Kitchen plastering and decorating in Reading

Why do people in Reading choose kitchen plastering and decorating?

Homeowners in Berkshire with textured ceilings in older kitchens often want them smoothed, and the first step is an asbestos test if the house dates from before 2000.

If your Reading 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 work throughout Reading (RG1, RG6 and RG30) and across the wider Berkshire area.

What is included in the work?

Your written quote lists everything included. For kitchen plastering and decorating, that normally means:

Loose or blown plaster hacked off back to the wall where needed
Chases around new sockets, cable runs and pipework filled and made good
Diluted mist coat on new plaster, then moisture-resistant, wipeable kitchen paint
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

What does kitchen plastering and decorating cost in Reading?

As a starting point for Reading, these ranges include VAT at 20% and allow for typical labour costs in the South East. Labour in the South East generally costs more than the UK average, which lifts these ranges a little.

What does kitchen plastering and decorating cost in Reading?
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%.

House types around Reading and what they mean for a kitchen

You will find Victorian and Edwardian terraces, 1930s semis, post-war estate houses and new-build town houses throughout Berkshire. Edwardian terraces often have a long galley running back from the dining room, while newer three-storey town houses usually have a compact kitchen on the ground floor.

Expect hard water in most of Berkshire, much of it drawn from chalk, so limescale on taps is common and a boiling water tap benefits from a filter. Busy town-centre streets and permit parking zones can make unloading slow, so a parking permit or bay suspension may need arranging before delivery day.

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

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 new extractor vent on a street-facing wall can need permission in a conservation area, and listed homes may need consent for internal changes affecting historic features.

Worth knowing before the fit

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.
Pick the final paint colour for your Reading kitchen while the plaster dries, testing samples on the dried mist coat rather than on bare plaster.
Photograph the walls of your Reading kitchen before plastering, showing where cables and pipes run, so you know where not to drill when fitting shelves later.
Whether a wall can be skimmed or needs hacking off is often clear only once the old tiles and units are off, so allow some contingency.

Questions about kitchen plastering and decorating in Reading

How much does kitchen plastering and decorating cost in Reading?

Kitchen plastering and decorating in Reading 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 Reading?

Yes. We work across Reading, including the RG1, RG6 and RG30 postcode districts, and nearby towns such as Henley-on-Thames and Wokingham. Book a free survey visit and we will arrange a time that suits you.

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.

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.

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 near Reading

Close to Reading? We cover these nearby towns too: