Kitchen plastering and decorating in Gillingham

Why kitchen plastering and decorating for a Gillingham home?

If your Gillingham kitchen has blown plaster behind old tiles, hacking off and re-boarding is usually more reliable than patching over it, and gives the new tiles and units a firm base to fix to.

Once the old kitchen is out in a Gillingham home, the walls behind it are often patched, chased and uneven, and a skim gives the new units a sound surface. If your home is in Gillingham or close by in Chatham or Rochester, the same survey, quote and fitting process applies.

What we cover for kitchen plastering and decorating in Gillingham

The exact scope is agreed after the survey, but a typical job in Gillingham covers:

Chases around new sockets, cable runs and pipework filled and made good
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
Walls re-boarded or skimmed so units and tiles fix to a flat surface
Diluted mist coat on new plaster, then moisture-resistant, wipeable kitchen paint
Ceilings, walls, skirting, architraves and door frames decorated to finish the room

Kitchen plastering and decorating prices in Gillingham

Typical kitchen plastering and decorating prices for homes in Gillingham, including VAT and adjusted for the South East. Your own figure depends on the size of the kitchen, the layout and what is moving. Labour in the South East generally costs more than the UK average, which lifts these ranges a little.

Kitchen plastering and decorating prices in Gillingham
Typical project	Guide price
Skim kitchen walls and ceiling over sound plasterPrepared and skimmed	£400–£920
Hack off, re-board and skim a kitchenOld plaster removed back to the wall	£1,000–£2,100
Kitchen decoratedWalls, ceiling and woodwork	£460–£1,400

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%.

Fitting kitchens in older and newer Gillingham homes

The housing mix across Kent includes Victorian terraces, weatherboarded cottages, 1930s semis and oast house conversions, so no two kitchen fits are quite alike. Victorian terraces in the Medway towns and along the coast often have a narrow back-addition kitchen, while 1930s semis usually have a small kitchen beside a separate dining room.

Seaside terraces, permit parking and narrow village lanes can each make deliveries slower, so the route for long worktops is best checked at the survey. Water across Kent is hard, so limescale builds up quickly on taps and boiling water taps, and a scale-reducing filter is worth considering.

Do you need approval for kitchen plastering and decorating in Gillingham?

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.

Listed weatherboarded and timber-framed cottages, oast conversions and homes in conservation areas such as historic Canterbury may need consent for new external vents.

Getting the most from your kitchen plastering and decorating

Photograph the walls of your Gillingham kitchen before plastering, showing where cables and pipes run, so you know where not to drill when fitting shelves later.
Keep a small tin of each paint used in your Gillingham kitchen, labelled with the colour and finish, for touching up marks around handles and the bin.
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.
Plaster before the units go in: skimming around fitted cabinets is slower, messier and leaves edges that are hard to finish neatly.

Questions about kitchen plastering and decorating in Gillingham

How much does kitchen plastering and decorating cost in Gillingham?

Kitchen plastering and decorating in Gillingham typically costs £400 to £920 including VAT for skimming the walls and ceiling over sound plaster, based on prices in the South East. Larger or more involved jobs cost more, and your price is fixed in writing after a free survey visit.

Do you cover all of Gillingham?

Yes. We work across Gillingham, including the ME7 postcode district, and nearby towns such as Chatham and Rochester. Book a free survey visit and we will arrange a time that suits you.

Can a textured kitchen ceiling be skimmed over?

Often, yes, but have it tested first if the house was built before 2000. Some older textured ceiling coatings contain asbestos, so a sample should be tested before anyone sands, scrapes or drills them. If the result is clear, the ceiling can usually be skimmed or overboarded. If asbestos is found, follow the report's advice and use a specialist asbestos contractor.

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.

Nearby places we cover

We also carry out kitchen plastering and decorating in these towns near Gillingham: