Knock it down,
build it, clear up
Partitions, plaster, skim, plasterboard and making good the chases after new services. Work that should leave behind a straight wall and a flat you can live in again — not dust in every cupboard.
What we do
From a partition
to the skim coat
Taking out partitions
Opening the kitchen into the living room, making a bathroom bigger. A load-bearing wall needs a structural engineer and consent — we will say straight away which category your plan falls into.
New walls and stud walls
Built partitions and plasterboard alike. A stud wall hides the pipework and a wall-hung toilet without cutting into the structure.
Plaster and skim
New plaster and repairs after demolition. Skim under paint, finished so that nobody has to sand the whole wall afterwards.
Making good after services
Chases for water, heating and electrics. The most common reason people call us — and the cheapest, when it follows straight on from our own installation.
Screeds and levelling floors
The base for tiles, vinyl or underfloor heating. Large-format tiles cannot be laid on a floor that is not flat.
Penetrations and openings
Core drilling for pipework and ventilation, widening a doorway, setting a lintel.
When to call us
Calling early
is the cheap option
With building work, most of the money goes on things that get done twice. Most of it can be avoided with one extra phone call.
- Before you start knocking anything down. Not every partition can go. A load-bearing wall needs an engineer and the building authority, and in a flat the owners' association on top of that. We can tell on site.
- Before the chases get closed up. Once they are made good, cheap changes are over. A socket you think of a week after plastering means cutting into the wall again.
- Before the flooring is ordered. An uneven base is discovered by the floor fitter — usually on the day they were meant to lay it. We measure the levels beforehand.
- When we are doing your pipework or tiling too, the building work follows straight on. No waiting for an outside trade to become free, and no argument about why a chase is in the wrong place.
A survey costs nothing and takes half an hour. It is consistently the cheapest part of any refurbishment.
FAQ
About building
work
Can I take out a partition in my flat?
A non-load-bearing one usually yes, but there are still conditions: in a block of flats the work is notified to the owners' association or the managing agent, and sometimes the building authority has to give a view. With a load-bearing wall we do not start at all without an engineer and consent. At the survey we'll tell you which category your case is in and exactly what needs arranging.
Will you clear up, or is that left to me?
We clear up and take the rubble away; we arrange the skip ourselves. Do expect fine dust to keep settling in the flat for several days after demolition — nobody can prevent that. It's why we cover up rooms that aren't being worked in as well.
When can I paint after plastering?
Once the plaster has matured — with ordinary lime-cement plaster that is weeks rather than days, and it depends on the thickness and how the flat is ventilated. Paint applied too early peels and shows patches. We give you a specific date for your job so you can plan around it.
Planning
a refurbishment?
We will come and look before you commit to anything. Survey and quote are free.