A few questions, photos if you have them, and a written price after a look at the job.
Pricing
Written price after a look at the job
Who turns up
Family run, City & Guilds Level 2 Diploma
On site
Dust sheeted, swept and cleared down daily
What we take on
Domestic and commercial, all property types
A mixed stock in one place
Eltham is unusually mixed. There are Edwardian terraces near the station, very large interwar estates built out through the twenties and thirties, and pockets of postwar and later infill. The three want different things: the Edwardian houses have lath ceilings and solid walls, the thirties estates have consistent proportions and mostly sound plaster, and the later stock is boarded throughout.
So the first visit matters more here than in a place with one kind of house. Knowing which of the three you are standing in decides whether a room is a one day skim or a three day strip and replaster, and that is not something to guess at over the phone.
Rooms that have been patched for decades
The commonest job is a room that is structurally fine and cosmetically exhausted. Forty years of filler, a fireplace taken out, sockets moved twice, lining paper put up and pulled off, and a surface that will not take paint flat however carefully it is rolled.
That is a skim, and it is the single best value job in plastering. Two thin coats over what is already there, one day for a normal room, and the finished surface is identical to a wall that has been taken back to brick at three times the cost.
Stairs, landings and the awkward bits
Hallways, stairwells and landings are where people stop and call somebody in, because they are tall, awkward to reach and impossible to do half of. A stairwell needs a proper working platform rather than a ladder leant across the flight, and that platform is most of the setting up time.
Done properly it is one continuous surface from the front door to the landing ceiling with no joins in it, which is the part that is genuinely hard to get from a weekend attempt. It is also the first thing anybody sees when they come in.
The Progress Estate, and why it is not an ordinary job
Eltham has something almost nowhere else in South East London has: the Progress Estate at Well Hall, built in 1915 for the Woolwich Arsenal workers, and listed. Roughcast render, tile hung elevations, casement windows and an arts and crafts layout that was designed as a whole rather than a street at a time. It looks like a village and it is protected like a monument.
On a listed building, work affecting the character needs consent, and external render is character. That means no cement patch on a lime roughcast because cement is what is in the van, no change of texture across an elevation, and no swapping a soft background for a hard coat because it will last longer. It will not last longer. It will trap water in a wall built to breathe and blow the face off the brick behind it in a few winters.
The rest of Eltham is far more ordinary, thirties semis out towards Mottingham and New Eltham and a good deal of postwar infill, and those are standard skimming and ceiling work. But the two sit a street apart, so the first question on any external job here is which of the two you are standing in front of, and whether the council needs to see it first.
“Good honest business, we called SMB after we had a bad experience with previous contractors. ... The work is immaculate (we had our house skimmed), the detail, care and attention is spot on.”
“Frank and Steve did a fantastic job on my hallway! Really professional team and their work is seamless. I was really impressed, and they even fixed my skirting board and put it back on for me, a very appreciated extra! Would highly recommend.”
“They did a great job. I had an awkward hallway area and a large ceiling to skim. I thought they'd finished earlier in the day as it looked great to me then, but they went over the whole area to make sure that the finish was perfect.”
“Excellent work! Scott plastered our living room including some tricky details around fireplace and bay window. Great finish looks really good, all the work was tidy and well communicated all done on time. Would highly recommend.”
“Frank completed a wall for me that needed plastering, he was on time, very polite and nothing seemed an issue. ... Although only a small job, kept my house tidy, even outside the house, cleaned up after he finished and done a perfect job, highly recommended from myself.”
“Hi, Had the team in plastering for a week. What a joy. There were no problems they turned up on time everyday and very polite. Would recommend them to anyone. Thanks very much guys.”
“I don't often leave reviews, but Frank was so helpful and pleasant to work with that he deserves 5 stars. Very responsive and professional. He did a great job and left our place clean and tidy. Thanks again Frank!”
“Frank very kindly stopped by to plaster a chipped wall. Perfectly done and really helpful and kind guy. 100% calling if I ever need any more plastering done!”
“Although we didn't require any work, Frank was extremely helpful and knowledgable on his visit to inspect our issue. He was prompt and on time and responded quickly.”
“Very, very happy with Franks work finishing off kitchen walls after having been let down by a builder. It was a tricky job as the granite worktops ect had already been installed but I couldn't be happier with the result.”
“Really happy with the work. Great finish and very professional. Turned up on time, kept things tidy, and did a top-quality job. Would definitely recommend.”
“very pleasant experience in communication and the level of service provided. tradesman was very polite. He came around for a diagnosis before outlining the job in details with cost and what needs doing.”
“Just had Scott round, Arrived on time started straight away and just got on with the job. Pleasant at all times clean & tidy worker will definitely use again. Work looks good and he stuck to his price. Thanks Scott was was good to meet you.”
“Very professional, was very clear on what exactly will be done. Agreed a price and kept me update all the way through. Happy with the work completed and after care as well. Very helpful and highly recommended.”
“Scott called me before booking a date to come and do work. He reasured me about somethings i was worried about. He come in time he said he would and helped me with another job as well. Very helpful and happy with service”
“Great job by Scott plastering the small room, he managed to sort out the uneven ceiling and walls. Will be using Scott again to sort out a couple of other rooms.”
Plastering, screeding and rendering out of Bromley, across South East London, the Kent border and Central London, on every kind of property, domestic and commercial. If you are outside that it is still worth asking, because it depends on the size of the job and how the week is already booked.
Yes, always in writing, and after somebody has looked at the job rather than off a description. If something turns up behind the plaster once work starts, you are told before it is dealt with, not after.
Most of the work is in occupied property. Floors get sheeted, doorways get sealed where the rest of the house is in use, and noisy work is kept to the middle of the day so the neighbours can live with it.
Yes. Domestic and commercial both, and a commercial fit out tends to run to a tighter programme with more of the work happening out of hours, which is planned for rather than charged for as a surprise.
It depends what is already booked and how big the job is. A single room repair usually fits in sooner than a whole property. The honest date gets given at estimate stage rather than an optimistic one.
Yes. Hacked off plaster, board offcuts and packaging all leave with the job. Nothing gets left in a communal hallway or stacked in a front garden.
Nearby
Bromley, South East London, Kent and Central London
CoveringBromley, South East London, Kent and Central London
Qualifications and training
City & Guilds Level 2 Diploma in PlasteringFrank McBride, College of North West London, 2021Federation of Damp: Damp Proofing Technician trainingFrank McBride, January 2026be Accredited health and safety trainingAsbestos awareness, abrasive wheels, confined space, accident and incident, environmental awareness
