Cost guide
How much does plasterboarding and dry lining cost?
Plasterboarding costs £12 to £22 per square metre supplied and fixed. Board and skim together is £30 to £45 per square metre. A standard ceiling boarded and skimmed runs £450 to £800 depending on the span and whether the old one is coming down.
Typical prices
Ranges, not quotes. A quote depends on your room.
| Work | Typical UK price |
|---|---|
| Plasterboard supplied and fixed, per m² | £12 to £22 |
| Board and skim, per m² | £30 to £45 |
| Dot-and-dab a solid wall, per m² | £25 to £38 |
| Board and skim a ceiling | £450 to £800 |
| Insulated board, per m² | £35 to £55 |
Say before the board goes up where you want anything heavy fixed: a television, a radiator, kitchen units, a handrail. A noggin put in first costs nothing and a fixing into empty board fails.
What moves the price
- Dot-and-dab or framed. Dabbing onto a sound solid wall is quicker than building and boarding a frame.
- Board type. Standard board is cheapest; moisture, fire and acoustic boards cost more and are sometimes not optional.
- Whether the old surface comes down first, and whether there is a skip in that price.
- Ceiling or wall. Boarding overhead is slower, needs two people or a lifter, and is priced accordingly.
- The finish over it. A full skim costs more than tape and joint, and tape and joint priced to level 4 costs more than to level 2.
What the money buys: dot and dab boarding a solid wall to take a skim.
Who quotes for it
Questions about plasterboarding and dry lining
What is a level 4 finish?
A tape-and-joint standard: joints and screw heads filled and sanded to take a matt paint. Level 5 adds a skim coat of filler over the whole surface and is what you want under a gloss or a sharp side light. Most domestic quotes mean level 4 whether or not they say so.
How much room does dot-and-dab lose?
Thirty to fifty millimetres per wall once you allow for the adhesive and the board. It is worth measuring on a small room or a tight landing before committing.
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