Plastering
Plastering contractors for new homes in Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk
JMC Drywall Ltd is a plastering contractor for new-build housing, based in Tiptree, Essex, and working across Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and East London. We skim plasterboard and apply traditional plaster to masonry for housebuilders and housing associations. Plastering is on five of our current schemes, including 225 homes at Dovecote Gardens in Spixworth for Orbit Homes.
What the package covers
- Skim coat to plasterboard walls and ceilings
- Scrim tape to board joints before skimming
- Backing and finish coats to blockwork and masonry
- Plaster beads to angles and stop ends
- Plastered window and door reveals
- Making good around services after first fix
Where plastering goes wrong on new-build homes
Most plastering defects on a housing site come back to drying. Plaster forced dry with site heaters cracks, and plaster caught by frost before it sets has to come off. When emulsion goes onto plaster that is still damp, it blisters. Each of these lands on your customer care team after the buyer moves in.
- Cracks along board joints that were never scrimmed
- Hollow patches where the backing coat has lost its bond
- Beads out of line at reveals and corners
- Chases cut after plastering and patched badly
- Emulsion applied while the plaster was still damp
Skim or two-coat plaster on a new home
The wall behind the plaster decides the system. Plasterboard takes a skim of finish plaster over scrimmed joints. Blockwork and other masonry take a backing coat to straighten the wall and a finish coat over it, which puts more water into the plot and adds drying time.
The specification names the plaster, the beads and where each system goes. Our price follows it.
| Point | Skim to plasterboard | Two-coat plaster to masonry |
|---|---|---|
| Background | Plasterboard with scrimmed joints | Blockwork, brick or concrete |
| Coats | A thin finish coat | A backing coat, then a finish coat |
| Water into the plot | Little | Much more, most of it from the backing coat |
| Drying before decoration | Shorter | Longer, as both coats have to dry out |
| Straightness | Follows the board | The backing coat takes out small variations in the wall |
How plastering sits between first and second fix
Plastering comes after first fix. The electrician and plumber need to finish chasing and first fix before the backing coat or skim goes on, because every chase cut afterwards is a patch a buyer may see. Door linings go in at first fix, so the plaster finishes up to them.
After that the plot needs steady heat and air to dry before the decorator starts. A mist coat of thinned emulsion is the usual first coat on new plaster.
Plaster defects after the buyer moves in
Once buyers move in, our customer care administrator answers requests within 24 hours. Defects are dealt with inside the time limits in your customer care charter.
Each plastered plot is photographed and signed off by the contracts manager before handover, so there is a record of the finish as it was handed over. The photographs are held in Site Audit Pro for you to see on request.
What we need to price plastering
Our price needs the drawings and specification, the inclusions list, the scope and the programme. It reaches you by the tender deadline.
Show the background to each wall, whether reveals are plastered or boarded, and the finish wanted on ceilings. Those are the items that change a plastering price, and they are easy to leave out of a tender pack.
The record
Schemes where we carried out plastering
The client, the place, the number of homes and the contract value.
| Scheme | Client | Homes | Tenure | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dovecote GardensSpixworth, Norfolk | Orbit Homes | 225 | All affordable | £1.8m | On site |
| Avalon PlaceEaston, Norfolk | Orbit Homes | 72 | All affordable47 affordable rent, 25 shared ownership | £450k | Handed over |
| Brook GardensElmswell, Suffolk | Orbit Homes | 65 | All affordable31 social rent, 34 shared ownership | £520k | Handed over |
| Homestead ParkStonham Aspal, Suffolk | Orbit Homes | 46 | Mixed tenure24 affordable | £300k | Handed over |
| Station RoadEccles, Norfolk | Strand Developments | 24 | Mixed tenure6 affordable | £260k | Handed over |
- Dovecote Gardens
Spixworth, Norfolk
- Client
- Orbit Homes
- Homes
- 225
- Tenure
- All affordable
- Value
- £1.8m
- Avalon Place
Easton, Norfolk
- Client
- Orbit Homes
- Homes
- 72
- Tenure
- All affordable
- Value
- £450k
- Brook Gardens
Elmswell, Suffolk
- Client
- Orbit Homes
- Homes
- 65
- Tenure
- All affordable
- Value
- £520k
- Homestead Park
Stonham Aspal, Suffolk
- Client
- Orbit Homes
- Homes
- 46
- Tenure
- Mixed tenure, 24 affordable
- Value
- £300k
- Station Road
Eccles, Norfolk
- Client
- Strand Developments
- Homes
- 24
- Tenure
- Mixed tenure, 6 affordable
- Value
- £260k
Questions
What buyers ask us
- Who are the plastering contractors for new-build housing in Essex?
- JMC Drywall Ltd is a plastering contractor based in Tiptree, Essex, working on new-build housing across Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and East London. Plastering is on five of its current schemes, four of them for Orbit Homes, including Dovecote Gardens in Spixworth, 225 homes, and Brook Gardens in Elmswell, 65 homes. It has traded since 1998.
- Do you skim plasterboard or apply traditional plaster?
- Both, and the specification decides which goes where. A skim goes over plasterboard once the joints are scrimmed. Blockwork and other masonry take a backing coat and a finish coat. At Avalon Place in Easton, 72 homes for Orbit Homes, all of them affordable, our package covered the dry lining, the plastering and the floor screed.
- Which trades do you usually carry out alongside plastering?
- On our current schemes, plastering always comes with the dry lining. At Dovecote Gardens, Brook Gardens and Homestead Park, the package for Orbit Homes also included external render. At Station Road in Eccles, 24 homes for Strand Developments, JMC Drywall Ltd carried out the dry lining, metal stud partitions and plastering.
- Why does new plaster crack?
- Mostly from drying too fast or from movement behind it. Site heaters and hot weather pull the water out before the plaster has set properly. Board joints left without scrim, and timber that shrinks as the house dries, open up as fine lines. Fine shrinkage cracks in the first months are common and are usually filled before the next coat of paint.
- How soon can new plaster be painted?
- When it has dried out, which shows as an even pale colour with no dark patches. A skim on board dries far quicker than two-coat plaster on blockwork. The first coat is usually a mist coat of thinned emulsion, as new plaster is too porous for paint at full strength. Vinyl paint on damp plaster traps the moisture in.
Trades
Priced and managed as one sub-contract
- Dry liningDry lining for new-build housing across Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and East London. Walls and ceilings boarded plot by plot, on 21 live sites.
- Tape and jointingTape and jointing contractors for new-build homes in Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and East London. On six current schemes, from 66 homes to 450.
- RenderThrough coloured monocouche render for new-build housing in Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk. On the K Rend and Saint-Gobain Weber installer registers.
- Floor screedLiquid and traditional floor screed for new-build housing in Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and East London. Four current schemes, including Westcombe Park.
Tender enquiries
Pricing your next scheme?
Send us the drawings, specification, inclusions list, scope and programme. You will get a fully compliant price by your tender deadline, and a straight answer on whether we have the labour to meet your programme.
- Ring
- 01621 810293
- Email the estimating team
- estimating@jmcdrywallltd.co.uk