Skimming over Artex in Melbourn
The village saw its biggest growth between 1955 and 1982, and a stippled or swirled ceiling is typical of houses from those years. Lewis, our plasterer, or the master plasterer we work with skims over the texture to leave a flat, modern surface ready for paint.
On a whole-house renovation, two of our plasterers skimmed the Artex while decorators stripped and prepared other rooms, which kept the programme short. The whole-house renovation has the photos.
Lath and plaster in older houses
Stripping old paper in a pre-1919 house can reveal loose or tired lath and plaster. In a Cambridge bedroom with that problem, our plasterer skimmed the walls, then we sanded, mist-coated and finished in Farrow & Ball Skimming Stone. If it happens in your house, we'll show you and agree the cost before plastering.
Graham decides at the visit whether a wall needs a skim or just filling and lining paper.
Melbourn at a glance
- 19 milesby road from our Landbeach base, about 27 minutesOSRM routing
- 14%were built 1945 to 1964VOA Council Tax stock
- 30%were built 1965 to 1982VOA Council Tax stock
- 12%of properties were built before 1919VOA Council Tax stock
- 2,143householdsCensus 2021
- 4%date from 1919 to 1939VOA Council Tax stock
How we approach plastering
Rooms are cleared or sheeted, fittings removed and surfaces prepared so the skim bonds. After the plaster has fully dried, we sand nibs with a Mirka dust-free sander, seal it with a thinned mist coat, fill anything that coat shows up and finish with two full coats. Coving can be hung before the last coats. The full method, products and FAQs are on our plastering page.