Home / Cost guides / What changes the price of a ceiling repair?
What changes the price of a ceiling repair?
A ceiling repair is priced by what is damaged, whether the ceiling under a cold loft is being replaced, and whether an old coating has to be left alone. This guide does not print a trade price, and it does not tell you to work over your head.
Last reviewed:A crack, a stain and a replacement are not one job
People say "ceiling repair" for a crack in the plaster, a brown stain after a leak, a sag, or a ceiling that has to come down. Those are different amounts of work, and a quote that uses only the search words cannot be compared with another. This guide does not print a price for any of them. It says what should change the words on the quote.
Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach are the first towns this is written for. Anyone in the UK can post or register. Nothing below says those towns have a typical ceiling.
A lining hung below the ceiling, to lower the room or to hide services, is a different page: a false ceiling. Boarding the loft from above is not a ceiling repair from the room below.
Replacing a ceiling is not the same as patching one
Planning permission is not generally required to replace a floor or a ceiling [S1]. If you live in a listed building, contact your local planning authority [S1]. Say if the house is listed, in the first line, so a plasterer does not treat a listed ceiling as an ordinary patch.
Where more than 25 per cent of a ceiling below a cold loft space or a flat roof is being replaced, building regulations would normally apply, and the thermal insulation of that ceiling would normally have to be improved [S2]. The condensation risk in the roof space has to be assessed, with provisions in line with Part C [S2]. For a pitched roof of a dwelling, the Portal says this would normally involve new or additional loft insulation so that there is at least 250 mm of mineral fibre or cellulose fibre as quilt laid between and across the ceiling joists, or loose fill or equivalent [S2]. It also says that may be inappropriate if the loft is already boarded and the boarding is not being removed [S2]. For a flat roof, it points to the insulation placement needed for the target in the Approved Document, and it says a lower target may be appropriate where ceiling height would be adversely affected [S2]. This guide does not reprint that target. Ask the plasterer or the builder which case they think you are in, and who speaks to building control.
A crack that is filled and painted is not "more than 25 per cent" of a ceiling being replaced [S2]. Do not let a small patch be priced as if it were, and do not let a full replacement be priced as if it were a patch. The quote should say which.
GOV.UK: find your local council for building control. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation.
GOV.UK says you might need building regulations approval for many alterations, and that you could need approval for works that are not on its example list, so check with a building control body if you cannot decide [S3]. Building regulations approval is different from planning permission [S3]. The page on building regulations approval is the one to read beside the Portal's ceiling pages. The Portal's own note is ceilings and floors: planning permission and ceilings and floors: building regulations.
Old coatings stay undisturbed until someone competent says otherwise
HSE's house diagram lists textured decorative coatings, for example Artex, and it lists asbestos insulating board ceiling tiles [S4]. Asbestos can be present in any building built or refurbished before 2000 [S5]. You cannot see, smell or feel the fibres, and disturbing the material releases them [S5]. A stain is not a reason to scrape the coating. A crack is not a reason to drill it.
Say what the ceiling looks like in ordinary words: smooth plaster, a textured coating, tiles, or you do not know. Ask the quote to say whether the coating will be left, skimmed over, or removed, and who is competent to remove it if removal is proposed. This guide does not describe a removal method.
The leak is a plumbing question if the stain is wet
A brown mark after a bath overflowed, or after a tank dripped, will come back if the water is still getting in. The ceiling price should say whether it assumes the leak has stopped. The leak itself is a job for a plumber, not a line hidden inside "make good". Plumbers are the trade for the water. Plasterers are the trade for the ceiling. Builders sometimes do both, and the quote should still split the lines.
Do not open the loft to find the drip. HSE says work at height means any place where, if there were no precautions in place, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury [S6]. It says to avoid that work where reasonably practicable, and that competent people must carry it out [S6]. Describe the room, the stain and whether it grew. HSE: work at height. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation. The HSE introduction to working at height is that definition.
What the quote should separate
Citizens Advice says some traders charge for quotes, so ask first, and to try to get written quotes from at least 3 traders [S7]. A quote is a fixed price. An estimate is a rough guess [S7]. Materials should be listed separately [S7]. For a ceiling, ask for these lines:
| Line | What you want written |
|---|---|
| Scope | Patch, or replacement of part of the ceiling |
| Share of the ceiling | Whether they believe more than 25 per cent under a cold loft or flat roof is being replaced [S2] |
| Insulation | Whether the 250 mm quilt case applies, or why it does not [S2] |
| Coating | Left, covered, or removed, and by whom [S4] |
| Leak | Assumed stopped, or excluded for a plumber |
| Listed building | Whether they have asked you, and what you answered [S1] |
| Making good | Decoration included or not |
| VAT | Whether the figure includes it [S8] |
A business registers for VAT when taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000 [S8]. That is a tax threshold, not a ceiling price. This guide does not turn it into a repair figure.
If they offer a daily rate, Citizens Advice says to get the number of days and the hours in a day written down [S7]. A ceiling that needs a second visit after the plaster dries should say so, rather than becoming an open day.
