Between tenancies
Plenty of Beeston's houses are rented. Broxtowe Borough Council brought in an Article 4 Direction in March 2022 across parts of Beeston and Beeston Rylands, so converting a family home into a shared house for three to six people there now needs planning permission. Landlords with existing lets still have to keep them in good order, and walls in a busy shared house take a pounding: sticky pads, shelf brackets, chairs knocked against plaster, and a different paint colour every few years.
A skim between tenancies resets all of that with one hard, even surface that is easier to touch up later. The key is timing. Fresh plaster needs to dry right through before it is painted, and painting too early traps moisture and leads to peeling. Book the skim near the start of the empty period, not in the last week before new tenants arrive. Hallways and stairs usually take the most wear in a shared house, so include them if you can.
Timber-framed homes at Meadow Farm
South of the railway, Beeston Rylands is a mix: Victorian villas near the station, early 20th-century houses built for Ericsson and Boots workers, the 900-home Cliftonside estate from the 1930s, post-war council housing, and Meadow Farm, a 1970 estate of timber-framed semis. In a timber-framed house the inner face of the outside walls is plasterboard fixed to the frame, often with a vapour barrier behind. Skimming is done over the boards, with care taken not to puncture what is behind them. Joints that have cracked are taped first so they don't telegraph through the new finish.
Older walls in the conservation areas
St John's Grove, laid out on 28 plots by the Beeston Land Society from 1878, and Cottage Grove, on Park Road and Grove Avenue, are conservation areas of mostly Victorian and Edwardian houses. Plaster here is older and softer, and ceilings may still be lath and plaster. Each one is checked for loose sections before skimming, and anything that moves is secured or overboarded.
In the older estates such as Imperial Park and Bellevue Park, many houses have had PVC windows fitted over the years, and replacing windows often leaves the plaster around the reveals patched or broken. Those reveals are rebuilt and beaded before the skim so the edges come out straight. Once dry, bare plaster drinks the first coat of paint, so it is sealed with a thinned matt emulsion before the colour goes on.
Getting in touch
Call 07877 353120 or send the enquiry form with photos and the address. We work seven days a week, 7am to 5pm, which makes it easier for landlords to arrange access around other commitments.
