Project Overview

Located in the heart of Kent, this charming 1890s Victorian terrace property was undergoing a full interior restoration. Over decades of ownership, the walls had accumulated dozens of layers of woodchip wallpaper, blown lime plaster, and uneven patches. The new homeowners wanted to modernize the living room and master bedroom while respecting the historic architectural style of the building.

The Challenges

1. Unstable Substrate: Removing the old woodchip wallpaper revealed crumbling lime plaster underneath that had lost its bond to the brickwork in several large areas.
2. Uneven Surfaces and Out-of-Plumb Walls: Victorian walls are notoriously uneven, making it difficult to achieve clean shadow lines along skirting boards and ceiling edges.
3. Preserving Period Character: The client requested high-end decorative plaster coving along the ceiling line to match the original heritage character.

Our Step-by-Step Solution

• Phase 1: Strip & Prep: We stripped back all remaining wall coverings, removed the blown sections of old plaster down to the original brick, and built those patches back up using British Gypsum Hardwall plaster.
• Phase 2: Stabilization & Mesh: To prevent future settlement cracks between the old masonry and new patches, we applied heavy-duty scrim tape across all structural junctions and coated all walls with a high-tack bonding coat.
• Phase 3: Two-Coat Skimming: Our team applied a meticulous two-coat application of Thistle Multi-Finish plaster, troweling the surface at precise drying intervals to achieve a polished, glass-like surface finish.
• Phase 4: Coving Installation: We measured, hand-cut, and installed traditional plaster cornicing along the ceiling perimeters, seamlessly blending the joints into the fresh wall skim.

Final Result & Outcome

The renovation was completed strictly within the 5-day schedule. The living room and master bedroom were transformed from dark, damaged spaces into bright, crisp, paint-ready rooms with flawless straight walls and elegant period details. The homeowners were able to paint directly onto the walls after a brief 7-day drying period, achieving a breathtaking contemporary-meets-classic aesthetic.

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