Rendering and Skimming Contractor London

What is Rendering and Skimming? How Much Does It Cost In London

Improving or changing the exterior of your home is easily one of the most effective ways of adding value to your property, and new rendering finish is one of the cheapest ways of achieving this. Your London home’s exterior is the first thing that any visitors or potential buyers will see. So, making sure it is as appealing as possible is important, especially if the current exterior is a random mixture of mismatching materials or is in poor condition. Plus, it’s always much nicer feeling to come home to a properly finished exterior or to sit in your garden and enjoy it.

Skimming is a technique to achieve beautifully finished walls ready for decorating. It involves the application of a thin coat of plaster to create a smooth surface for papering or painting. The skim layer may be applied as a finish to a repaired plaster wall. Alternatively, skimming is used when dry lining plasterboard has been installed, to provide a perfect surface ready for painting.

It should be said that a good, skimmed finish is not easy to achieve and it is always best to be performed by a professional who has years of experience as a renderer and skimmer. The skill isn’t required in getting the plaster onto the wall or ceiling, it’s in the smoothing of the skim plaster to achieve a perfectly flat surface.

External rendering using a sand and cement ‘scratch coat’ and a finer render topcoat, followed by two coats of external masonry paint will cost in the region of £50 to £80 per square meter. Rendering and painting a typical three bedroom semi-detached house with 80m² of walls would therefore cost £4,000 and £6,400.