Plastering Cost Calculator
Plastering is priced per square metre, and the single biggest variable is what is already on the wall. Skimming over sound plaster is the cheap end; hacking off to brick and starting again costs more than twice as much.
Open the calculator →Price your plastering in 30 seconds
4 steps. Job type, area, condition and region.
How this calculator works
Plasterers price per square metre of surface, and the rate depends on how much has to happen before the finish coat. A skim over sound plaster is £15–£25/m². Floating and setting from bare masonry is £25–£45/m², and hacking the old plaster off first adds £10–£16/m² for the strip-out and carting away.
Lime is the outlier. On a period or listed wall it is often the only correct answer, and at £50–£90/m² it costs more in both material and time, because it cannot be rushed between coats.
If the wall is damp: plastering is not the fix. Find the cause first — see our damp proofing costs. New plaster over active damp will blow, and you will pay for the room twice.
Plastering cost per m² (2026)
| Job | Typical 2026 cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Skim over existing plaster | £15–£25/m² | Needs a sound, flat background |
| Ceilings | £20–£35/m² | Overhead, slower |
| Dot-and-dab plasterboard | £25–£40/m² | Board bonded then skimmed |
| Full re-plaster (float and set) | £25–£45/m² | From bare masonry |
| Lime plaster | £50–£90/m² | Period and listed walls |
| Hack off and cart away | +£10–£16/m² | Where the old plaster is going |
| Patch repairs before skimming | +£5–£10/m² | Blown areas cut out |
Figures include VAT at 20% and match our plastering cost guide.
What changes a plastering quote the most
The condition of what is already there decides the method, and the method decides the price. A skim coat over sound existing plaster is the quickest and cheapest; re-plastering after hacking off blown plaster costs more because of the strip-out and waste; and dot-and-dab plasterboard with a skim over is a different job again, often the right call on cold or uneven solid walls.
After that it is quantity and access. Ceilings are slower and harder than walls, and old lath-and-plaster ceilings can spring surprises. The number of rooms, the height of the walls and whether the room is clear and ready all feed the day rate, because a plasterer prices in drying time and coats as much as square metres.
If the plaster is failing because of damp rather than age, fresh plaster will blow again unless the cause is fixed first — diagnose that before you skim. For external walls, the rendering calculator covers the outside equivalent.
Plastering calculator FAQs
If it is sound, flat and firmly stuck, yes — that is what skimming is for. Tap it: a hollow sound means it has blown off the masonry, and skimming over it is likely to crack.
Roughly a week per coat thickness, and longer in winter or an unheated room. It goes from dark brown to uniform pale pink when it is dry. Paint too early, or without a watered-down mist coat first, and the emulsion peels off in sheets.
Material cost is part of it, but mostly it is time: lime cannot be rushed between coats. On a solid-wall period house it is usually the right answer anyway, because it lets the wall breathe where gypsum and cement trap moisture.
No, and doing it first is a common and expensive mistake. Plaster over an active damp problem will fail again. Find the cause — a leak, condensation, a bridged DPC — and fix that first.
Related cost guides
- Builder day rates — what a builder charges
- Find a builder — 3 free quotes
- Reading a quote — prime and provisional sums
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The calculator’s questions, explained
Each price below is what the calculator above returns when you change only that answer and keep the others at the starting settings (Skim over existing plaster, One room, Sound and flat, Midlands): £680–£960, mid-point £800. Figures cover materials, labour, beads and making good around openings, including VAT at 20%; moving furniture, protecting floors and decorating afterwards are usually extra.
Type of plastering
Skimming needs a sound, flat background. If the existing plaster is blown or damp, skimming over it just buries the problem. The method sets the rate per square metre that the area then multiplies. Tap the wall first: a hollow sound means the plaster has come away from the masonry and a skim alone will not hold.
| Option | What it means | Estimate | vs starting choice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skim over existing plaster | A 2–3mm finish coat. (£15–£25/m²) The starting choice: a thin finish coat over sound, flat plaster or new plasterboard. The cheapest method when the wall underneath is firm. | £680–£960 | starting choice |
| Ceilings | Overhead work, slower and messier. (£20–£35/m²) Overhead work is slower than walls. Old lath-and-plaster ceilings can hide problems, so expect the plasterer to inspect before agreeing to a simple skim. | £918–£1,296 | +£280 |
| Dot-and-dab plasterboard | Board bonded to masonry, then skimmed. (£25–£40/m²) Plasterboard bonded to masonry with adhesive dabs, then skimmed. Often the right call on cold or uneven solid walls. | £1,088–£1,536 | +£480 |
| Full re-plaster (float and set) | Float and set from bare masonry. (£25–£45/m²) A backing coat and finish onto bare masonry. If old plaster still has to come off first, also pick ‘Hack the lot off to brick’ below so the strip-out is priced. | £1,190–£1,680 | +£600 |
| Lime plaster | Period and listed walls that must breathe. (£50–£90/m²) For period and listed solid walls that need a breathable finish. On a listed building, re-plastering can need listed building consent, so check with the council first. | £2,380–£3,360 | +£2,000 |
Area to plaster
Measure the surface being plastered, not the floor. One room of walls is usually 35–45 m²; a ceiling is roughly the floor area. Each option is priced at the fixed area shown beside it, so pick the nearest and scale up or down from the table if your walls are larger or smaller.
| Option | What it means | Estimate | vs starting choice |
|---|---|---|---|
| One wall or a patch | Making good after other work. (~12 m²) For making good after other work, such as chased-in cables or a repair after damp treatment, once the cause of the damp is fixed. | £204–£288 | −£560 |
| One room | Walls of an average room. (~40 m²) The starting choice: the walls of an average room. Run the calculator again with ‘Ceilings’ if the ceiling needs doing too. | £680–£960 | starting choice |
| Two or three rooms | A floor of a house. (~100 m²) A floor of a house, or two or three rooms plastered in one visit. | £1,700–£2,400 | +£1,200 |
| Whole house | Full re-plaster after a strip-out. (~220 m²) A full re-plaster, usually after a strip-out or rewiring, when every wall in the house is being redone. | £3,740–£5,280 | +£3,600 |
State of the existing walls
This is the line that separates two quotes for the same room. Hacking off, carting away and making good is real work and is often left out of the headline rate. Condition adds a rate per square metre on top of the method. At the starting settings, stripping to brick adds nearly as much as switching from a skim to a full re-plaster.
| Option | What it means | Estimate | vs starting choice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sound and flat | Straight over the top. (No extra) Firm plaster with no hollow patches, or a wall that is already stripped back to bare masonry. | £680–£960 | starting choice |
| Patchy — some hack-off needed | Blown areas cut out and made good. (+£5–£10/m²) Some blown or cracked areas that need cutting out and making good before the finish coat goes on. | £918–£1,296 | +£280 |
| Hack the lot off to brick | Strip, cart away and start again. (+£10–£16/m²) When most of the plaster is blown, crumbling or damp-damaged: everything comes off and is carted away. Fix the cause of any damp before re-plastering. | £1,122–£1,584 | +£520 |
Where the property is
Plastering is labour. London runs about 22% above the Midlands baseline. The region multiplies the whole estimate, by the percentages the calculator shows: London +22% · South East +12% · East of England +8% · South West +4% · Midlands ×1.00 · Scotland −3% · North / Yorkshire −5% · Wales −6%. At the starting settings that moves the mid-point from £752 in Wales to £976 in London.
Non-price facts above: Historic England: listed building consent.