Plastering cost after rewire?

lucas20042004

Hello,

I'm looking for a guide as to how much plastering might cost after chasing the walls? For example the average cost to fill channel from ceiling to socket.

I can't get quotes yet as the work hasn't been done, but I wanted to know roughly what to expect.

I'm based in Surrey by the way.

Cheers

gwynlas

It would probably be best of the entire walls were reskimmed rather than trying to fill in chased channels though you could possibly do this yourself in the short term using filler and sanding it down in prder to paint.

FreeBear

Budget £200 to £300 per man per day. Material costs will be minimal and one person should be able to do most of the chases in a day. Just make sure sockets & switches have been removed, and wrap a bit of masking tape round the tabs where the screws go.

Personally, I'd get a tub of Knauf Fill & Finish, trowel it in to the chases and leave to dry. Then go over it with a damp sponge float to blend in with the rest of the wall. But having done a plastering course and gained confidence, I'd grab a bag of Multifinish from B&Q and slap it in. Build it up in layers, giving it an hour or so to set between each one. Paint some dilute PVA or SBR in the chase before starting to reduce suction and improve adhesion.

FFHillbilly

it's the sort of job plasterers don't like, and the sort of job you can easily do to the same standard I think just watch plenty of videos on youtube before you start
if you get someone to do it they either have to wait around all day for the stuff to go off so they can finish it, or come back the day after, so it adds a lot of time.

ThisIsWeird

Hi Lucas.
As suggested above, this is a perfect DIY task as nigh-on perfect results can be pretty much guaranteed - given enough time, dependent on expertise - and an equally frustrating job for a pro plasterer. And, unless they come back once it's all fully dried to give it a final once-over, their finish will very likely not be perfect, through no fault of theirs. 
So, it's time-consuming, but not hard. 

Doozergirl

How old is the house? 

It's not exactly a DIY job if the plaster is ancient, blown, and starts falling off the walls! 

If it's a newer house, maybe. 

stuart45

In theory it's a relatively simple job, but on painted walls you can often see where they were chased out.  I'm looking at one now. 

ThisIsWeird

Hmm, yes, that one's pretty obvious, Stu.
I suspect many plasterers dislike this sort of job? It's a bit MickeyMouse - not a 'proper spread' - but also needs time to get right. I cannot see it being achieved with complete success unless they come back when it's fully dried and go over it with 180grit.
Even then, if the fill has actually shrunk - and good chance it has - it'll need a further smear-and-sand.
Even then, when it's painted, there is every chance the filled channels will expand fractionally more than the surrounding walls, so will need another 180ing after the base coat has dried.
Certainly been my experience
One of these jobs that's best done DIY

FreeBear

ThisIsWeird said: I suspect many plasterers dislike this sort of job? It's a bit MickeyMouse - not a 'proper spread' - but also needs time to get right. I cannot see it being achieved with complete success unless they come back when it's fully dried and go over it with 180grit.
Even then, if the fill has actually shrunk - and good chance it has - it'll need a further smear-and-sand.

One does not sand Multifinish - It sets very hard. It is quite easy to get a good level smooth finish when filling in chases - I have done it on a number of occasions myself (and no sanding required). A professional plasterer would be able to slap a bit of plaster in, hit it a couple of times with a finishing trowel, and then disappear off home.

Even if you were to use dry wall mud, an acceptable finish should be achievable straight from the trowel. Perhaps a light sand to blend in the edges, but certainly not multiple "smear and sand".

ThisIsWeird

An invisible job straight off the trowel? Sorry, FreeBear, I doubt that very much