Kitchen plastering and decorating in Bishop's Stortford

Is kitchen plastering and decorating right for your Bishop's Stortford kitchen?

Landlords in Hertfordshire often have a kitchen redecorated between tenancies, filling fixing holes and repainting walls and woodwork in a scrubbable finish that stands up to regular cleaning.

Once the old kitchen is out in a Bishop's Stortford home, the walls behind it are often patched, chased and uneven, and a skim gives the new units a sound surface. Homes right across Bishop's Stortford are covered, as are nearby places such as Harlow, Hoddesdon and the villages in between.

What is included in the work?

Here is what usually goes into kitchen plastering and decorating, adjusted to your Bishop's Stortford kitchen after we have measured it:

Walls re-boarded or skimmed so units and tiles fix to a flat surface
Ceilings skimmed or overboarded, after textured coatings in older homes are tested for asbestos
Diluted mist coat on new plaster, then moisture-resistant, wipeable kitchen paint
Loose or blown plaster hacked off back to the wall where needed
Edges around units, worktops and splashbacks cut in neatly at the end
Free survey visit to check walls and ceilings and give an itemised quote

What does kitchen plastering and decorating cost in Bishop's Stortford?

Typical kitchen plastering and decorating prices for homes in Bishop's Stortford, including VAT and adjusted for the East of England. Your own figure depends on the size of the kitchen, the layout and what is moving. Prices in the East of England usually run above the national guide, mainly because labour and parking cost more.

What does kitchen plastering and decorating cost in Bishop's Stortford?
Typical project	Guide price
Skim kitchen walls and ceiling over sound plasterPrepared and skimmed	£380–£860
Hack off, re-board and skim a kitchenOld plaster removed back to the wall	£970–£1,900
Kitchen decoratedWalls, ceiling and woodwork	£430–£1,300

Guide prices are for a typical kitchen, with labour and standard materials for plastering or decorating; asbestos testing, structural repairs, damp treatment and lime plaster are not included and are quoted separately if needed. Prices include VAT at 20%.

Kitchens in homes around Bishop's Stortford

The housing mix across Hertfordshire includes 1930s semis, post-war new town houses, Victorian terraces and new-build estates, so no two kitchen fits are quite alike. Stevenage and Hemel Hempstead new-town houses often have a small galley, while 1930s semis tend to have a narrow kitchen beside the dining room.

Commuter-town streets often have tight parking, and estate houses with shared parking courts can mean carrying units some distance to the front door. Hertfordshire's water is very hard, mostly drawn from chalk, so limescale on taps and boiling water taps is common and a softener or filter is worth considering.

Do you need approval for kitchen plastering and decorating in Bishop's Stortford?

Skimming, re-boarding and decorating a kitchen in England need no planning permission or building regulations approval in most cases. In a listed building, listed building consent may be needed before original plaster is removed, and older solid walls may be better suited to breathable lime plaster than gypsum. Hacking an outside wall back to brick and re-boarding it may count as renovating a thermal element under Part L, so check with building control first.

A kitchen fit needs no planning permission, but listed buildings and conservation areas, including parts of St Albans and Welwyn Garden City, may need consent for external vents.

Worth knowing before the fit

Keep a small tin of each paint used in your Bishop's Stortford kitchen, labelled with the colour and finish, for touching up marks around handles and the bin.
If the house is listed or has solid walls, ask whether lime plaster is needed before the old plaster in your kitchen is stripped out.
Small hairline cracks can appear as new plaster dries; ask for them to be filled and sanded just before the final coats, not straight away.
Fresh plaster usually needs three to six weeks to dry fully, so plan for a mist coat first and the final colour once it has dried.

Questions about kitchen plastering and decorating in Bishop's Stortford

How much does kitchen plastering and decorating cost in Bishop's Stortford?

Guide prices in Bishop's Stortford are about £380 to £860 including VAT for skimming the walls and ceiling over sound plaster. The final price depends on the size of the kitchen and what is moving, and is set out in an itemised written quote.

Do you cover all of Bishop's Stortford?

Yes. We work across Bishop's Stortford, including the CM23 postcode district, and nearby towns such as Harlow and Hoddesdon. Book a free survey visit and we will arrange a time that suits you.

How long should new plaster dry before painting?

Fresh plaster usually needs three to six weeks to dry fully before full decorating, depending on its thickness, the time of year and how well the room is ventilated. It turns from dark to an even, pale colour as it dries. A diluted mist coat can usually go on sooner to seal the surface, with the final coats applied once drying has finished.

What paint should be used on kitchen walls?

A moisture-resistant paint with a wipeable or scrubbable finish, often sold as kitchen and bathroom paint, suits most kitchen walls. It copes with steam and can be cleaned without marking. Silk or eggshell finishes are easier to wipe than flat matt, and woodwork usually gets a satinwood or gloss. New plaster needs a diluted mist coat before any of these.

Should a kitchen be plastered before or after the units are fitted?

Before. Plastering is done after strip-out and first-fix electrics and plumbing, so new cables and pipes are chased in and covered, and before the base and wall units go in. Units then fix to a flat, finished surface, and the decorator only needs to cut in around them at the end. Patch repairs after fitting are possible but harder to hide.

Kitchen plastering and decorating near Bishop's Stortford

Close to Bishop's Stortford? We cover these nearby towns too: