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Hard walling base coats across Staffordshire and Cheshire
Structural hard-wall base coat for larger or uneven masonry walls, levelled and ready for a flawless finish skim.
Testimonials
Don't just take our word for it. Read what customers say.
Nearly every job we take on comes from a recommendation or a returning customer. These reviews were left by homeowners across Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Crewe and Stafford, after we had packed up and left the house clean.
Re-skimmed two bedrooms and the hallway. Immaculate work and left the place cleaner than they found it.
Ceiling came down after a leak. Boarded and skimmed in a day and you would never know.
Silicone render on the whole house. On site every morning on time, finish is spot on.
Micro cement in the bathroom, exactly what we wanted and priced fairly. Highly recommend.
Quoted quickly, turned up when promised and the walls are perfect. No mess left behind at all.
Full house replaster before we moved in. Great communication the whole way through.
Full house replaster before we moved in. Great communication the whole way through.
Quoted quickly, turned up when promised and the walls are perfect. No mess left behind at all.
Micro cement in the bathroom, exactly what we wanted and priced fairly. Highly recommend.
Silicone render on the whole house. On site every morning on time, finish is spot on.
Ceiling came down after a leak. Boarded and skimmed in a day and you would never know.
Re-skimmed two bedrooms and the hallway. Immaculate work and left the place cleaner than they found it.
What we do on a hard walling job
Structural hard-wall base coat for larger or uneven masonry walls, levelled and ready for a flawless finish skim.
- Nearly a decade of plastering and rendering experience
- Clean, punctual and reliable on every job
- A solution planned individually with each customer
- Specialist finishes: Venetian, micro cement, epoxy resin, marble effect
- Full internal and external service, from ceiling repairs to exterior render
Not every wall is ready for a smooth finish straight away. Bare, patched or out-of-true masonry needs building out and levelling first, and that is what hard walling does. Rigby’s Plastering applies hardwall and browning base coats across Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire and Cheshire, levelling larger and uneven walls so the finish skim has a flat, solid surface to work over.
What a base coat is for
Hard walling is the strong, hard-setting backing plaster that goes on before the finish. On a rough brick or block wall, a thin skim on its own has nothing flat to follow, so it simply mirrors every hollow and high spot. The base coat is where the wall is actually straightened: it is floated on thicker, ruled flat and given the strength to take knocks. Only once that is right does the smooth finish go on. Get the base coat level and the finish looks after itself.
Float and set, explained
The traditional method is called float and set, and it is two stages. First the base coat, the hard walling, is floated onto the wall and ruled off flat to bring the whole surface true, filling out the low areas and building the wall to an even plane. That coat is left to firm up. Then a thin finish plaster is set over the top and polished to a smooth surface ready to decorate. Both stages are usually carried out as one job, so you get a levelled, finished wall in one visit rather than a half-done surface.
Where it suits
Hard walling comes into its own on bare masonry after building work, on walls stripped back during a renovation, and on larger or uneven surfaces where a skim alone would never straighten things out. It is for solid backgrounds like brick and block, not plasterboard, which is finished a different way. In the older brick property common across Staffordshire and Cheshire, walls are rarely dead flat, and a proper base coat is what turns a tired, uneven surface into a wall worth skimming.
The work area is kept clean as the coats go on and cleared afterwards. Rigby’s gives free quotes and a plain answer on whether your wall needs a base coat or just a skim, with nearly a decade of experience behind the judgement.
Our work
Hard Walling and more, finished
A run of recent finishes across Staffordshire and Cheshire. Click any tile to open it full size.
Related services
Often booked alongside hard walling
Questions
Hard Walling: common questions
What is hard walling?
Hard walling is a hard-setting backing plaster, such as hardwall or browning, put on masonry walls to build them out and level them. It forms the solid, flat base coat that the thin finish skim goes on top of afterwards.
What is the difference between hard walling and skimming?
Hard walling is the thick base coat that levels an uneven wall and gives strength. Skimming is the thin, smooth finish plaster over the top. On a rough or out-of-true masonry wall you need the base coat first, then the skim.
What does float and set mean?
Float and set is the two-stage method: the base coat is floated on and ruled flat to level the wall, left to firm up, then a finish skim is set over it. It is the standard way to bring a bare or uneven masonry wall to a smooth finish.
Do I need hard walling or can you just skim the wall?
If a wall is reasonably flat and sound, a skim on its own may be enough. If it is bare masonry, patched, or noticeably out of true, a hardwall base coat is needed first, because a thin skim cannot straighten a wall that is out of level.
Can hard walling be used on any wall?
Hardwall and browning are for solid masonry backgrounds like brick and block. They are not used over plasterboard, which is dry-lined or skimmed directly. The right base coat is matched to the wall and how absorbent it is.
Does the wall get skimmed after the hard walling?
Yes, in almost all cases. The hard-wall base coat levels and strengthens the wall, then a finish skim is set over it to leave the smooth surface you decorate. Both stages are usually done as one job.
Need hard walling priced?
Send a few details and we'll come back to you with a price, usually the same day. No obligation, no pressure.
Get your hard walling job priced today.
- Free, no-obligation quote, usually back the same day
- Nearly a decade of plastering and rendering experience
- Dust sheets down, site left clean every day
- Interior and exterior work by the same team
Coverage
Areas we cover
Roughly a 30-mile radius from our base near Stoke-on-Trent, across Staffordshire, Cheshire and the surrounding counties. Just outside? Get in touch and we will check availability.