I've decided to have the entire house rewired - does that mean skimming would be needed?

[sparkwright]

No need to skim the whole wall to repair chases - unless the old plaster is particularly shot and you actually want to re-skim.

The skirting boards and architraves are generally NOT removed for basic re-skimming.

A good plasterer and a good decorator should be able to fill chases so it blends in nicely with the existing finish.

Unless you happen to have a textured wall finish, generally there shouldn't be any major problem blending the chases in if you have a skilled workforce.

I was able to finish off the repairs to my chases with filler and a wet filling knife, and coats of paint in between to highlight any bad areas - took patience, but couldn't justify any major plastering projects.

 

[EddieM]

No need to skim the whole wall to repair chases - unless the old plaster is particularly shot and you actually want to re-skim.

The skirting boards and architraves are generally NOT removed for basic re-skimming.

A good plasterer and a good decorator should be able to fill chases so it blends in nicely with the existing finish.

Unless you happen to have a textured wall finish, generally there shouldn't be any major problem blending the chases in if you have a skilled workforce.

I was able to finish off the repairs to my chases with filler and a wet filling knife, and coats of paint in between to highlight any bad areas - took patience, but couldn't justify any major plastering projects.

Your experience differs from mine then. I've always been able to see a filled in chase, sometimes even behind wallpaper.

 

[sparkwright]

I didn't say it was easy.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Crumbs that means I have to add the cost of skimming all the walls in the house then. When you skim am I right in assuming you also need to take the skirting boards off and the door jams?

Access is needed to run cables everywhere. So floors need to come up, some skirting may be needed to be removed and replaced. Other access may be needed also that will need repair and / or making good. I hope you aren’t living in the house, and the house isn’t full of furniture?

 

[RF Lighting]

I repair my own chases and they are not visible after a coat of paint. I’ve certainly never needed to reskim a wall to hide my chases.

I would expect most good electricians to do the same.

 

[EddieM]

I repair my own chases and they are not visible after a coat of paint. I’ve certainly never needed to reskim a wall to hide my chases.

I would expect most good electricians to do the same.

Judging by the standards of your work that you post on here, I can believe that. Sadly in my albeit limited experience, most electricians and don't measure up to that, in so much as pretty much all the "made good" chases I've seen have been to a lesser or greater extent, visible. Just my experience though.

 

[RF Lighting]

This is before painting obviously. It’s really not difficult to do invisible patch work as long as the existing plaster is somewhat sound. This is ~150 year old plaster.

 

[teaboyjim]

If it's in a buried conduit then it's possible to draw new cables in to replace the old without disturbing the plaster, if not they have to be chopped out. simples.

Oh! Now I understand what you mean!

 

[teaboyjim]

View attachment 224498 This is before painting obviously. It’s really not difficult to do invisible patch work as long as the existing plaster is somewhat sound. This is ~150 year old plaster.

Thanks for posting this example RF. Do you often find 150 year old plaster in good enough condition that it would be pointless to redo it? Some developers take everything out regardless of the condition

 

[sparkwright]

If the plaster is 100 years old, covered in old paste, chipped and cracked - and you want to paint it, then a re-skim should be considered.

But if in good nick, or you're having paper, then consider keeping it.

People do seem to re-skim pre-war houses during renovations now if they want emulsioned walls.

I can't recall a time ever when someone has re-skimmed a room or a whole house ONLY because I've chased out the walls for electrics (although there was one occasion when the plaster was so shot to buggery that massive chunks dropped off revealing A LOT of brickwork).

 

[RF Lighting]

Generally unless there has been water damage or some sort of structural problem then it’s usually been in pretty good condition in my experience.

The property in the picture has been fairly well looked after with regards to pointing and roofing / gutterings etc. There is an odd patch here and there which sounds a little hollow but overall there’s nothing wrong with it at all.

I certainly wouldn’t hack all the old plaster off just for the sake of it. Especially if you have nice old covings which you want to retain. The only thing you’ll gain from that is an invoice from a plasterer.

 

[JohnW2]

... It’s really not difficult to do invisible patch work as long as the existing plaster is somewhat sound. This is ~150 year old plaster.

You might have fun in my house. Other than for newer stuff, I have two types of (ancient) plaster, both of which are 'interesting' to deal with - one type resembles 'sand', and the other resembles a cross between reinforced concrete and cast iron! I think that a fair bit of it is still 'original' - which makes most of it about 125 years old, but some around double that age.

However, I agree that, even with those interesting materials, it's generally not difficult to do essentially invisible patching.

Kind Regards, John

 

[teaboyjim]

Access is needed to run cables everywhere. So floors need to come up, some skirting may be needed to be removed and replaced. Other access may be needed also that will need repair and / or making good. I hope you aren’t living in the house, and the house isn’t full of furniture?

It's an empty house with all the carpets up and some carpets up as well

 

[Taylortwocities]

Good, that’s the best position to be in.
It’s no fun rewiring a house that’s full of furniture and where the client wants power on all the time because he/she is working from home!

 

[teaboyjim]

You might have fun in my house. Other than for newer stuff, I have two types of (ancient) plaster, both of which are 'interesting' to deal with - one type resembles 'sand', and the other resembles a cross between reinforced concrete and cast iron! I think that a fair bit of it is still 'original' - which makes most of it about 125 years old, but some around double that age. However, I agree that, even with those interesting materials, it's generally not difficult to do essentially invisible patching. Kind Regards, John

It sounds interesting John. Have you any idea what the type of plaster might be that's the "hard one" - would it be some type of cement based rendering product? Would the plaster that looks similar to "sand" be lime based?