Kitchen plastering and decorating · Essex
Kitchen plastering and decorating in Braintree
Whether your Braintree kitchen is a narrow galley or an open-plan room, kitchen plastering and decorating follows the same careful order: survey, written scope, fit and a final check together.
What prompts kitchen plastering and decorating in Braintree?
Landlords in Essex 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 Braintree home, the walls behind it are often patched, chased and uneven, and a skim gives the new units a sound surface. Homes right across Braintree are covered, as are nearby places such as Witham, Chelmsford and the villages in between.
What does kitchen plastering and decorating in Braintree include?
Every kitchen is different, so we confirm the scope in writing. Most jobs of this kind include:
- Walls re-boarded or skimmed so units and tiles fix to a flat surface
- Edges around units, worktops and splashbacks cut in neatly at the end
- Ceilings skimmed or overboarded, after textured coatings in older homes are tested for asbestos
- Free survey visit to check walls and ceilings and give an itemised quote
- Chases around new sockets, cable runs and pipework filled and made good
- Ceilings, walls, skirting, architraves and door frames decorated to finish the room
How much does kitchen plastering and decorating cost in Braintree?
These guide ranges include VAT at 20% and are adjusted for prices in the East of England. We confirm your price in writing after a free survey visit. Expect costs in the East of England to sit somewhat above UK averages, reflecting local labour rates.
| 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%.
Local homes and their kitchens
The housing mix across Essex includes Victorian terraces, 1930s semis, post-war new town houses and chalet bungalows, so no two kitchen fits are quite alike. In Harlow and Basildon, new-town houses often have a compact galley, while chalet bungalows and 1930s semis tend to have a small kitchen next to the dining area.
Limescale is a fact of life in most of Essex because the water is hard, so a filter for a boiling water tap and regular descaling make sense. Busy commuter towns often have tight on-street parking, and estate houses with small front gardens can make it awkward to unload long worktops.
Building regulations, electrics and gas in Braintree
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.
Most kitchen fits need no planning permission, but weatherboarded listed cottages and homes in village conservation areas may need consent for a new external vent.
Before you book kitchen plastering and decorating in Braintree
- If your Essex home was built before 2000, arrange an asbestos test on any textured ceiling before plastering is booked, so the programme is not held up.
- Pick the final paint colour for your Braintree kitchen while the plaster dries, testing samples on the dried mist coat rather than on bare plaster.
- Photograph the walls of your Braintree kitchen before plastering, showing where cables and pipes run, so you know where not to drill when fitting shelves later.
- Choose a paint sold for kitchens or bathrooms, with a wipeable or scrubbable finish; standard matt emulsions can mark easily near the hob and bin.
Questions about kitchen plastering and decorating in Braintree
How much does kitchen plastering and decorating cost in Braintree?
Kitchen plastering and decorating in Braintree typically costs £380 to £860 including VAT for skimming the walls and ceiling over sound plaster, based on prices in the East of England. Larger or more involved jobs cost more, and your price is fixed in writing after a free survey visit.
Do you work near Braintree as well?
Yes. As well as Braintree itself, we cover the rest of Essex and nearby towns such as Witham and Chelmsford. The process is the same wherever the kitchen is.
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.
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.
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 in neighbouring towns
Close to Braintree? We cover these nearby towns too:
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Witham
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Chelmsford
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Maldon
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Sudbury, Suffolk
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Haverhill
- Kitchen plastering and decorating in Colchester
- Kitchen plastering and decorating across Essex