Plastering your home: everything you need to know

Whether you’re plastering your home as part of a renovation or a new build project, it’s helpful to know what to expect.

A little prior preparation can help to make the process much smoother from start to finish, limit the mess that ensues, and budget for the work with confidence.

While plastering a house is a specialist skill, you’ll also find tips for embarking on this project if you’re a competent DIY-er keen to give this a go yourself.

How do I prepare my house for plastering?

“Is plastering a messy job?” This is one of the most common questions asked on the topic of plastering a house.

In short, yes, plastering is a messy job, which is why it’s important to take the time to protect surrounding areas.

Top ways to prepare your home for plastering:

• Floors: Lay dust sheets/floor protectors to protect your carpets/floors from the entrance of your home to the room being plastered
• Furniture: Cover any furniture that can’t be removed with protective sheets
• Belongings: Box up and remove belongings from the room being plastered where possible

When hiring a professional plasterer, ask about protective sheeting for windows, fire surrounds, skirting, and architraves. The more prior preparation that can be done the better. It’ll save time cleaning up afterwards!

How long does it take to plaster a house?

Given the messy nature of plastering, you might be wondering how long it’ll take to complete the work.

This will vary depending on how many plasterers are working on your property, and the size and height of the rooms. But as a guide, an experienced plasterer can plaster a room per day.

Bear in mind that work will need to be done to prepare the walls and protect your property from plaster splatter!

And if you’re asking this question because you’re keen to get the paintbrushes out, here’s a guide on how to paint on new plaster.

Can you sleep in a room after plastering?

Plaster does not contain toxic fumes. However, it does contain lots of moisture. This can make the room feel damp, so it’s best to avoid sleeping in a freshly plastered room for a couple of days.

Increasing the airflow by opening the windows and putting a fan on a low setting will help the plaster to dry more quickly.

Preparing walls for plastering

If you’re looking at doing some of the work yourself, or are simply curious about the process, here’s a guide on how to prepare a wall for plastering:

• First, if your walls are wallpapered they’ll need to be stripped, or if they’re painted they’ll need to be sanded back
• Next, the walls will need a thorough clean with sugar soap to ensure no residual grease or dust is left behind
• Once that’s out of the way, have a good look over the walls to check for any loose plaster or cracks
• If you spot any holes, these will need to be filled
• Light fittings and power sockets will need to be loosened from the wall and wrapped in a plastic bag – remember to switch off the power before you do this!
• Lastly, if you notice any small cracks in the wall, scrim tape them to cover them over

Plastering techniques

Many people steer clear of plastering, for fear of not getting a quality finish.

It is a skilled profession, and you’ll undoubtedly get the best result by hiring an experienced plasterer, but that’s not to say you can’t tackle this as a DIY project.

So can a beginner do plastering? With a bit of preparation, know-how, and a few tools, there’s nothing to stop you from giving it a go.

What do you need to plaster a wall?

You will need some specialist tools and equipment to plaster a wall, including:

• A plastering trowel
• A plastering hawk
• A paddle mixer
• A bucket
• The plaster of your choice
• PVA glue
• A roller
• A paintbrush
• Sandpaper
• Water/spray bottle
• Dust sheets

How to plaster a wall

Getting the plastering technique right – from the preparation to mixing, application, and finishing – will help to avoid cracks in your plaster and an uneven finish. Our guide on how to plaster a wall expertly outlines the process, step-by-step.

For a quick overview, here are the 7 stages of plastering:

1. Preparation – clean your walls so they’re ready for plastering

2. Priming – apply PVA to help the plaster adhere to the walls

3. Mixing – following the instructions on the bag, mix up your plaster to the correct consistency and place a small amount on your plastering hawk once done

4. First coat – starting in the bottom left-hand corner of the wall, apply the plaster quickly and efficiently using your plasterer’s trowel

5. Smooth bumps and gaps – after 20 minutes or so, assess your plastering work and go over any bumps or gaps with your trowel and/or a wet paintbrush to smooth them out (a water spray bottle is handy here, to wet the plaster slightly if it’s too dry to manipulate)

6. Second coat – repeat steps 4 and 5, but this time use a thinner mix following the quantity instructions on your plaster bag

7. Sanding –  once your plastered walls are dry (after around 24 hours), sand any bumps gently back using a fine grit sandpaper

On Checkatrade, you'll only find trades who meet our high standards and pass up to 12 checks.

How much does it cost to plaster a house?

Plastering a house certainly adds to its appeal with prospective buyers. Hence it can add to your property’s value if you’re considering listing your home on the market.

With that in mind, how much can you expect to pay for plastering work?

The average cost of plastering a small room is typically around £1,100. Meanwhile, a larger room might cost in the region of £1,900.

Plasterers tend to charge around £300 per day.

One of the best ways to ensure you’re being quoted a fair and competitive price from a tradesperson is to compare several quotes from approved plasterers.

That’s easily done using our request a quote form. Simply add a few details about the work you need doing and a selection of our approved plasterers will be in touch directly.

Find experienced, recommended plasterers in your area

Finding the best plasterers in your area needn’t be a chore. Our members must pass up to 12 checks to appear in our directory. So, when you use Checkatrade, you know you’re getting the real deal.

To find reputable, experienced plasterers in your local area, just search your postcode using the box below.