West Sussex, BN43
Plastering across BN43, from Shoreham Beach new builds to Old Shoreham cottages
The Brighton Plasterer covers plastering throughout Shoreham-by-Sea and BN43. On Shoreham Beach that means long open plan ceilings, taped board and square reveals to large glazing. In Old Shoreham and the town centre it means lath, lime and careful repair. James specifies to the building in front of him.
Plastering in Shoreham-by-Sea, and what is different about it
Shoreham gives a plasterer two entirely different rooms to stand in. On the Beach the houses are recent, the ceilings run a long way without a break, and the walls are boarded, so the work is about joints, angles and getting a big open space to read as one flat plane. A mile up the Adur in Old Shoreham the rooms are small, the walls are soft, and the priority is not disturbing them.
Open plan is unforgiving. A kitchen and living space knocked into one can carry seven or eight metres of unbroken ceiling, and low sun through a wall of glazing will find any dip in it. Board layout matters before plaster does: joints staggered, fixings at the right centres, noggins where two sheets meet, and scrim or tape run through properly. Once that is right, the skim can be laid and trowelled as one continuous pass instead of being chased around in sections while it goes off.
Large glazed openings are the other signature down on the Beach. Deep reveals, a cill return and often a steel above, which puts three different backgrounds within half a metre of each other. Steel is isolated and meshed, board is taped, and beads are set to a line so the reveal stays square when the blind goes up. Get that wrong and a crack turns up along the same junction the first cold snap after you move in, right where you look at it every day.
Old Shoreham and the streets behind the High Street are the opposite job. Older brick and flint, lath ceilings, lime mortar, and the Adur a few hundred metres away keeping the ground damp. Plaster there is chosen so the wall can keep drying outwards, and any wet patch is investigated before it gets covered up. A tidal river next door does not automatically mean rising damp, but it does mean a wall that has never been properly dry takes longer to settle after work.
Also covered from Shoreham-by-Sea: Southwick, Lancing, Kingston Buci, Shoreham Beach. For the full picture of Shoreham-by-Sea and every service there, see the Shoreham-by-Sea page.
What Shoreham-by-Sea needs watching for
Board layout before plaster
On a long open plan ceiling the joints, fixing centres and noggins decide whether it cracks. Those get checked and corrected before any finish coat is mixed on site.
Three backgrounds, one reveal
Steel, block and board often meet within half a metre around modern glazing. Each is prepared differently and reinforcement is carried across the change so the junction stays shut.
Riverside walls settle slowly
Properties near the Adur sit on ground that stays damp, so new plaster on an old solid wall takes longer to dry there than the same job further inland.
Plastering nearby
How the job runs
Step by step in Shoreham-by-Sea
The order below is how a plastering job actually runs on the kind of property Shoreham-by-Sea is made of. For the full method and the materials behind it, see the plastering page.
01Walk the whole space
Long ceilings and open plan rooms are checked end to end for board joints, level changes and where the light will fall, since that decides how the surface has to be worked.
02Fix the substrate
Loose boards are refixed, noggins added where sheets meet unsupported, and any steel or block junction is isolated and meshed before a trowel comes anywhere near it.
03Tape, bead and set out
Joints are scrimmed or taped, angle and stop beads are set to a line at every reveal and cill return, and the whole run is sighted through before plastering starts.
04Plaster in one pass
The ceiling or wall is laid and trowelled as a single continuous run so there is no cold joint mid surface, then flattened through several passes as the plaster firms.
Straight answers
When it is not the right answer here
- If a crack keeps returning at a structural junction, it needs a movement joint rather than another skim across it.
- A wall that is wet from the ground up will not be fixed by plastering, so the cause is found first.
- Old lime fabric in Old Shoreham should not be finished in gypsum, however much quicker that would be.
Plastering, Shoreham-by-Sea
Plastering in Shoreham-by-Sea, questions answered
What people in Shoreham-by-Sea ask before booking plastering, answered properly rather than in one line.
How do you stop a long open plan ceiling cracking?
Most of the answer is in the boarding rather than the plaster. Staggered joints, correct fixing centres, noggins under unsupported edges and properly run tape do the work. After that the skim is laid in one continuous pass so there is no cold joint in the middle.
Why do cracks appear where a steel meets plasterboard?
Steel and board move and conduct heat completely differently, so the join is the weakest line in the room. Isolating the steel, meshing across the change and carrying reinforcement through the junction is what keeps that line closed.
Do Shoreham Beach houses need different plaster to older ones?
Generally yes. Newer Beach properties are boarded, so the work is taping, jointing and skimming. Older stock in the town and Old Shoreham is solid walled and often lime based, which needs a backing coat or a breathable system instead.
Can you plaster around large glazed openings and keep the reveals square?
Yes, and it comes down to setting out. Beads are fixed to a line, the cill return is checked against the head, and the reveal is sighted through before plastering. That is what makes a blind or a shutter sit properly afterwards.
How long does a new build room take to dry out before painting?
A skim over board in a heated, ventilated room is often ready in about a week. A room that also holds construction moisture from screed or new blockwork takes considerably longer, and painting it early is what causes peeling later.
Is the ground damp near the Adur a problem for new plaster?
It can be. A high water table keeps solid walls wetter for longer, so drying takes more time and any existing damp needs diagnosing before the wall is closed up. It does not mean every riverside wall has rising damp.
Do you work on occupied houses in Shoreham town centre?
Yes, most of the time. Rooms are sheeted and doorways sealed, work runs in a sequence that keeps the kitchen and bathroom usable, and waste goes out at the end of each day rather than accumulating.
How is a plastering price worked out for a Shoreham property?
By looking at it. James measures the areas, checks the substrate and the access, then sends a written figure covering preparation, materials and clearing up. The visit is free and there is no obligation to go ahead.
Plastering in Shoreham-by-Sea? Call James
Free quotes across Shoreham-by-Sea and Southwick, Lancing, with a written price before anything starts.