Kitchen plastering and decorating in Leicester

Is kitchen plastering and decorating right for your Leicester kitchen?

Some people in Leicester are keeping their units but want the whole room redecorated in a tougher, wipeable paint after years of steam and cooking marks.

After a knock-through in a Leicester home, the new opening, beam and surrounding walls need plastering before the new kitchen goes in, then decorating once the plaster has dried. Homes right across Leicester are covered, as are nearby places such as Humberstone, Oadby and the villages in between.

What is in a typical job?

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

Chases around new sockets, cable runs and pipework filled and made good
Loose or blown plaster hacked off back to the wall where needed
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
Ceilings, walls, skirting, architraves and door frames decorated to finish the room
Edges around units, worktops and splashbacks cut in neatly at the end

What does kitchen plastering and decorating cost in Leicester?

These guide ranges include VAT at 20% and are adjusted for prices in the East Midlands. We confirm your price in writing after a free survey visit. For the East Midlands, these ranges are close to the national figures.

What does kitchen plastering and decorating cost in Leicester?
Typical project	Guide price
Skim kitchen walls and ceiling over sound plasterPrepared and skimmed	£340–£780
Hack off, re-board and skim a kitchenOld plaster removed back to the wall	£870–£1,700
Kitchen decoratedWalls, ceiling and woodwork	£390–£1,200

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 Leicester

In and around Leicester, homes range across Victorian terraces, 1930s semis, post-war estate houses and new-build estates. Leicester's Victorian terraces often have a long galley behind the back room, while 1930s semis tend to have a small square kitchen with a door to the garden.

Densely parked terraced streets and homes without rear access can make unloading slow, so delivery times and the route for long worktops are worth agreeing early. Leicestershire's water is mostly moderately hard to hard, so limescale on taps and boiling water taps is likely and a filter or softener can help.

Building regulations, electrics and gas in Leicester

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 buildings and conservation areas, including some village centres and older parts of Leicester, may need consent for a new external vent or changes to historic features.

Planning ahead

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.
If your Leicestershire home was built before 2000, arrange an asbestos test on any textured ceiling before plastering is booked, so the programme is not held up.
Ventilate your Leicester kitchen gently while new plaster dries, but avoid blasting heaters at it, as forcing it dry can cause cracking.
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 Leicester

How much does kitchen plastering and decorating cost in Leicester?

Guide prices in Leicester are about £340 to £780 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 Leicester as well?

Yes. As well as Leicester itself, we cover the rest of Leicestershire and nearby towns such as Humberstone and Oadby. The process is the same wherever the kitchen is.

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.

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 Leicester: