Easiest answer: somewhere between £200 and £4,000, depending what you're having done.

Useless answer, that. Let me actually break it down.

Most plastering quotes get muddled because the single biggest variable isn't the size of the wall — it's the state of what's behind it. A sound, paint-ready surface that just needs a fresh skim is one number. A wall with knocked-about plaster, old patches, damp staining and 1970s wallpaper paste under it is more like double. Sometimes triple.

Here's roughly what we charge for the jobs we do most across Mendip and the wider Somerset area in early 2026.

A skim coat over an existing wall

For a single room — say a 4×4m bedroom with reasonably sound walls — you're looking at £600–£900 for a full skim coat including the ceiling. That's labour, materials, dust-sheets, and we hoover up before we leave.

The variation in that range comes down to access (top-floor flat with no parking is slower than a ground-floor cottage with the van right outside) and what shape the existing plaster is in. We charge slightly less if we can skim straight on. Slightly more if we've got to fill, scrim and seal first.

A whole-house re-skim

Three-bedroom house, full re-skim of every room including ceilings: £3,500–£5,500. Usually 6–10 working days depending on size. We do these in stages so you've still got somewhere to live while we work.

Patch repairs

Patch jobs are awkward because the prep is the job. Filling a hole, scrim-taping a crack, then feathering the new plaster into the old without leaving an obvious patch line — that's the skill. £180–£350 for a small to medium patch.

If you've got several patch areas across one wall, sometimes it's cheaper to skim the whole wall than do five separate patches. We'll tell you which is better when we quote.

External render — patch repairs

Render coming off a gable wall in a wind-driven rain spot is a Mendip classic. Patch render repair runs £300–£800 depending on how high up it is and how much scaffold or tower we need. Full house re-rendering — usually because the existing system has failed or been wrong from the start — is £4,000–£8,000+ depending on size and which system we're putting on.

Lime plaster on period properties

If you've got a Bath, Frome or Wells stone-walled property, especially one that's listed, we'd be using lime plaster — not gypsum. Lime is more expensive both in materials and in labour (it takes longer because each coat has to dry before the next). Add roughly 30–50% to the equivalent gypsum job. It also lasts longer and doesn't trap damp behind it, so it's worth the extra on a property that needs it.

What plastering doesn't include

A lot of people assume the plasterer will paint afterwards. We don't — plastering and painting are different trades, with different drying times and different prep. A fresh plaster coat needs about 7–10 days to fully dry before paint, and you usually want a mist coat (watered-down emulsion) on first to seal it.

We do also offer painting, but as a separate booked job. If you want both, we'll quote them together and book them with the right gap between.

What can shift the price up

A few things genuinely make a job more expensive, and a few that shouldn't but sometimes do:

Genuinely more: ceilings (overhead work is slower), period or listed properties (lime, conservation rules), water damage (you've got to find and fix the leak first), and access issues (top floor, narrow stairs, tight parking).

Shouldn't but sometimes does: "decorative" or "feature" finishes that are just regular plaster with a fancy name. We charge the same whether you're calling it a smooth finish or a polished plaster — what matters is the technique, not the marketing word.

Getting a real number

The figures above are for guidance — actual quotes vary on every job. We come round, take a proper look, and email a written quote within 24 hours. Free, no commitment. If the price is too high, you walk away owing nothing.

If you're in the Mendip area and weighing up a plastering job, give us a ring on 07516 555 377 or drop us a message. We'll come and have a look.