Cost of Plastering

How Much Does It Cost to Plaster a Room in 2024?

Are you looking to have new plastering installed? Or would you simply like to know the cost of having plaster repaired?

Our guide to plastering costs will cover a wide range of topics, including a breakdown of the supply and labour costs of having new plastering installed.

In terms of the labour costs, we will look at the average price to plaster a room, the cost to plaster a wall and the cost to plaster ceiling among other plastering jobs.

We will look at the supply costs for various types of plaster and look at other topics such as the plaster skim price and how much it might be to have plaster removed.

This guide will prove helpful if you plan to have new plastering installed or if you would simply like to expand your knowledge of the subject.

Check out this article if you're wondering what can you plaster over.

For this section, we will discuss the cost of having plastering installed, including both the labour/installation costs and supply costs.

We will look at these prices in terms of the average, estimated costs and on the basis of different types of plastering jobs such as single wall plastering and ceiling plastering.

How much you will need to spend in practice will also depend on factors such as where in the UK you live and how large the surface is that needs to be plastered.

To have a single wall plastered will likely cost about £100 to £200. The price to plaster a room may end up in the cost range of £300 to £1,200.

If you wish to have just a ceiling plastered, you can expect the plaster cost to end up at about £300 to £500 for a medium-sized ceiling.

What are the Supply Costs of Plastering?

The focus of this section is specifically the supply costs of plastering as if you were to purchase directly from the retailer.

These costs exclude any labour/installation costs. In terms of the average cost of plasterboard per metre squared, acoustic plasterboards will be around £20 to £30, moisture resistant plasterboards will be about £10 to £15, insulated plasterboard will cost around £20 to £60.

In comparison, fire-resistant plasterboards tend to have a plaster cost per m2 of approximately £15 to £35 .

Undercoat plaster will likely cost about £0.70 to £1.20 per kg, finishing plaster will end up at about £0.20 to £0.90 per kg, and the cost will be roughly £15 to £25 for 5 litres of bonding agents.

You can expect to pay per kilogram anywhere from £0.50 to £3 for hardwall plaster, £0.90 to £3 for one coat plaster, £0.40 to 1.60 for browning plaster, £1 to £2 for textured plaster and around £1.40 to £4.20 for ready-mixed plaster.

You will also likely need to pay approximately £0.05 to £0.50 per metre for plaster tape.

What are the Additional Costs of Plastering?

We will now discuss the costs of some additional work you may choose to avail of.

Interior Painting & Decorating

After having new plastering installed, you may wish to have the room painted and decorated.

This can be achieved through paint and decoration work. To have a single medium-sized room painted, you should budget for a cost of around £130 to £300.

Decorating work, like painting, tends to cost about £14 to £18 per hour, thus how much you can expect to pay for decorating will depend on the extent of the work you wish to have undertaken.

You likely won’t incur an additional flat rate since this work will be done on top of the plastering work.

New Skirting Boards

It will likely cost you about £300 to £500 to have new skirting boards installed.

If you require that the skirting boards be painted or if a room full of furniture needs to be cleared before work can begin, you can expect to pay more due to these additional expenses.

New Flooring

Depending on the surface area your new flooring needs to cover, it will likely cost about £720 to £2,900 to have new wood flooring installed.

For the installation of laminate flooring, you can expect to pay somewhere in the range of £375 to £1,625, assuming a room that has an area of 5 metres x 5 metres.

To have vinyl flooring installed will likely cost you around £110 to £1,125.

Tradesmen Costs for Plastering

In this section, we will break down the labour and tradesmen costs involved in having new plastering installed.

We will look at the prices for jobs such as plastering a single wall or the cost to plaster a room.

These costs, of course, exclude the supply/material costs.

The labour costs will come to around £100 to £200 for a single wall, £400 to £700 to skim an entire room, £700 to £1,200 to cover a whole room and the cost to plaster a ceiling will be around £150 to £750.

To have two average-sized rooms plastered is likely going to set you back £800 to £1,500 while small patch repairs may only cost between £70 and £130.

These are estimates based on the average UK rate per hour as set by professional plasterers and by also factoring in the average tradesmen costs as a fraction of the total installation cost.

How Long Does It Take to Plaster?

We will now discuss the duration it takes for different plaster jobs to be complete.

