02 / OUR WORK

A clean canvas for whatever comes next.

Photos from real jobs, before and after, and what each one shows — plus what a proper finish looks like and how to check it for yourself. Jump to the photos.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

What a proper finish looks like.

You don’t need a trade eye to judge plastering. You need a light, a few minutes and a short list of things to look at.

A finish is either flat, straight and clean or it is not, and the wall itself will tell you which. The checks below are the ones worth making on any plastering job, and you can make every one of them yourself. None of them need special kit.

Plaster also moves as it dries, so give it time to go off and lighten before you judge it. Patchy, darker areas are usually just damp plaster, not a fault in the work.

Flat under a low light

Hold a lamp or a phone torch close to the wall and shine it along the surface rather than at it. Low-angle light is unforgiving — hollows, ripples and high spots all throw a shadow. A flat wall stays flat under it.

Straight edges, square corners

Internal corners should run straight from floor to ceiling without wandering. External corners, window reveals and the line where wall meets ceiling should be crisp and consistent, not rounded off or wavy.

Tight around the fittings

Sockets, switches, door linings and skirtings are where careless work shows first. Plaster should meet them cleanly, with no gaps opening up along the joint and no ragged edges left behind for the decorator to sort out.

No trowel lines or blowholes

Run the flat of your hand across the surface. You shouldn’t feel ridges where a trowel has stopped and started, and you shouldn’t see pinholes or small craters when you look across the wall at an angle.

Ready to take paint

A finished surface should be even and clean, with the dust and debris cleared away and nothing left needing filling or sanding back first. That is what “ready to decorate” actually means.

BEFORE AND AFTER