Full House Re-skim by a Plasterer in Newham, East London

This project was carried out at a Victorian terraced house in Newham, East London, postcode E6. The property features original period detailing including a turned-spindle timber staircase and ornate ceiling coving — both typical of late Victorian residential construction across East London. The house had been occupied for many years without any significant plastering work, and the accumulated layers of old paint and deteriorating plaster across multiple rooms had reached a point where a full re-skim throughout the entire house was the only viable long-term solution.

The images show the hallway area at the base of the staircase, which is a clear focal point of the property and the area most affected by plaster deterioration. The walls had been stripped back, exposing the original brick substrate and the remnants of old backing plaster — visible as reddish-brown bare brick and mortar in the inset photo. In the main image, the walls already had a scratch coat applied, showing the mid-stage of the re-skim process. Dust sheets were laid across the floor. The ceiling had been freshly skimmed and the original coving preserved and cleaned. Loose and blown sections of the old sand-and-cement render had been removed entirely prior to replastering.

The scope of work covered a full house re-skim across multiple rooms of this Victorian terraced house in Newham E6. The hallway and staircase area — visible in the photos — was a central part of the project, with walls stripped back to brick before new plaster was applied. The ceiling in the hallway was re-skimmed and the period coving was carefully retained and cleaned. The inset image confirms that the walls adjacent to the staircase were fully hacked back to expose the brick, indicating blown or structurally compromised backing plaster that could not be overboarded. Rooms throughout the property received a full re-skim, starting from the hallway and progressing room by room. All electric switch plates and socket outlets were temporarily removed to allow a clean skim edge around each fitting. Door frames and architraves were masked or protected during the plastering process. Dust sheets were laid on all floor surfaces. Given the Victorian construction, the walls varied between solid brick and timber lath — both substrates requiring different bonding approaches before multi-finish was applied. The staircase spindles, newel post and handrail were all sheeted to prevent plaster contamination.

Before any plaster was applied, all loose and delaminated plaster was hacked off using a bolster and hammer, with the most heavily affected areas around the hallway walls being stripped entirely to bare brick as seen in the inset photograph. Once stripped, the exposed brick surfaces were brushed down to remove dust and debris. A diluted PVA bonding solution was then applied to the brick substrate to stabilise the highly porous surface and reduce suction before the scratch coat was laid. Light fittings and switch plates were removed. The floor was fully protected with dust sheets, and the timber staircase, spindles and skirting boards were sheeted with plastic to protect against plaster splashes.

With the surfaces prepared and PVA bonding dried, a scratch coat of Thistle Hardwall backing plaster was applied to the stripped brick walls throughout the hallway and adjoining areas. This first coat was applied to a consistent depth to bring the walls back to a flat, plumb surface, filling in the uneven mortar joints and imperfections in the brickwork. Once the scratch coat had set and dried sufficiently, the surface was lightly scratched to provide a mechanical key for the finishing coat. The ceiling, which required only a light skim rather than a full strip, was prepared with a diluted PVA wash before receiving two thin coats of British Gypsum Multi-Finish plaster — a scratch coat followed by a tighter finishing coat, each applied in overlapping arcs with a stainless steel plastering trowel and finished using a clean float and water mist to close the surface. The walls, once the backing coat was firm, also received two coats of Multi-Finish. Each coat was laid at approximately 2–3mm thickness. The plasterer worked section by section from ceiling to floor, maintaining a wet edge throughout to avoid join lines. The original coving was protected and cleaned where needed. The area around the stair stringer and newel post required careful cutting-in work to produce a clean plaster edge against the timber.

The primary challenge on this project was the variable wall substrate throughout the hallway. The existing plaster had been applied directly onto solid Victorian brick, and in several areas the old render had completely detached from the wall — a condition known as blown plaster — which was only confirmed fully once sections were tapped and tested. This meant that rather than a straightforward skim over existing plaster, significant areas needed to be stripped back to bare brick. Victorian brick is also highly porous and draws moisture rapidly from fresh plaster, which risks the plaster drying too fast and cracking before it has time to bond properly.

To address the suction problem created by the exposed Victorian brick, the walls were treated with two coats of diluted PVA bonding agent — the first coat was a thinner mix to penetrate the brick, and the second a slightly thicker mix applied just before plastering began to create a tacky, absorbency-controlled surface. This slowed the rate at which moisture was drawn out of the fresh plaster, allowing the Hardwall scratch coat to bond correctly and cure without cracking. The scratch coat was applied in sections, with each section ruled off and checked for plumb before moving on, ensuring the finished wall surface would be flat and ready for the final Multi-Finish skim.

The hallway walls and ceiling were left flat, clean and ready for decoration once the plaster had fully dried — typically 4–6 weeks for multi-coat work on brick before painting. The preserved ceiling coving remained intact and sat flush against the newly skimmed ceiling surface. The inset photo taken from the upper staircase landing confirms that the walls beside the staircase had been fully stripped and brought back to a consistent, smooth substrate. The staircase spindles and handrail were unaffected by plaster contamination. Throughout the rest of the house, rooms were re-skimmed in sequence, leaving a consistent finish across all surfaces ready for the client's chosen decorator.

The homeowner in Newham now has a property where every room has been returned to a sound, freshly plastered condition — with no crumbling, blown or stained walls remaining. The hallway, previously the worst-affected area, has been transformed from bare stripped brick to a smooth, coving-framed space ready for decoration. The client was able to hand the property directly to their decorator following completion, without any further remedial plasterwork being needed.

Victorian terraced houses in Newham E6 present specific plastering challenges that DIY approaches consistently underestimate. Blown plaster on solid brick walls requires careful diagnosis before any skim coat is attempted — applying finish plaster over a delaminated backing coat will simply fail within months. Managing suction on bare Victorian brick demands correctly mixed PVA priming at the right dilution ratios. Applying Hardwall over large areas at a consistent depth, then timing the scratch and finish coats correctly, requires experience and speed that only comes from repeated site practice. An incorrectly timed finish coat will tear, drag or show trowel lines once painted.