The table below looks at the length of time it will take to perform plasterwork such as plastering a single wall, plastering the ceiling and small patch repair work. In this section, we will also discuss the various additional factors that can influence the length of time it will take for plastering work to be complete.

Factors that could influence how long a plastering job will take include the size of the area that needs plastering, the state of the area, whether plasterboards are needed.

You will also need to consider whether it is only skimming that is needed, any waste removal jobs that may prove necessary and whereabouts in the UK you are situated.

Types of Plaster

We will now delve into further detail regarding the various types of plaster. We will explain what each type of plaster is, when/what it is used for, discuss their labour costs and list out their pros and cons.

In the case of each type of plaster, the labour costs are going to be about £10 to £20 per hour.

You’ll likely incur a flat rate for two hours work which will be about £20 to £40.

It will then cost you an additional £10 to £20 for every hour beyond the first two.

Undercoat Plaster Cost

This type of plaster acts as the initial coating on a new wall. It is often used on dense surfaces, low-suction surfaces, surfaces which have been treated with a bonding agent, brickwork, concrete and blockwork although it is suited to many different types of walls.

Undercoat plaster is probably going to cost you about £0.70 to £1.20 per kg.

Pros:

• Can be used on many different surface types.
• Many undercoat plaster products are relatively cheap to purchase.
• Builds up the thickness of the wall.

Cons:

• Only designed as a first coat, not the final finish.

Finishing Plaster Cost

Finishing plaster is used as the final layer of plaster on a surface. Once it has dried, painting or/and decoration can then be applied.

It is used for low to medium suction surfaces. In terms of supply costs, finishing plaster will cost around £0.20 to £0.90 per kg.

Pros:

• One of the cheaper types of plaster
• Can provide a smooth and high-quality finish if you purchase the right product
• Can be used on many low to medium suction surfaces

Cons:

• Not well suited to low-suction backgrounds

Bonding Plaster Cost

This form of plaster is a type of undercoat plaster. It is a particularly versatile type of plaster.

It is often applied to walls or ceilings as an undercoat. To purchase bonding plaster will likely cost you about £2 to £3 per kg.

The cheapest bonding plaster products (often less than £2 per kg) can be found through online stores such as eBay and Amazon although on eBay many products appear to be second-hand.

Pros:

• High level of versatility
• Works on many different types of surfaces

Cons:

• Generally not as cheap as most undercoat plaster products or finishing plaster
• More limited sales than other types of plaster

Hardwall Plaster Cost

Another type of undercoat plaster, hardwall plaster offers a strong level of impact resistance and a rapid drying time.

It is the most commonly used type of undercoat plaster. It can be used as an undercoat on most surfaces as the first layer of plaster.

In terms of its material costs, it is available for about £0.50 to £3 per kg.

Pros:

• Resistant to impacts
• Rapid drying time
• Very common
• Can insulate sound

Cons:

• Some hardwall plaster products may be relatively expensive

One Coat Plaster Cost

One coat plaster can act as an undercoat or a finishing plaster. It may be used on a wide range of indoor surfaces such as brick, blockwork, concrete and plasterboard.

You’ll likely need to spend about £0.90 to £3 per kg.

Pros:

• Can be used as an undercoat or finishing plaster
• Not too expensive

Cons:

• Not suitable for outdoor use

Browning Plaster Cost

Browning plaster is another example of an undercoat plaster. It tends to be pink or grey in colour. It is often used on surfaces like bricks and building blocks. It is well suited to various other absorbent surfaces. In terms of the cost, you can expect to pay between £0.40 and £1.60 per kg for browning plaster.

Pros:

• Inexpensive type of plaster
• Commonly used
• Suitable for many absorbent surfaces

Cons:

• Not designed for exterior use

Textured Plaster Cost

This plaster type is any finish that has a complex surface which has not been polished, giving it a textured look and feel.

It is used as the final layer of plaster on a surface. The cost of textured plaster is about £1 to £2 per kg.

Pros:

• Offers an interesting plaster finish to a surface
• Not particularly expensive
• A textured wall can hide blemishes and imperfections well

Cons:

• May prove more difficult to repair

Ready-mixed Plaster Cost

A ready-mixed plaster is that which is prepared and made to have a light consistency so that minimal preparation will be required on your part or on the part of a hired professional to start working with it.

