How Much Does It Cost to Skim a Room in Edinburgh?

Typical price ranges for skimming a room

Most plasterers price skimming per room or by the day rather than per square metre. The figures below are typical for Edinburgh and the surrounding area in 2026. They assume the existing surfaces are sound, the room has been cleared and no major repairs are needed.

Many local plasterers charge a day rate of roughly £200 to £300 per person, plus materials. A plasterer working with a labourer can usually skim the walls and ceiling of an average bedroom in one to two days, so the day rate is a useful way to sense check any quote you get.

• Ceiling only in a box room or small bedroom: roughly £200 to £350
• Walls and ceiling in a small bedroom (around 3m x 3m): roughly £450 to £700
• Walls and ceiling in an average double bedroom or living room: roughly £650 to £1,000
• Large tenement or Georgian living room with ceilings over 3m: roughly £1,000 to £1,600, sometimes more

What pushes the price up or down

The biggest factor is the condition of what's already there. Skimming is a thin finishing coat of around 2 to 3mm, so it relies on a solid surface underneath. If the background is poor, extra work is needed before any skim goes on, and that is where costs climb.

• Ceiling height: many New Town, Bruntsfield, Leith and Morningside properties have ceilings of 3 to 3.5 metres, which means working from towers or trestles and takes noticeably longer.
• Lath and plaster: older walls are often cracked, loose or blown. Skimming straight over blown plaster will fail, so those areas need cutting out and patching, or the wall needs overboarding.
• Artex and textured ceilings: these usually need a stabilising coat or an extra coat to flatten. Artex applied before 2000 can contain asbestos, so it should be tested before anyone sands or scrapes it.
• Cornicing and ceiling roses: working carefully around original features adds time, and repairing damaged cornice is usually priced separately.
• Access: a top floor tenement flat with a long common stair, or a street in a controlled parking zone where permits or bay suspensions are needed, can add a little to the cost.
• Preparation: stripping wallpaper, removing old paint, fitting angle beads on corners and applying bonding agent all take time.

What a fair quote should include

When you compare quotes, check what each one actually covers. A proper price for skimming a room should normally include protecting floors and furniture, loosening sockets and switch plates, fitting new corner beads where needed, applying a bonding coat, two coats of finish plaster, and cleaning up and removing waste.

Decorating is usually not included. Fresh plaster needs time to dry before painting, typically one to two weeks, and longer in a cold Edinburgh winter or in older stone buildings that hold moisture. When it's ready, it needs a mist coat of watered down emulsion before normal paint. A cheap quote that leaves out prep or cleaning up can end up costing more once the extras are added.

How to get an accurate price

Photos are useful for a rough idea, but the condition of old plaster can't really be judged from a picture. A plasterer tapping the walls will quickly find hollow, blown sections that would otherwise turn up halfway through the job. A site visit gives you a firm price rather than an estimate that might change.

Get two or three quotes and compare like for like. Ask how many days the job will take, whether materials are included, and what happens if more blown plaster is found once the old paper comes off. Clearing the room and removing wallpaper yourself before the plasterer arrives can save you a bit of money.