Plasterers and Renderers in Hillside
Between Birkdale and Ainsdale, where most of the walls we are called to have already been rendered once.
Southport, the Sefton coast, Liverpool and West Lancashire
Second and third coats, one on top of another
Hillside is largely substantial inter-war and post-war housing, and a lot of it was rendered decades ago. That is the thing that makes the work here different: we are rarely looking at a bare wall. We are looking at a wall that has had one finish applied, then a coat of masonry paint, then sometimes a second render skimmed over the top of the first when it started to look tired.
Every layer hides the one underneath, and the one underneath is usually the one that failed. So the job starts with finding out what is actually on there: tapping the elevation for hollowness, opening up a small area at a junction, and working out whether the substrate is sound enough to take anything at all.
Strip it, or coat over it?
That decision is the whole price of the job, and it is the one people most want a quick answer to. Sound, well-keyed render that is simply dated can often be prepared and overclad, which keeps the mess down and the cost sensible. Render that sounds hollow when you tap it, that has cracked in lines rather than a map pattern, or that has lifted at a bellcast, is already off the wall in the places you cannot see and has to come off.
We would rather lose a job at estimate stage than take one on the wrong basis. Putting a new system over a failed one buys perhaps three winters, and when it lets go it takes the new work with it, so the second job costs more than doing it properly the first time would have.
Big roofs, and the rooms people put in them
The other Hillside constant is roof space. These houses were built with generous, steep roofs, and a lot of them now have rooms in them or are about to. Once the structural work and the windows are in, the finish is what people actually live with: coombed ceilings that have to run true into knee walls, apex angles that show every millimetre, and reveals around Velux windows that are the first thing the eye lands on.
New timber also moves as it dries out. Taped joints, beaded angles and proper fixings absorb that; skipping them is why so many finished loft rooms crack along exactly the same lines in their first year.
What we are asked for most in Hillside
External Rendering
Re-rendering tired, cracked and blown elevations, including stripping off failed pebbledash first.
Read moreSilicone Rendering Systems
Breathable, through-coloured render built up over Atlas basecoat and mesh. No paint film to fail.
Read moreLoft Conversions
Coombed ceilings, dormer cheeks and roof-light reveals boarded and skimmed to a straight line.
Read moreInternal Plastering
Skimming, float and set, ceilings and repairs. Flat walls that take paint evenly and stay that way.
Read moreWe have not written up a job in Hillside yet. The nearest ones, and everything else we have photographed start to finish, are on our work.
Questions from Hillside customers
Can you render straight over the render that is already on our house?
Only if what is there is genuinely sound. We tap the whole elevation first, because hollow render is off the wall whether it looks it or not. Overcladding a failed coat buys a couple of winters and then takes the new work off with it, so we will tell you honestly which of the two your wall is.
How do you know what is under the existing finish?
By opening a small area up at a junction or a reveal before pricing, as well as tapping it. It takes half an hour and it is the difference between a written estimate that holds and one that changes once the scaffold is up.
Do you cover Hillside?
Yes, and constantly. It sits between Birkdale and Ainsdale and we are working on one side of it or the other most weeks. We are based on Liverpool Road in Southport, so it is a few minutes away.
Can I see work you have done near Hillside?
The gallery on this site is all our own work across Southport and the coast, grouped by service. Ask when you call if you want to see something specific: a silicone render, a media wall, a restored ceiling. We will point you at the relevant photos.
What customers said
4.7 out of 5 on Google and 5.0 from 35 reviews on MyBuilder, plus 100% recommended from 6 recommendations on Facebook. Every review below is verbatim from those profiles, and each one says which.
I received a first class service from Birkdale Plastering. Anthony always attended as arranged. He was invariably polite and hard-working and cleared any mess before leaving. I am very pleased with the finished job.
Antony did a great job would highly recommend him
Render of an outside wall. Excellent job and finish Turned up when he said, cleaned up and took the time to protect the areas around the job. Would highly recommend to family and friends.
Anthony did an outstanding job pebble-dashing our entire house. It was a challenging project but he handled every aspect with professionalism and care—nothing was ever too much trouble. He worked incredibly hard and maintained a clean and tidy worksite throughout. We couldn’t be happier with the result.
Anthony has done an excellent plastering job today for us in Formby. Repaired a hole on our kitchen ceiling after a leak whilst on holiday. Very good finish and so tidy too! Would Definitely recommend him!
Outstanding work would highly recommend went above and behond with everything, if anyone needs rendering this is your man.
Other areas we cover
Based on Liverpool Road in Southport. We work right along the Sefton coast, down into Liverpool, and inland across West Lancashire as far as Preston. Every town below has a page of its own.
Get a free written estimate
Tell us what the walls are doing and we will come and look. You will get an honest assessment and a written price, with no obligation and no pressure.
Get in touch
Tell us what the walls are doing and we will come and look. Free written estimate, no obligation.
- Phone 07923 545449
- Email anthony9thompson@yahoo.co.uk
- Address
Birkdale Plastering and Rendering
546 Liverpool Road, Southport PR8 3BG - Opening hours Every day, 7am to 9pm