Generally, ready-mixed plaster is used for interior surfaces. It’s going to cost you about £1.40 to £4.20 per kg.

Pros:

• Does not require as much preparation
• Comes with a light ready-made consistency
• Ready-mixed plaster can be employed for quick repair work

Cons:

• Can be quite expensive
• Not usually suitable for exterior use

Damp-Resistant Plaster Cost

This type of plaster, as the name suggests, is designed to reduce moisture/dampness levels on a surface. It can also help to prevent salt migration inside the walls.

It is often used in houses with high moisture levels. It will likely cost you between £1 and £2 per kg to purchase a damp-resistant plaster product.

Pros:

• Can reduce dampness levels on a surface
• Damp-resistant plaster can also prevent or reduce salt migration in walls
• Relatively cheap

Cons:

• Not as many products are available online as compared to many other types of plaster

Patching Plaster Cost

Patching plaster is designed to give surfaces a smooth look and feel as well as increase the strength and firmness of walls.

It may be used, as the name infers, to fix patches in a surface although patching plaster may simply be used to improve the quality of the background as a whole.

Patching plaster may cost anywhere from £1.70 to £10 per kg. While some products are in the lower end of this range, many costly products are available for about £6 to £8 for a kilogram.

While these are quite expensive, you may not need to use too much patching plaster thus for a given bag of patching plaster; you may find it is no greater than the bags of plaster price for most products.

Pros:

• Patching plaster can give a surface a smooth appearance and feel
• Can increase the strength and firmness of walls
• Can fix patches on a surface

Cons:

• Can be quite expensive

How Much Does Repairing Plaster Cost?

For this section, we will discuss how much different types of plaster repairs cost.

For each type of repair, we will look at how the issue is solved and what the labour and supply costs are for each repair.

Common plaster repairs are fixing cracks, holes, loose plaster and blown plaster and repairing a ceiling.

Another common repair is that of sealing plaster.

Ceiling Repair

A ceiling that has a patch is fixed by first removing damaged plaster. Next, a professional will have a perfectly-shaped plaster patch to go in place of where the old plaster was present. Plasterboard nails will then be used to nail the patch to the joists.

A PVA solution will then be employed to keep the new plaster in place before a plasterboard jointing compound can be used over the joint.

Then, the jointing tape will be pressed into it. An additional and wide layer of compound will be applied with a coating knife. A sponge will then be utilised to feather each of the edges.

After it has dried, it may be sanded and subsequently decorated. The cost of having a ceiling repaired will likely come to about £150 to £200 per day; thus, the total cost will ultimately depend on how much work is required.

Of the total mentioned above, the supply costs would likely end up about £75 to £85 with the labour costs totalling roughly £50 to £80. Waste removal will be an additional expense which is the third cost component of the subtotal mentioned above.

Cracks

To fix plastering cracks, they will first need to be scored open to their edges, such as with a putty knife. Paper drywall tape will then be cut based on appropriate measurements so that it can fill the crack. A thin layer of joint compound will then be laid over the plaster crack.

The drywall tape will be applied shortly after, directly on top of the crack with a knife of about six inches in length. A joint compound layer then needs to be laid over the taped area. The joint compound will need to cover a few inches beyond the taped area as well as covering the taped area itself.

Next, sandpaper can be used to lightly sand over once the joint compound has dried completely. A third layer of joint compound and additional sanding will then also be used to finish the job.

To have a cracked ceiling fixed may cost somewhere in the range of £200 to £400 although of course, it will depend heavily on how much work is needed.

The above price estimate assumes about 3-4 hours of work. Out of this total, you can expect the supply costs to land around £120 to £150 while the labour/installation costs will likely end up being about £90 to £140.

Again, waste removal will prove an additional cost.

Holes

One way that a hole in plaster is repaired is by cutting out a square area surrounding the plaster hole so that new plaster can be designed and installed with the exact size necessary to fit the square opening.

Filler or finishing plaster may be used after the new plaster to secure it in place.

As with fixing a ceiling patch, this job will probably cost you between £150 and £200 with £75 to £85 of the total being attributed to material costs, £50 to £80 to labour costs and perhaps £25 to £35 for waste disposal.

