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How do you sort a plastering repair?

Sort a plaster repair by saying whether the damage is a crack, a hole or a hollow patch, and by leaving textured coatings alone until you know what is in them. A small fill and a full skim are different jobs, and this guide is about describing the repair rather than floating a whole wall.

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By the QuoteZila editorial team. Editorial policy.

How is a repair different from a skim?

A repair puts back a damaged piece. A skim covers a whole sound surface with a thin finish. The skim-coat page is the finish. Setting up a skim is the full-room sequence. This guide is for cracks, holes, blown patches and the corners that get knocked off.

If you post "plastering repair" without saying which of those you have, one plasterer will price a tub of filler and another will price a day of hacking off. The quotes will not compare.

People in Cheshire can post the same description whether the house is in Crewe, Nantwich, Sandbach or further out. Anyone in the UK can post or register.

What should you look at before you write the job?

You can look. You do not have to diagnose.

  • A hairline. Thin, no loose edge, paint cracked in the same line. Note the length and whether it has come back after the last decoration.
  • A crack with a lip. One side proud of the other, or the plaster fraying. That is more than paint.
  • A hollow patch. Tap gently with a knuckle around the damage. A dead, hollow sound next to a firm sound is worth writing down. You are not expected to map the whole house.
  • A hole. Measure it roughly. Say if you can see brick, block, board or wooden laths.
  • A corner. External corners lose their arris. Internal corners crack where two walls meet. Say which.
  • A ceiling stain with a soft patch. That may be a leak, not a plaster fault. Stop the water before anyone fills it.

Photos in ordinary daylight, one close and one of the whole wall, save a wasted visit.

When is a patch the wrong repair?

A filler that is asked to do the work of a missing undercoat is the wrong repair. A finish coat follows the shape underneath. This page does not print a thickness for that coat. It will not replace a missing undercoat. Ask the plasterer what thickness they intend, and which product.

If the loose area is large, the plasterer may cut back to a sound edge and build the patch up, or fix board over the area and finish that. Float plaster is the undercoat conversation. Plasterboard on a ceiling is the boarding conversation. Ask the quote to say "fill", "cut out and dub" or "overboard", so you can see which one you are buying.

Where the damage is on the inside of an outside wall and the area is large, building regulations can come in. The Planning Portal says that where 25 per cent or more of an external wall is re-plastered or re-lined internally, the regulations would normally apply and the thermal insulation would normally have to be improved [S4]. A corner patch is not that. A whole wall might be. Mention the size.

What do you leave alone?

Textured coatings stay untouched until you know the content. HSE's building diagrams include textured decorative coatings, for example Artex, on walls and ceilings [S1]. Sanding a "small" area to feather the edge is still disturbing the coating. Health and Safety Executive (HSE). QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation.

HSE's building diagrams include textured coatings.

Do not stand on a chair or a bath edge to pull ceiling plaster down. If the piece is already hanging, keep people out of the room and say so in the post. The repair itself can be done from proper access by the person you hire.

A dent in green-faced bathroom board may be a different repair from a skim on ordinary board. This page does not print a maker's rule for skimming that board. Bathroom plasterboard is the place to ask which board and whether it should be skimmed.

How do you compare repair quotes?

Citizens Advice wants written quotes from at least three traders where you can get them. A quote is a fixed price. An estimate is a rough guess [S5]. For a repair, ask each quote to state:

  • The area they have allowed, not only "make good".
  • Fill, cut-out, or new board.
  • Whether decoration is included. Many plasterers leave paint to a decorator.
  • Whose waste it is.
  • Whether they need the room empty.

A deposit, if one is asked for, should stay at or under 25 per cent, with a receipt, on the Citizens Advice wording [S5].

Jobs you might post

These are examples, not taken from real job posts.

  • "Hairline cracks on the landing, no hollow sound. Please quote to rake and fill, ready for us to paint. Walls only."
  • "Patch of hollow plaster under a window, about a dinner-plate area, brick behind if I press the crack. Please quote to cut out and make good."
  • "Ceiling rose has left a hole in plasterboard. Please quote to patch and tape. The fitting stays out until an electrician returns."

Posting a repair

Name the room and the type of damage in the first sentence. Up to five matched local businesses can send a quote [QZ2]. QuoteZila is free for customers and local businesses [QZ1].

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

See our plasterers page.

Questions about plaster repairs

Is a hairline crack a plastering job?

Sometimes it is only decoration, and sometimes the plaster has moved. A single hairline in the middle of a sound wall is a different post from a crack that runs from the ceiling and sounds hollow when you tap beside it. Describe both the look and the sound, and let the plasterer say which job it is.

What does a hollow sound mean?

It often means the coat has parted from the background, which a thin fill will not fix. The right repair may be to cut the loose plaster out and dub the patch back, or to reboard. Ask the plasterer to say which, after they have seen it. Do not pull large sheets of loose plaster down yourself if you are standing on a chair.

Can I fill a hole around a new socket?

A shallow chase can be a small repair. Changing electrics near a bath, or other electrical work beyond some minor tasks, is for building control or a registered electrician. If the hole is the electrician's chase, ask them who fills it. Do not open the fitting to make the hole neater.

What if the ceiling is textured?

HSE lists textured decorative coatings on walls and ceilings, for example Artex, among places asbestos can occur. Do not sand, scrape or drill the coating to see what is underneath. A repair that would disturb it waits on a test.

Does QuoteZila check the 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.

This page is general information, not professional or legal advice. QuoteZila does not check Gas Safe, WaterSafe, NFRC, NICEIC or other registrations against the register on your behalf: look them up yourself.

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Sources

  1. QZ1: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila home and FAQ copy.
  2. QZ2: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila FAQ How does getting quotes work.
  3. S1: Where asbestos can occur in buildings, HSE. Accessed 2026-10-28. https://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/diagrams.htm
  4. S2: Building regulations, Electrical Safety First. Accessed 2026-10-28. https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/find-a-registered-electrician/building-regulations/
  5. S4: Building regulations: external walls, Planning Portal. Accessed 2026-10-28. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/external-walls/building-regulations/
  6. S5: Before you get building work done, Citizens Advice. Accessed 2026-10-28. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/before-you-get-building-work-done/