Plastering in Saltburn-by-the-Sea
Plastering across Saltburn's TS12 postcode: the Victorian jewel streets with their high ceilings, lath and plaster and original cornice, cliff-top elevations that take the full force of the sea wind, and the newer housing inland towards Brotton and Skelton.
The jewel streets
Saltburn's Victorian core, the streets named after gemstones off Milton Street and Marine Parade, is the most period-sensitive housing on the patch. High ceilings, generous rooms, original plaster cornice and, above your head, lath and plaster that has been up for well over a century. The decisions here are different from an estate semi. A ceiling whose keys have failed cannot be saved by a skim and is honestly a case for taking down and over-boarding. Original cornice is worth repairing and matching rather than replacing with modern cove. And on solid walls, breathable materials keep moisture moving out instead of trapping it behind a dense modern coat.
Weather on the cliff top
Few places on Teesside are as exposed. Wind coming in off the sea and up the cliff drives rain into west and north elevations, and render that would last twenty years inland can craze and blow in half that. Where a re-render is needed at £40 to £70 per square metre, a flexible breathable system is usually the sensible specification, and on the older solid-wall property lime render is often the correct answer rather than a preference. Parts of the town sit within the conservation area, so external finishes and colours are worth checking with Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council before ordering anything.
Inside the period house
Internally, most work here is a careful re-skim at £300 to £600 a room, priced towards the upper end because the ceilings are tall and staging slows everything down. Damp-affected low-level plaster around chimney breasts and external corners is common, and the skim or replaster guide sets out the tests that tell you which you are looking at before anyone quotes.