Loose Plaster

If the plaster is loose or sagging, it may need to be replaced, and new plaster put in its place, in a similar process as with the other repairs already mentioned.

However, a replacement will not prove necessary if it is only slightly loose.

In this case, the plaster can be reattached with the use of long drywall screws that have plaster washers fitted to them.

The plaster can be reattached into the wood lath, wall studs or ceiling joists depending on the type of surface that is being dealt with.

It’s probably going to cost you somewhere in the range of £75 to £125 to have loose plaster repaired or/and replaced.

The supply costs should total about £40 to £50 with the labour costs landing around £35 to £45.

There may or may not be waste disposal expenses involved which would depend on whether or not you are having old plaster removed.

Sealing Plaster

In order to seal plaster, a sealant such as mist coat will be applied to the plaster. Several coats may be needed.

To have plaster sealed may cost you around £65 to £130. Depending on the surface area of plaster which you want to have sealed, it’s likely going to cost about £15 to £30 in terms of supply costs. While the labour costs may come to somewhere in the range of £50 to £100.

The labour costs assume the inclusion of a minimum flat rate of two hours’ work, which is likely to be around £50.

Blown Plaster

If plaster has become blown, any mould present will need to be removed. The area will then be protected with a damp seal or some form of stain repellent paint before after the area has fully dried, the surface will be repainted. You’ll probably need to spend around £100 to £200 for small repairs relating to blown plaster. Of this total, about £20 to £40 will be attributed to supply costs while labour costs will make up around £80 to £160 of the subtotal.

How Much Does Skimming Cost?

In this section, we will look at what skimming is, when it’s used, how you can tell if your wall requires skimming and the plaster skimming cost.

Skimming is essentially the process of using a finish plaster either on a non-plastered wall or in order to re-plaster a wall. This is achieved by applying a thin coat of plaster.

A skimmed surface is also intended to be particularly smooth. It is often used to add a smooth finish to a wall (whether previously plastered or not) so that paint or wallpaper can be applied well.

You may choose to have a surface skimmed if it is full of imperfections or/and has issues with heat or sound insulation.

You will, of course, need to have the right type of plaster skimmed onto a surface based on what qualities you are seeking to add to your home’s surfaces.

If you wish to install new wallpaper or paint your walls or ceilings, you may find that the surfaces are not sufficiently smooth, in which case skimming could help.

A skimming job will first involve your walls or/and ceilings being prepared, such as with a drywall primer.

Joint compound will then be rolled onto the surfaces before it is smoothed out to achieve a smooth aesthetic. Another layer or two will be added.

After the wall has dried, it may be sanded with sandpaper.

In terms of the skim plaster cost, you can expect the average price to plaster a room through skimming to be around £400 to £700.

How Much Does It Cost to Remove Plaster?

The focus of the final section of our plastering costs guide is the cost of having plaster removed.

You may choose to have plaster removed because it is old and worn beyond repair and needs to be replaced.

In other cases, you may need to remove it for purposes of insulation (for sound or heat) or wiring. It will likely cost you somewhere in the range of £90 to £150 to have old plastering removed, based on the size of an average room in the UK.

Waste removal costs will probably come to around £50 to £200 depending on how much plastering you have removed and how it is disposed of.

You can dispose of plaster with a skip or through a ‘man and van’ service such as that offered by clear a bee.

FAQs

Q: How long does plaster take to dry?

A: Plaster takes about 4-5 days to dry.

Q: What happens if you paint plaster too soon?

A: If you paint plaster too quickly, it can result in the paint peeling.

Q: Why does plaster crack?

A: Cracks may appear due to the plaster being old, as a result of a poor installation or as a result of the plaster expanding and shrinking while drying.

Q: How much plaster do I need?

A: The amount of plaster you’ll need for a given job will depend on the size of the surface you wish to cover. A plaster coverage calculator can help you figure out how much you’ll need.

Q: How much does plaster cost?

A: Plaster could cost anywhere from £1 to £4 per kg. It depends largely on the type of plaster you choose to purchase and the specific product.

Author: Heather B

I am a seasoned copywriter from Liverpool - who after graduating with a BA (Hons) degree in English Media and Cultural Studies - went on to specialise in the creation of business and lifestyle copy for a wide range of industries across the UK and USA.