Skimming is the most common plastering job in Edinburgh homes: a thin finishing coat, usually 2 to 3mm, applied over existing plaster or fresh plasterboard to leave walls and ceilings smooth and ready for paint. It is quicker and cheaper than full replastering, but it is not always the right fix. This guide explains when skimming works, what it costs locally, and how to prepare so the job goes smoothly.
A skim coat is a finishing layer of gypsum plaster, typically multi-finish, trowelled over a sound background in two thin passes. It deals well with hairline cracks, old Artex, scuffed or patchy surfaces, and the slightly tired walls you find in most tenement flats and post-war houses across Edinburgh, Fife and the Borders.
It is not a structural repair. If the existing plaster is blown (it sounds hollow when you tap it), crumbling, or damp, skimming over it just hides the problem for a year or two. In older stone-built properties, especially tenements and Borders cottages with lath and plaster walls, sections sometimes need hacked off and patched with backing plaster or reboarded before any skim goes on. A decent plasterer will tap-test the walls before quoting rather than after starting.
Prices depend on room size, ceiling height, how much preparation the surfaces need and access, so treat these as guides rather than guarantees. As a rough range in and around Edinburgh, skimming a standard bedroom (walls only) tends to sit around £250 to £450, a living room £350 to £600, and a ceiling £150 to £350 on top. A full two-bedroom flat, walls and ceilings, often lands somewhere between £1,500 and £3,000.
Things that push a quote up include Artex removal or overboarding, high tenement ceilings that need proper access towers, blown patches that need cut out and filled first, and cornice work. Getting two or three itemised quotes is sensible; the itemising matters more than the number, because it tells you whether preparation is included or will appear later as an extra.
For a typical room, expect one to two days on site. The plasterer will prepare the background first: scraping loose material, applying PVA or a bonding agent so the skim adheres, and taping joints on any new plasterboard. The skim itself goes on in two coats and is trowelled up as it firms, which is why plasterers seem to hover over a wall for hours; that polishing stage is what gives you the flat finish.
You can save time and money by clearing the room as far as possible before anyone arrives. Fresh plaster then needs to dry before decorating: usually 3 to 7 days for a skim over existing plaster, longer over new boards or in an unheated room in a Scottish winter. It dries from dark brown to a pale uniform pink. Paint it too early and you trap moisture; when it is ready, use a watered-down first coat of emulsion (a mist coat) rather than vinyl paint straight on.
Ask whether the quote covers preparation, how blown or damp areas will be handled if found, and how dust and floors will be protected, which matters in shared tenement stairs. Ask to see recent local work or photos of finished jobs similar to yours, and confirm the finish standard: skimmed walls should need no filling before a mist coat.
Be wary of anyone happy to skim straight over damp staining without finding the cause, or who quotes a whole flat without seeing it. In listed buildings and some older properties, lime plaster rather than gypsum may be the appropriate material, so mention the age of your property when you enquire.