Boarding onto Bulwell stone
Bulwell sandstone and magnesian limestone were quarried here, and many houses, schools, churches and garden walls built of Bulwell sandstone still stand in and around the town. Stone walls are rarely flat, and an older one can be well out of true from one end of a room to the other. Solid stone also needs to stay able to dry out. That affects how boards go on. Adhesive dabs can take up some unevenness on a sound, dry wall, but where the wall is badly out of true, or there is any sign of damp, timber battens or a free-standing metal frame with a gap behind is a safer way to get a straight surface. Damp needs tracking down before boarding, never covering up.
Estates from Top Valley to Highbury Vale
Over the last century Bulwell gained estates at Crabtree Farm, Snape Wood, Highbury Vale and Bulwell Hall. Top Valley was built in the 1970s on three former farms, and newer homes include the eco-homes at Ranskill Gardens, built from 2018, and the private housing on the old Lido site. Homes from the 1960s onwards were built with plasterboard ceilings, so the work is mostly about wear and change. A ceiling soaked by a leak from the bathroom above loses its strength and needs cutting out and reboarding. Older nailed boards can sag between joists. And if a ceiling has a textured coating, overboarding it with new plasterboard and skimming gives a flat finish without disturbing it. Coatings applied before 2000 should be tested for asbestos before anyone sands or scrapes them.
Layout changes and new rooms
Plenty of plasterboarding comes from changing how a house works: splitting a large bedroom, boarding a loft or lining a garage. Each board type earns its place. Moisture-resistant board goes into bathrooms and utility rooms, fire-rated board goes wherever building control requires it, and acoustic board helps between a new bedroom and a living space. Once the boards are up, we scrim the joints and skim the whole surface for one even finish. If you are not sure what a wall is made of, a knock along its length usually tells us whether it is stud, block or stone.
Book a look
Bulwell is a straightforward trip from our base in Mapperley, whether you are near the Market Place or up in Rise Park. Ring 07877 353120 or send photos through the enquiry form, and mention what the walls are built from if you know, and whether the room has had any damp. We work seven days a week, 7am to 5pm.
