Dry Lining and Flat Ceilings

Dry lining fixes plasterboard to the wall or ceiling to create a new flat surface. Plastering applies wet material directly to the existing background. Dry lining is faster, adds far less moisture to the building, and is the better answer whenever the background behind is uneven, cold or unreliable.

For large areas, commercial work and anything getting a textured covering, taping is perfectly good and costs less. For a living room or bedroom that is getting a modern matt emulsion, a skim gives a harder and more uniform surface. Lee does both and will say which one the room actually wants.

If the artex is thin and firmly attached, skimming over it works well and costs less. If it is thick, cracked, or the ceiling above is old lath and plaster that has started to move, overboarding is the sound answer. Lee will tap it and tell you which one you are dealing with.

Standard board makes very little difference. Insulated plasterboard genuinely does, and on a solid stone wall with no cavity, which describes a great many houses around Rossendale and Burnley, it is a noticeable change in how quickly the room heats and how it feels to sit against that wall.

Boarding on dabs takes around 25 to 35mm off the wall. Insulated board takes more, anywhere from 50mm upwards depending on the specification. On a small room that is worth thinking about before committing, and Lee will point it out rather than let you find out afterwards.

Usually yes, and it is often the better option. Fixings go through into the joists rather than relying on the old ceiling to hold anything. It avoids the considerable mess of pulling a lath ceiling down and it leaves the original in place above.

Yes, timber and metal stud both. Framing, boarding and finishing in one job means one trade and one point of responsibility rather than coordinating a joiner and a plasterer around each other.

Moisture-resistant board in wet areas as standard, and tile backer board where heavy tiling is going on it. Standard plasterboard in a shower room is a false economy that shows up as a soft, failing wall a couple of years later.

A typical room ceiling is a one to two day job including the finish coat, then normal drying time before decorating. Bigger rooms and anywhere with awkward access take longer, and Lee will tell you which yours is when he quotes.

Less than wet plastering onto an old background, and considerably less than hacking off. There is dust from cutting board and sanding joints, but there is no removal of old failed plaster, which is where most of the mess and the debris on a traditional job comes from.