Rooms, hatches and what is already above
Say which room, and what is above it. A bedroom under a cold loft is the Portal's pitched-roof case if the ceiling is being replaced [S2]. A room under a flat roof is the other case [S2]. A room under another lived-in floor is neither, and you should say that so nobody applies the loft sentence to a ceiling between two warm rooms.
Say if the loft is boarded. The Portal says the 250 mm quilt may be inappropriate where boarding is staying [S2]. Say if there is a hatch in the room, without asking anyone to climb it as part of your own preparation. Say if the ceiling has a light. Moving the light is electrical work. With the exception of some minor tasks, that work is reported to building control or done by a registered electrician in a government-approved scheme [S9]. Leave any light fitting for an electrician. Point the plasterer at that electrician if the light is in the way, and keep that price separate.
Electrical Safety First: find a registered electrician; NICEIC; NAPIT. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation.
Electrical Safety First sets out the building regulations position.
Furniture and dust are part of the job description. Say whether the room can be emptied, and whether it is a bedroom that has to be usable at night. A quote that assumes an empty room is not the same as a quote that includes moving a bed.
Jobs you might post
These are examples, not taken from real job posts.
- "Crack in a landing ceiling, smooth plaster, no leak I know of. Please quote to repair and leave ready for paint. Decoration priced separately. I have not been in the loft."
- "Stain on a bathroom ceiling after a leak that a plumber has now stopped. Textured coating. Please quote to repair without sanding the coating, and say if you think it should be tested before anyone scrapes it."
- "Bedroom ceiling under a cold loft, large area failing. Please say whether you are replacing more than a small patch, whether insulation rules apply, and who speaks to building control. Loft is boarded."
Reading the replies
A reply that quotes "the ceiling" without saying patch or replacement has not answered the 25 per cent question [S2]. A reply that says it will scrape a textured coating in a pre-2000 house, with no mention of asbestos, has not answered the HSE diagram [S4] [S5]. Ask for those lines before you compare totals.
Up to five matched local businesses can send a quote [QZ2]. QuoteZila is free for customers and local businesses [QZ1]. A plumbing visit for the leak, if you still need one, sits on the plumber cost guide.
Honest status: QuoteZila is new. We're starting in Cheshire, beginning with Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach, and growing area by area. Anyone in the UK can still post a job or register a business. How fast you get quotes depends on how many local businesses have joined near you. Businesses can register and receive jobs straight away. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire.
Posting a job is not open yet
Does this guide print a repair price?
No. A hairline crack, a sag after a leak, and a ceiling that is being replaced under a cold loft are different specifications. Compare quotes that say which of those they are pricing. A single figure with no description is not a comparison.
Do I need planning permission to replace a ceiling?
The Planning Portal says planning permission is not generally required to replace a floor or ceiling. If you live in a listed building, you should contact your local planning authority. A new lining hung below the ceiling you already have is a different description, and it is not what that sentence is about.
When do building regulations come into a replacement?
Where more than 25 per cent of a ceiling below a cold loft space or a flat roof is being replaced, the Planning Portal says building regulations would normally apply and the insulation would normally have to be improved. There is a separate thickness it describes for a pitched roof, and a warning that boarded lofts may not suit it. A small patch is not that sentence.
What if the ceiling is Artex or another textured coating?
HSE lists textured decorative coatings, for example Artex, among places asbestos can occur in a house, and it lists asbestos insulating board ceiling tiles as well. It also says asbestos can be present in any building built or refurbished before 2000. Do not sand, scrape or drill the coating to see.
Should I stand on a board to look from above?
No. HSE says work at height is any place where a person could fall a distance liable to cause injury if precautions were not there, and that the work should be avoided where reasonably practicable. Describe the stain from the room. Leave the loft to the person you hire.
Does QuoteZila check plasterers?
No. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire. You can report a quote or a business from your job page.
Part of Cost guides. All services
Related trades
Cost guides
Related pages
- Cement Render: What Changes the Quote. What changes a cement render quote in Cheshire: area, coats, beads, access, waste and permission. No square-metre figure is printed.
- Drywall Cost in Cheshire: What to Ask. Drywall in a Cheshire house is boards, joints and a skim. A quote should list the rooms, the finish and the waste, and say whether the ceiling is included.
Sources
- QZ1: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila pricing line.
- QZ2: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila FAQ How does getting quotes work.
- S1: Planning permission: ceilings and floors, Planning Portal. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/ceilings-and-floors/planning-permission/
- S2: Building regulations: ceilings and floors, Planning Portal. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/ceilings-and-floors/building-regulations
- S3: Building regulations approval, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.gov.uk/building-regulations-approval
- S4: Where asbestos can occur in buildings, Health and Safety Executive. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/diagrams.htm
- S5: Why asbestos is dangerous and where it can be found, Health and Safety Executive. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/introduction/why-and-where.htm
- S6: Introduction to working at height safely, Health and Safety Executive. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-at-height/introduction.htm
- S7: Before you get work done on your home, Citizens Advice. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/before-you-get-building-work-done/
- S8: Register for VAT, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.gov.uk/register-for-vat
- S9: Building regulations, Electrical Safety First. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/find-a-registered-electrician/building-regulations/