Dry lining covers two different jobs that get talked about as one. The first is lining an existing solid wall with plasterboard, usually to get a flat surface without building the room out in wet plaster, sometimes to get insulation behind it. The second is building a new wall out of studs and boarding it.
Both end up as a board surface, and the finish on top is a choice: a two coat skim over the lot, or tape and jointing where only the joints and screw heads are filled. They look different and they cost different, and which one is right depends on the room and on what is going on the wall afterwards.
Dot and dab onto solid walls
Adhesive goes onto the wall in dabs, the board goes onto the dabs, and the board is tapped back to a line so the finished face is flat and plumb whatever the wall behind it is doing. It is the fast way to get a flat surface on a wall that is sound but out of true, and it is a lot less wet than floating the same wall out.
The set out matters more than it looks. Boards are arranged so joints do not land in the middle of a wall where a light will rake across them, and so that sockets and switches fall on a board rather than across a joint. Where anything heavy is going on that wall, a pattress or a batten goes in behind the board before it is fixed, because a dabbed board on its own will not hold a wall mounted television.
A new partition is framed first, in timber or in metal stud, fixed top and bottom and set out so the boards land on a fixing. Metal stud is quicker and dead straight; timber is easier to fix heavy things to. Where the wall separates two rooms that need to be quiet from each other, it gets insulation in the cavity and the boards get staggered rather than lining up.
Openings get the attention. A door in a stud wall wants a proper head and full height studs each side, or the frame moves every time the door shuts and the plaster cracks at the corners. Corners and reveals get beading, and the beading is what decides whether an edge looks crisp or soft once the paint is on.
Tape and jointing fills the joints and the screw heads and leaves the paper face of the board as the finished surface. Three passes of compound, feathered wider each time, then sanded. It is dry, it is fast, and on a large flat area such as a garage conversion or a loft room it is usually the right answer.
A skim puts two thin coats of finish plaster over the whole board and gives one continuous surface with no feathered bands in it. In a room with a window down one side, where the light rakes across a wall all afternoon, that difference is visible and it is worth the extra. You get told which one the room wants and why.
Insulated board is plasterboard with insulation bonded to the back of it, and it is the usual way of warming up a cold solid wall without work outside. It is fixed through to the wall rather than dabbed on, and the joints are taped so the insulation is continuous.
It takes room off the floor, and more than people expect: a useful thickness plus the board is most of two inches off each wall it goes on. In a small back bedroom that is a real loss, and it also moves every socket, every radiator and both sides of the window reveal. Those come up at the estimate, because they are most of the work.
“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.”
Dry lining and partitioning: frequently asked questions
Is dot and dab as good as plastering the wall?
For a flat finished surface, yes, and it is drier and faster. What it does not give you is a solid wall to fix into, so anything heavy needs a batten or a pattress put in behind the board first. Say what is going on the wall and that gets planned in.
Tape and joint or skim?
Tape and joint on large flat areas and where speed matters. A skim where the light rakes across a wall, because a skim is one continuous surface and a taped joint is a wide shallow band that can show under a low sun.
Can you build a wall with a door in it?
Yes. The frame gets a proper head and full height studs either side so it does not move when the door shuts, which is what causes the cracks at the top corners of a badly framed opening.
Will it make the room warmer?
Only if it is insulated board, and then yes, noticeably on a solid external wall. Plain board on dabs makes a wall flat, not warm. It costs you a couple of inches of floor either way, which matters in a small room.
