Everyone thinks a skim is a skim
Overboarding an artex ceiling, hacking off blown render and floating out a bowed wall are three different jobs at three different prices, and none of that is obvious to a customer holding a rival's cheaper number.
For plasterers
Plastering quotes from a measure-up and a photo
Plastering is priced fast and quoted slowly. You knew the number before you left the hallway, but the customer wants it in writing and you want it to look like it came from a business. Two lines of notes in, one clean estimate out.
Why estimating is the worst part of the week
The prep is where the money goes and nobody sees it
Sheeting up, taping, beading and dust protection is half a day before you mix anything. Left off the estimate it looks like padding; put on it, it looks like care.
Small jobs are not worth an hour of paperwork
A £300 patch job does not justify sitting down to write a quote, so it goes out as a text and then there is nothing to point at when the customer says they thought that included the ceiling.
A real example
Skim three rooms and board out landing, 1930s semi
On the left is what you would actually write down. On the right is what your customer receives.
Your notes
3 beds, artex ceilings, house is pre 2000 so get a sample tested before anyone touches it. overboard rather than scrape. walls are sound apart from a few blown bits either side of the chimney breast, hack off and bond those out. landing wall is lath and plaster, batten out and board it, dot and dab wont hold. 62sqm of wall, 34 of ceiling. 2 coat multi finish. beads on all the external corners. 3 days, labourer with me the day we board. they're decorating themselves so tell them 5 days minimum before paint, and mist coat first, they always want to go straight on with vinyl matt
The estimate
| Item | Qty | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Asbestos screening sample, textured ceiling coating | 1 each | £65.00 |
| Overboard textured ceilings, 9.5mm plasterboard and scrim | 34 m² | £612.00 |
| Batten out and board lath and plaster wall to landing | 12 m² | £312.00 |
| Hack off blown plaster and float out in bonding coat | 6 m² | £204.00 |
| Two-coat multi finish skim to walls | 62 m² | £744.00 |
| Two-coat multi finish skim to ceilings | 34 m² | £476.00 |
| Angle beads to external corners | 18 linear m | £108.00 |
| Labourer, boarding day | 1 day | £160.00 |
| Dust sheeting, protection and clean down | 1 job | £120.00 |
| Waste removal and tip charges | 1 job | £90.00 |
| Total before VAT | £2,891.00 | |
An illustration using typical UK rates, not a price list. TradeScribe prices from the rates in your own notes and your saved day rate.
What we know about plastering estimates
These are the lines that come up again and again on a plasterer's estimate. Mention any of them in your notes, however briefly, and they come out properly worded.
- Two-coat multi finish skim to walls, per square metre
- Skim to ceiling, per square metre
- Overboard and skim textured ceiling
- Dot and dab plasterboard to solid wall
- Float and set on new blockwork
- Hack off and re-render blown plaster
- Sand and cement render, scratch and top coat
- Angle and stop beads, per linear metre
- Patch repair, half day minimum
- Dust protection, sheeting and clean down
Plastering estimating questions
Should I quote plastering per square metre or per room?
Price per square metre internally so your own maths is consistent, then present it per room or per surface so the customer can follow it. A homeowner who sees '62m² of wall at £12' understands it; a homeowner who sees one number for 'plastering upstairs' has nothing to compare and will go and get two more quotes.
Do I need to mention asbestos on an estimate for artex ceilings?
Yes, if the property is pre-2000. Textured coatings from that era can contain chrysotile, and scraping or sanding one without a sample is a genuine risk to you and to the household. Put a screening sample on the estimate as its own line and state that overboarding is the assumed method unless the sample comes back clear.
How do I protect myself when the walls might not take a skim?
Write your assumption down. 'Priced on the basis that existing plaster is sound and suitable to skim over; areas found to be hollow or blown will be hacked off and floated at £34/m²' takes ten seconds and settles the argument before it starts. Tapping the walls on the quote visit and noting what you found is worth more than any clause.
I am close to the VAT threshold. How does that change my quoting?
Once your turnover passes the registration threshold on a rolling twelve-month basis you must register and start charging 20%, which is a real jump for domestic customers who cannot reclaim it. Many plasterers near the line quote materials-on-account or restructure how they take work rather than absorbing it. Speak to an accountant before it happens, not after you have quoted a month's work at the old rate.
How do I stop a customer blaming me for cracks later?
State drying times and aftercare on the estimate: how long before decorating, that a mist coat must go on first, and that fine settlement cracking around joints and openings is normal in a drying building. Most 'the plaster cracked' complaints are a customer who painted vinyl matt onto green plaster on day three, and a line on the paperwork is what lets you say so politely.
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