Kitchen plastering and decorating in Lancing

When does kitchen plastering and decorating make sense in Lancing?

Once the old kitchen is out in a Lancing home, the walls behind it are often patched, chased and uneven, and a skim gives the new units a sound surface.

If your Lancing 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. We cover all of Lancing, including the BN15 postcode district, and travel out to neighbouring towns across West Sussex.

What is in a typical job?

Every kitchen is different, so we confirm the scope in writing. Most jobs of this kind include:

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

Guide prices for kitchen plastering and decorating in Lancing

As a starting point for Lancing, these ranges include VAT at 20% and allow for typical labour costs in the South East. Expect costs in the South East to sit somewhat above UK averages, reflecting local labour rates.

Guide prices for kitchen plastering and decorating in Lancing
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%.

What kind of kitchens do we fit in Lancing?

Across West Sussex you will often find 1930s semis, flint and brick cottages, post-war new town houses and seaside bungalows, and each shapes the kitchen differently. Crawley's new-town houses often have a compact galley, while seaside bungalows in Worthing and Bognor Regis tend to have a small square kitchen beside the dining area.

West Sussex has mostly hard water, so limescale on taps, sinks and boiling water taps is common and a filter is worth considering. Coastal flats may have no lift, and village lanes on the edge of the Downs can be narrow for delivery lorries, so the delivery route is checked at the survey.

Building regulations, electrics and gas in Lancing

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.

Homes in the South Downs National Park, listed flint cottages and conservation areas such as central Chichester may need consent for a new external vent.

Planning ahead

Photograph the walls of your Lancing kitchen before plastering, showing where cables and pipes run, so you know where not to drill when fitting shelves later.
Before final decorating in your Lancing kitchen, check that the new worktops and floor are covered, as paint splashes are much easier to prevent than to remove.
Keep a small tin of each paint used in your Lancing kitchen, labelled with the colour and finish, for touching up marks around handles and the bin.
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 Lancing

How much does kitchen plastering and decorating cost in Lancing?

Guide prices in Lancing are about £400 to £920 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 work near Lancing as well?

Yes. As well as Lancing itself, we cover the rest of West Sussex and nearby towns such as Shoreham-by-Sea and Worthing. The process is the same wherever the kitchen is.

Do I need to replaster after removing kitchen tiles?

Usually, at least in places. Taking tiles off often pulls away the plaster skin or leaves adhesive ridges, so the wall may need skimming, patching or, where the plaster has come loose, hacking off and re-boarding. If you are retiling the same area, a flat, sound surface may be enough without a full skim. We check this once the tiles are off.

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.

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.

Kitchen plastering and decorating in neighbouring towns

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