Hucknall grew fast after Top Pit was sunk off Watnall Road in 1861 and Bottom Pit off Portland Road in 1866. Mining turned a place where framework knitting had been the main trade into a market town in under a century, and the town has kept growing since. Today a skim here could be in a house near the market square and St Mary Magdalene church, or in a brand new home on the former Rolls-Royce land.
Four checks before any skim
Whatever the age of your house, the same four questions decide whether a skim lasts:
- Is the plaster attached? Tapping finds hollow patches, which need cutting out and filling first.
- How absorbent is it? Dusty or chalky walls pull the water out of new plaster, so they are sealed beforehand.
- Is it shiny? Gloss, silk or vinyl paint gives fresh plaster nothing to key into, so a gritty bonding primer goes on.
- Is there damp? New plaster won't cure a damp problem. Leaks, gutters and condensation have to be sorted before skimming.
Getting those right is what stops a skim cracking, blistering or coming away a year later.
New homes on the Rolls-Royce land
In April 2023 Persimmon's phase 5b, another 150 homes on the former Rolls-Royce land on Watnall Road, was approved, and the whole estate will have more than 900 properties. Houses like these are mostly finished in plasterboard with taped joints. Owners often decide to skim once the house has settled, to cover joint cracks and get a smoother, tougher wall, or after a new kitchen has gone in and sockets have moved. Skimming over plasterboard needs the joints scrimmed and any popped screws driven home first, otherwise the lines show through the new surface.
Around the town centre
Ashfield District Council has a conservation area covering Hucknall town centre. If you live in an older property in or near it, the walls may be solid brick with plaster that has been patched over many years. Those walls need the four checks most of all. A ceiling that has been cracked and painted over repeatedly can be skimmed once it has been made secure, and narrow older stairwells are worked from a platform rather than a ladder on the treads, so the full height can be finished in one go.
Once the plaster has dried to an even colour, seal it with a thinned matt emulsion before decorating.
To talk about a skim in Hucknall, Butler's Hill, Westville or Beauvale, call 07877 353120 or use the enquiry form. We work seven days a week from 7am to 5pm.
