The Hidden Dangers of Insulated Plasterboard: Avoiding Damp and Mould
Insulated plasterboard is one of the most cost-effective ways to warm a cold solid-wall room, and Bristol has thousands of them — but across over 40-50 properties we have worked on, we have found that fitting it wrong can trap condensation and cause the exact damp the homeowner was trying to escape. Of those jobs, […]
Can You Plaster Over Tiles? What 50+ Bristol Jobs Actually Show
Yes you can plaster over tiles, but across 50-60 jobs, our findings show 40% are suitable as-is, 40% need prep, and 20% we advise against — whether it works comes down to one thing almost nobody checks properly: whether every tile is still firmly stuck to the wall. Naturally, homeowners look for ways to avoid […]
Dot and Dab vs Wet Plastering — An Honest Comparison From a Bristol Installer
We fit both dot and dab and wet plastering across Bristol and Bath, and here is what catches most people out: dot and dab is sold as the modern, sensible, cost-effective choice — and on the right wall it is — but on Bristol’s older solid-walled houses it quietly causes two problems the quote never […]
Repairing & Restoring Ceiling Roses & Coving (Period Bristol Homes)
On a Georgian terraced townhouse in Bath, the intricate ceiling plaster had been written off by a general builder as beyond repair. A contractor advised ripping the original cornice and roses out and replacing them for ~£4,500, but because we thoroughly surveyed the room, we identified that the damage was largely superficial and restored the […]
Does Plastering and Rendering Add Value to a House? An Honest Answer For Bristol
Across several hundred plastering and rendering jobs in Bristol and Bath, we have found that plastering and rendering protect value far more reliably than they add it, and only when the finish suits the property. The work that truly moves the needle is not the eye-catching decorative detail, but the essential repairs that remove a […]
White Salts on Plaster and Brick (Efflorescence) — What It Means and How to Fix It Properly
Across 50-60 call-outs in Bristol and Bath, 70% of white salt cases are harmless drying-out issues, while 30% are damp symptoms; salts that appear once and stop are harmless, but those that keep returning are a damp symptom, and washing or vinegar actually makes the recurring kind worse because it re-dissolves the salts back into […]
Microcement vs Venetian Plaster — An Honest Comparison From a Bristol Installer Who Fits Both
Microcement vs Venetian Plaster — An Honest Comparison From a Bristol Installer Who Fits Both We fit both microcement and Venetian plaster across Bristol and Bath, and the most surprising thing for most homeowners is that these two finishes look similar in a showroom but behave completely differently in a home. In a showroom they […]
Why Do Plaster Corners and Edges Crack? (And How They’re Actually Fixed)
Why Do Plaster Corners and Edges Crack? (And How They’re Actually Fixed) Across our 50-60 reported jobs in the Bristol and Bath region, our data shows that the vast majority of corner cracks are caused by specific underlying bead issues — a cracked corner is almost never a structural problem, it’s simply the most vulnerable […]
How to Repair Crumbling Plaster Walls — What a Bristol Victorian Terrace Taught Us
How to Repair Crumbling Plaster Walls — What a Bristol Victorian Terrace Taught Us On a late-Victorian mid-terrace in Easton, Bristol, a homeowner found crumbling, powdery plaster after stripping wallpaper — they were quoted £3,800 to strip the whole room, but the reality was three distinct, manageable problems that we fixed for £1,900 while keeping […]
Why Tanking Is Often the Wrong Answer for Your Damp Walls
Why Tanking Is Often the Wrong Answer for Your Damp Walls Search “how to fix a damp cellar” and almost every answer points you toward tanking. But tanking slurry isn’t a damp treatment — it’s a waterproof render coating that seals moisture behind a barrier. Across the damp properties we’ve assessed in Bristol and Bath, […]