything I do here comes back flat, smooth and ready to paint — whether that’s a tired room brought back to life, a new extension plastered from board, or a single ceiling that lets the rest of the house down.
It’s the least glamorous thing I do and the thing I’ve done most of. Twenty-seven years of it.
- Over
- Board, old plaster or artex
- Finish
- Flat and smooth, ready to paint
- Covers
- Walls, ceilings, whole rooms
- Also
- Dry lining and make-good
Why it’s worth doing properly
A skim coat is the surface every other finish sits on. If it’s flat and clean, the decorating is quick and the paint looks right. If it isn’t, every bit of low light across that wall will show it up, and no amount of filler afterwards genuinely fixes it.
It matters even more if a specialist finish is going on top. Venetian plaster and microcement follow whatever is underneath them — they don’t hide a poor base, they highlight it.
Left right for the decorator
Edges cut in clean, corners run sharp, and nothing left for the painter to chase when they follow on behind me. If you’ve got a decorator booked, tell me when they’re due and I’ll work to it.
Clean work
Plastering is messy and there’s no getting round that, but the mess should stay in the room being worked on. Floors covered, edges protected, and the place left tidy at the end of each day.
How much
Priced by area and by the state of what’s already on the walls. Send a photo and a rough room size and I’ll come and have a look — written price back within one to two days, free either way.
Get a quote
Free, no obligation. I visit, measure up, and send a written price within one to two days.
- Phone
- [SYSTEM NUMBER TBC]
- [email protected]
- Hours
- Mon–Fri, 8am–5pm
Four kinds of job.
Most of what I’m asked for falls into one of these. If yours doesn’t, ring me and I’ll tell you honestly whether it’s something I do.
Re-skims and whole rooms
Walls that have been painted over too many times, cracked, or patched by somebody else, taken back and re-skimmed. Or a full room plastered from fresh board after an extension or a loft conversion. Either way it comes back flat and smooth.
Ceilings and archways
Ceilings skimmed flat, which is harder than it sounds and shows more than any wall does. Archways, curved reveals and awkward returns worked by hand so the lines stay true rather than wandering.
Plasterboarding, dry lining and artex removal
Boarding out new stud walls and ceilings before skimming. Old textured artex ceilings taken back and finished flat — one of the jobs that changes a room more than people expect.
Patching and making good
Damp damage, ceiling cracks, and the mess left behind after a rewire, a knock-through or plumbing work. Blended into what’s already there, so the repair doesn’t announce itself once it’s painted.
Get the base right and everything after it is easy.
They say I’m a top bloke — polite, friendly, and always does a top job. Clean, tidy, and goes the extra mile.
Across Essex.
Based in Heybridge, Maldon, and working throughout the county. If you're just outside, ask anyway.
Talk it through
Tell me the room and the finish you have in mind. I’ll come and look, and give you a straight price.
Get a free quote