A city of many building ages
Chichester's plan comes from the Romans: North, South, East and West Streets still meet at the market cross, and the city walls stand on Roman foundations. The conservation area takes in the whole of the Roman town, and Chichester has more listed buildings than anywhere else in West Sussex. Plastering inside the walls means working on houses that have been altered many times. The Chichester Society describes how many houses in the Pallants were rebuilt in brick in the Georgian period, while others kept their timber frames and were simply given a fashionable brick front. One listed pair on North Pallant has an early 18th-century front of painted brick, with timber framing still visible in its gable.
Outside the walls the housing gets younger. Summersdale, to the north, grew from the end of the Victorian era with Edwardian houses and villas, some of them flint-faced, and mock Tudor homes of the interwar years along the Lavant Road. The East Broyle Estate to the north-west was built in the 1960s and early 70s, while new streets have been laid out at Graylingwell Park in the north-east and at Roussillon Park on the former barracks.
What that means for a skim
Each of those needs a different start. Behind a Georgian front there may be lime plaster on lath, or on brick, that has moved over two centuries and needs careful assessment: sound areas can be stabilised and finished, while hollow sections come off and are rebuilt. Interwar and post-war houses usually have sound gypsum or plasterboard surfaces, so a skim over what is there is often enough, unless a textured ceiling needs plastering flat first. On new homes, the work is boarding and skimming whole houses, room by room, alongside the other trades.
Our finish is two coats using British Gypsum products. Before it goes on, beads are fixed to corners and reveals, cracks and gaps are filled, and loose material is taken off, so the finished surface stays flat.
The Bosham country home
Pro Finish Plastering held the plastering contract for architects Studio Fuse on a 22-room country home at Bosham, a couple of miles west of the city. The house was nominated for RIBA House of the Year and featured on Channel 4's Grand Designs. The scope covered plastering the entire property, with shadow gap edge beads in place of architraves and a sunken plaster-in LED profile, details that leave no trim to hide an imperfect edge. There is more about it on our projects page.
Planning a plastering job in Chichester
- Check whether the house is listed. Original plaster and lath in a listed building is protected, and Chichester District Council can advise before work starts.
- Give new plaster time. A skim usually needs several days or more to dry, and a solid wall in an old house takes longer.
- If the room needs new partitions or a level ceiling, plasterboarding and dry lining can be carried out in the same visit.
- Clear the room as far as possible; what cannot move is sheeted and protected.
See plastering and skimming for more detail on the service, or our Chichester page for everything we cover in the city. Call 07824 165672 for a free, no-obligation quote.
