Plastering, plaster boarding and skimming

[Hl.house]

Sorry, this may be a very naive question but I don't know the difference between plastering and plaster boarding.My house is very old(circa 1895). One wall is boarded by previous owners and other walls have old type of plaster. Don't know if it is masonry or lathe. There are no visible cracks but it is not smooth.

The bathroom company I talked to(national chain) says we will need plaster boarding and skimming and is going to cost £1000s... for a 3.5 x 2.7 room with total installation cost of £5000+ (labour only, products separate)
Other individual fitter I spoke to says we need only skimming no need to plasterboard. No tiling because we will use a shower cabin (covered top e.g. insignia) and the freestanding bath(without shower) will be 90cm away from wall. Fooring will be sheet vinyl supplied by us. We will relocate wc, wash basin and bath tub(90 cm away from current location), to be fair.

Will someone kindly advice if I need plastering, plaster boarding, skimming and/or all of them?
Many Thanks, HL.house.

 

[vinn]

If you read the "Similar Threads" below and continue reading their "Similar Threads" you will soon learn all you need to know.

 

[chappers]

basically your national chain is saying that the bathroom needs the walls re-boarding and then plastering whereas your individual fitter says that it just needs some re-plastering. It's hard to tell who is right without seeing it. But my personal preference for getting the works done would always lean towards a decent independent fitter over one of the national chains.

 

[Hl.house]

Thank you both for your reply.

My problem is both national chain and independent fitters are new to me. It is difficult to know who is right?

 

[chappers]

As I said I would be inclined to trust the local fitter, National chains have a habit of talking the job up and also leave their fitters with tight margins, which can lead to corner cutting an/or taking the route of least resistance.
But to be honest no one can tell you categorically without seeing the job. get some more people round to look at the job.
Whereabouts are you, someone may be able to recommend a decent fitter near you.

 

[Hl.house]

Thank you for your answers. We have decided to go with a local fitter. He also fits for a national chain. Only drawback is we don't get 5 year warranty.

 

[chappers]

Probably not worth the paper it's written on anyway. A fair few fitters are signed on with the nationals and take work if times become lean.
Thanks for reporting the outcome.