Bingham has had a market charter since 1341 and an octagonal Butter Cross stands in its Market Place, but its housing is younger than that history suggests. When the cottage lace and stocking trade lost out to Nottingham's factories, the town fell into poverty and didn't recover until after the war. After 1945 the rural district council inspected over 2,000 houses to decide which to repair and which to demolish, and the 1960s and 1970s brought almost constant house building. Since around 2018 the Romans' Quarter has been taking shape to the north, with plans for around 1,000 homes.
Why skim a house that isn't old?
People are sometimes surprised that a 1970s or newer home needs skimming. Usually the plaster hasn't failed; life has simply built up on it: holes from shelves and TV brackets, filled cracks that show through every coat of paint, dents from furniture, cracks along plasterboard joints on ceilings, and textured finishes that have gone out of fashion. A skim covers the lot with one even surface, and it is far easier than trying to fill and sand a wall until it looks right.
1960s and 1970s houses
Walls in homes of this age are usually firm, so preparation is mostly about old decoration: stripping every scrap of paper, scraping back flaking paint and priming shiny surfaces so the new coat grips. A textured ceiling can be skimmed over rather than removed. Get it tested first if anyone plans to sand or scrape it, because some older textured finishes contain asbestos; left undisturbed and sealed, it simply disappears under the new plaster.
In newer homes, including those at the Romans' Quarter, walls and ceilings are usually plasterboard. Skimming once the house has settled gives a harder finish and hides the joint lines.
Cottages around Long Acre and the Market Place
Bingham's conservation area, the first in Rushcliffe when designated in 1970, takes in early cottages, vernacular buildings and former farm outbuildings, with its 24 listed buildings clustered between the church and the Market Place and along Long Acre. Cottage walls are rarely straight and the original plaster may be soft. If yours is listed, speak to Rushcliffe Borough Council before replacing any original plaster.
However old the house, let the new skim dry with good airflow and give it a thinned first coat of matt emulsion before decorating.
Call 07877 353120 or use the enquiry form to talk about skimming in Bingham. We're working 7am to 5pm, seven days a week.
