Kitchen plastering and decorating in Taunton

Why kitchen plastering and decorating for a Taunton home?

When new sockets, lighting and pipework have been chased into the walls of a Taunton kitchen, plastering and making good is what hides the routes cleanly.

After a knock-through in a Taunton home, the new opening, beam and surrounding walls need plastering before the new kitchen goes in, then decorating once the plaster has dried. Taunton sits about 41 miles south-west of Bath, and our Somerset coverage takes in everything in between.

What does the job involve?

Here is what usually goes into kitchen plastering and decorating, adjusted to your Taunton kitchen after we have measured it:

Diluted mist coat on new plaster, then moisture-resistant, wipeable kitchen paint
Loose or blown plaster hacked off back to the wall where needed
Free survey visit to check walls and ceilings and give an itemised quote
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
Chases around new sockets, cable runs and pipework filled and made good

Guide prices for kitchen plastering and decorating in Taunton

Use these ranges to plan your budget. They include VAT, reflect costs in the South West, and are firmed up once we have seen your Taunton kitchen. For the South West, these ranges are close to the national figures.

Guide prices for kitchen plastering and decorating in Taunton
Typical project	Guide price
Skim kitchen walls and ceiling over sound plasterPrepared and skimmed	£360–£820
Hack off, re-board and skim a kitchenOld plaster removed back to the wall	£930–£1,900
Kitchen decoratedWalls, ceiling and woodwork	£410–£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%.

Fitting kitchens in older and newer Taunton homes

Across Somerset you will often find Georgian townhouses, Victorian terraces, stone cottages and post-war estate houses, and each shapes the kitchen differently. Georgian townhouses in Bath often have kitchens at lower-ground level or in flats on upper floors, while Victorian terraces in Taunton and Yeovil tend to have a narrow back galley.

Steep streets and controlled parking in Bath, upper-floor flats without lifts and narrow village lanes can each make delivering worktops slower. Somerset's mains water is mostly hard, so limescale on taps and boiling water taps is common, and a filter or softener can help keep them working well.

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

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.

Bath is a World Heritage city with many listed buildings, and homes in Exmoor National Park or conservation areas may need consent for new vents or internal changes.

Practical advice for Taunton homeowners

If your Somerset home was built before 2000, arrange an asbestos test on any textured ceiling before plastering is booked, so the programme is not held up.
Before final decorating in your Taunton 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 Taunton kitchen, labelled with the colour and finish, for touching up marks around handles and the bin.
Older homes with solid walls may have lime plaster, which is often better repaired with lime than gypsum, particularly where the building is listed.

Questions about kitchen plastering and decorating in Taunton

How much does kitchen plastering and decorating cost in Taunton?

Guide prices in Taunton are about £360 to £820 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.

Which parts of Taunton do you work in?

All of them. Our Somerset coverage takes in the whole of Taunton, including the TA1 postcode district, as well as surrounding towns such as Bridgwater. If you are unsure, send us your postcode.

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.

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.

Kitchen plastering and decorating in neighbouring towns

The same service is available a short drive from Taunton, including: