Plastering

Which types of plastering can you have done?

Plastering is not a single product. The differences lie in the thickness of the layer, the substrate and what goes on the wall afterwards. Our plasterers do all interior and exterior plastering, except Venetian and other decorative plasterwork.

Prices exclude VAT and include materials. For homes over 10 years old, 6% VAT usually applies.

A wall in an existing home with old paint layers, holes or damaged plaster gets a paint-ready layer. If there is a loose or hollow layer on it, we first take off that old plaster.

On external corners we fit a corner bead so the corner stays straight and sturdy. If you are unsure which finish you want, we are happy to set the types of interior plaster side by side for you.

A ceiling is harder work than a wall, because light falling at a slant across the ceiling shows every imperfection. That is why we handle a ceiling differently from a wall. And not every ceiling needs plastering: sometimes spraying or renovation fleece is enough.

If you still have textured Spachtelputz on the wall, you can have it plastered smooth. We also plaster in the bathroom and on an exterior wall or façade, the latter always on request.

In new builds we work with a skim coat under renovation fleece rather than a thick layer. For plasterboard walls, it depends on how you finish the plasterboard: plastering, a skim coat or renovation fleece.

What is paint-ready plastering, and what does it cost?

Paint-ready plastering means the wall is so smooth after plastering that you can paint it straight away, without seeing imperfections in the paint layer. That is the level we deliver as standard: paint-ready plaster at €22.99 per m² on walls and €23.99 per m² on ceilings, always including materials.

Note what paint-ready does not mean: the wall is not yet painted. It first needs a primer coat and then paint. Priming and one coat of latex paint costs €18.99 per m², or €20.49 per m² in a RAL colour of your choice.

Prices exclude VAT. The VAT rate (usually 6% for homes over 10 years old, otherwise 21%) is shown in the quote.

If your contractor delivers wallpaper-ready and you want paint-ready, that is a separate step with its own price. You will therefore see the difference between wallpaper-ready, paint-ready and plaster-ready in the quote. And new plaster must first be primed before paint can go on.

What does plastering cost per m²?

A paint-ready plastered wall costs €22.99 per m² with us, a paint-ready ceiling €23.99 per m². These prices always include materials. Skim coats have a sliding scale: the larger the area in one order, the lower the price per m².

Prices exclude VAT.

What is included in the m² price, and what is extra?

Prices exclude VAT.

Two worked examples

Prices exclude VAT. The days are based on an average of 100 m² per day and exclude drying time.

What makes a job more expensive lies mostly in the substrate: old layers that must come off first, many external corners, or a ceiling instead of a wall. We have broken those items down in what plastering costs per m². If you want to work out the days yourself: a plasterer covers an average of 100 m² a day.

For a small job, an hourly or day rate may make more sense. For a complete home, the worked example for a whole house gives you a good idea. You can work out your surface area with the m² calculator.

We cover the floor with floor protection, which appears as a separate item on the quote. If scaffolding is needed, we arrange it. It is hired in externally, and the cost is added. We price textured plaster, bathrooms and exterior plastering after the site survey. All rates are on the prices page.

What happens when the plasterer arrives?

Plastering is wet work, and the day after, the wall is not yet finished. This is what a job looks like from the inside.

Give the wall time: plaster has to dry, and you cannot force it. A primer coat then goes on before the paint, and where necessary we sand the layer first. In winter the work simply carries on, provided the room is heated and ventilated: plastering in winter is possible.

Doesn’t plaster simply crack again in a new build?

In a new build, that is exactly the risk. A new home settles and shrinks over the first few years while construction moisture leaves the concrete and cement. Thick plaster is hard and does not move with the building, so a shrinkage crack in the substrate comes back as a crack in your wall.

That is why we advise against a thick paint-ready layer in new builds, even if you only want to paint. Where the wall needs it, we apply a skim coat and then renovation fleece, which bridges small cracks instead of showing them.

Even so, plaster is sometimes the better choice, in new builds and in renovations. Already seeing hairline cracks in your new home? Don’t panic: shrinkage cracks in a new build are part of a house that is settling, and cracks in plaster can be repaired.

When is plastering not the right choice?

• A new-build wall that is still settling. A skim coat with renovation fleece over it is the wiser route.
• A damp wall. Remove the cause of the damp first, otherwise the plaster layer will hide the problem.
• You want to move in or carry on building soon. Plastering is wet work and must dry before paint or wallpaper can go on.
• You want decorative or Venetian plaster. We don’t do that.

What do you gain from in-house plasterers instead of an agency?

With us, it is our own plasterer at your wall, not a hired subcontractor: someone like Bram, who has been plastering with us for 7 years.

Our 32 plasterers are part of a team of 97 tradespeople, alongside 40 wallpaper hangers and 25 painters. If paint or wallpaper has to go on after the plastering, we schedule that ourselves in the right order, as soon as the layer is ready.

With an agency you don’t know in advance who is coming, and for a second job there is often someone different. With us, the same crew works from start to finish, with the same method and the same quality standards. The schedule is in our own hands, so we don’t have to wait until a subcontractor has time.

You start with a free phone consultation, in which a project manager goes through your walls and the finish you want. Within 24 hours you receive a free quote with a price indication: the m² of wall and ceiling separately, with the floor protection and corner beads as separate items.

If you agree, we come round for the site survey: we measure up and check the substrate so the final price is right. That way, after the site survey and wall inspection, everything is in black and white. You know before the first work day which layer your wall gets and what it costs.

Curious how hiring a plasterer with us works in detail, or what a plasterer does and doesn’t do? We are happy to explain.

We work throughout Belgium, in Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia. We also do the site survey at your home anywhere in the country. Our plasterers finish more than 600 new-build homes every year, from skim coats to paint-ready plaster.

This is how it went for a customer who had her whole new-build home plastered and finished:

Everything about plastering

Costs and planning

• What plastering costs per m², materials included
• A worked example for a whole house
• What a plasterer costs per hour or per day
• How many m² a plasterer covers per day
• Corner beads: what they are and what they cost
• Floor protection: why we lay it
• What a skim coat is and what it costs

Types, layer thickness and execution

• Skim coat, thin plaster, sanding work and paint-ready
• How thick plaster is for each finish
• Finishing plasterboard: plaster, skim coat or renovation fleece
• Wallpaper-ready, paint-ready and plaster-ready side by side
• Sanding plaster: when it is needed
• How long plaster takes to dry
• Priming after plastering
• Plastering in winter: is it possible?
• Stucen or stuken: which is correct?
• What a plasterer does, and what they don’t

Existing walls, cracks and old layers

• Plastering walls during a renovation: old walls and holes
• Repairing cracks in plaster
• Are shrinkage cracks normal in a new build?
• Having old plaster removed, thick or thin
• Removing textured plaster or plastering over it
• Repairing textured plaster: why it stays visible
• Removing decorative plaster or plastering it smooth
• Levelling walls before painting
• Plaster or renovation fleece: how to choose