Arnold starts about 2 miles north of our base in Mapperley, and Killisick runs right up to the Mapperley border, so it is one of the closest towns we cover. It is a big place, with around 40,000 people in the built-up area, and its housing grew in stages. Two Arnold houses a few streets apart can need quite different plastering.
Homes from the 1920s onwards
The Arnold Local History Group records Grove House being demolished in the 1920s to make way for housing, and the grounds of Daybrook House being sold from 1958 and later covered with private homes. Houses from those decades sit either side of the switch from lath and plaster ceilings to plasterboard. An older ceiling may be lath and plaster that has cracked or bellied; a later one is more likely to be plasterboard with joints showing as straight cracks. Each needs a different fix. A cracked board ceiling usually needs its joints taped with scrim before a skim, while a lath ceiling that has lost its grip may need boarding over first.
Walls in houses of this age are usually brick or block, plastered directly. Where wallpaper has been stripped, the plaster underneath is often patchy or hollow in places. We sound it out, cut back anything loose and level it so the whole wall can take one even finish coat.
After a rewire or a knock-through
A lot of indoor plastering in Arnold follows other work. A rewire leaves chases in every room, a new kitchen leaves gaps around the units, and taking out a wall leaves a beam to box in and two old wall faces to join. Patching each scar on its own tends to show through paint, so it usually pays to patch first and then skim the whole wall or ceiling. Where new board meets old plaster, scrim tape across the joint helps stop a crack coming back.
Newer houses off Mansfield Road
Outline permission was granted in 2019 for 148 homes east of the A60 Mansfield Road and north of Georgia Drive. New houses like these are usually dry-lined, with plasterboard fixed to the walls on dabs of adhesive and the joints filled rather than skimmed. As the house dries out in its first year or two, small cracks and fixings showing through are common. Check what the builder's warranty covers first; after that, a full skim gives a harder, more even surface than taped board.
Whether you are in Daybrook, Woodthorpe, Redhill or Dorket Head, call 07877 353120 or send photos through the enquiry form. We are open seven days a week, 7am to 5pm.
