01Move
DNA dimensions
Rooms/week, avg ticket (£280–£14,000), British Gypsum Site Group / SPRA membership, polished-plaster / Venetian share, render share, builder subcontract vs direct mix, heritage lime-plaster premium.
All playbooksServices
Plastering playbook.
A UK independent plasterer running multi-finish skimming, dot-and-dab plasterboarding, render (silicone / monocouche / K-Rend), Venetian polished plaster, lime-plaster heritage and Marmorino feature walls. The 2026 win is the polished-plaster / Marmorino niche for interior designers — £4,400–£14,000 per room at 58–68% margin.
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Reference fit-out · Plastering
Overview
A UK indie plasterer in 2026 runs four engines: multi-finish skim (£18–£28/m², 42 m²/day, 48–58% margin — bread and butter, 4–5 rooms/week per plasterer), dot-and-dab + plasterboard (£14–£22/m², new-build + extension subcontract, 32–42% margin), external render (£42–£68/m² for silicone / monocouche, 38–48% margin, 2–4 houses/month, scaffold-dependent), and polished plaster + Venetian + Marmorino + lime heritage (£140–£280/m², 58–68% margin, 1–3 rooms/month — interior designer commissions, Houzz hero content). Maths for 2-plasterer + labourer crew: £8k skim + £6k dot-and-dab + £8k render + £6k polished = £28k/month gross. Polished plaster is the brand engine — one Marmorino feature wall on Instagram generates 12 enquiries.
42
m²/day/plasterer
£1,400
Avg ticket
12%
Polished share
What you'll need
Equipment list with real 2026 UK prices.
Sized for a 2–4 chair shop. Buy mid-range on chairs and clippers; cheap kit fails inside 12 months and walks away with your barbers.
01
Plasterer kit
Panel van + racking
£14,000–£22,000 used
Refina stainless trowels (Plastex / NELA) × plasterer
£280–£640 per plasterer
Mixing paddle + Collomix XO 4 + buckets
£420–£900
Hop-up + decorator's trestles + alloy tower
£900–£2,400
Refina Easy-Sand 2 sander + dust extraction
£640–£1,400
Polished-plaster kit (Venetian trowels, burnishing pads, Armourcoat samples)
£640–£1,400
Render pump (Putzmeister MP25 / PFT G4) — optional for render specialism
£3,400–£8,400 used
Render mixer + scaffold tower + screw-on edge beads
£1,400–£3,400
02
Yard + materials
Storage / van compound (40–80 m²)
£420–£1,400/month
Opening stock (Thistle multi-finish, board adhesive, beads, EML)
£1,400–£3,400
Polished plaster + pigment library (Armourcoat + Stuc-O-Flex)
£900–£2,400
Lime + heritage finishes (Womersley Lime Putty + pozzolan)
£480–£1,400
Powered Now / Tradify
£90–£280/month
03
Compliance + accreditation
British Gypsum trained plasterer (Site Group / SiteBook)
£280 per plasterer course
Armourcoat / Stuc-O-Flex polished-plaster certification
£640–£1,400 per plasterer
SPRA (Single Ply Roofing Association) — for render
£420–£900/year
CSCS card per plasterer
£60 per 5 years
Working at Height + asbestos awareness
£280–£640 per plasterer
Public + product + £5m liability
£640–£1,800/year
Where to set up
Location is half the business.
Service area
20-mile radius
Sand + cement + board in-out daily.
Storage
≥40 m² with pallet drop
Board pallets + sand + bags.
Catchment
≥30,000 households + 12 builder firms + 6 interior designers
Skim + render + polished mix.
Merchant proximity
Within 15 min of British Gypsum / Travis Perkins / SIG
Daily board + bag runs.
Industrial Class B8
Light industrial OK
Pallet + render-pump storage.
Area tier
Rent / month
Notes
London + SE
£1,400–£3,400 store
Premium polished + render. Interior designer dense.
Regional city + suburbs
£480–£1,400
Sweet spot. Skim + render + Houzz polished.
Market town + rural
£280–£900
Heritage lime + barn conversion finishes.
Licences & registrations
Get the paperwork done before you sign a lease.
UK figures for 2026. Lead times assume you submit complete applications — councils will pause the clock if you miss documents.
Requirement
Who issues
Cost
Lead time
ReqCompanies House Ltd
Companies House
£100
Usually 24 hours
OptBritish Gypsum Site Group trained-plasterer
British Gypsum
£280 per plasterer
6 weeks (course)
OptArmourcoat / Stuc-O-Flex polished-plaster certification
Brand-direct training
£640–£1,400 per plasterer
8 weeks
OptFPDC (Federation of Plastering & Drywall Contractors)
FPDC
£420–£900/year
6 weeks
ReqCSCS card per plasterer
CITB
£60 per 5 years
2 weeks
ReqWorking at Height + asbestos awareness
CITB
£280 per plasterer
4 weeks
ReqPublic + product + £5m liability
Tradesman Saver
£640–£1,800/year
1 week
ReqEmployer's liability + tools-in-transit
Broker
£280–£640/year
1 day
ReqVehicle (commercial)
AXA / NIG
£640–£1,400 per van
1 day
ReqWaste carrier registration
Environment Agency
£154/3 years
2 weeks
ReqICO data protection
ICO
£40–£60/year
1 day
Build-out timeline
From decision to open in 12 weeks.
01
Phase 0 — Setup
Weeks 1–4- Companies House + British Gypsum training booked
- Van + trowel kits
- Public liability + employer's liability
02
Phase 1 — Store + polished kit
Weeks 4–8- Storage lease
- Armourcoat / Stuc-O-Flex certification
- Trade accounts (British Gypsum + SIG + Womersley)
03
Phase 2 — Portfolio + brand
Weeks 6–12- First polished-plaster Marmorino feature wall (loss-leader)
- Houzz + Instagram + Pinterest profiles
- Photographer shoot of finishes
04
Phase 3 — Soft launch
Weeks 10–14- Builder + interior designer outreach
- Checkatrade + MyBuilder + FPDC listing
- First paid polished + render commissions
05
Phase 4 — Open
Week 14+- Polished-plaster Instagram campaign live
- Repeat builder subcontract running
- Heritage lime-plaster pipeline established
Budget
Realistic startup and monthly cost ranges.
One-off · Startup
Setting up the shop
Storage lease + deposit
£1,400 → £4,400
Van + sign-writing + racking
£16,000 → £26,000
Plasterer kit (trowels + mixer + tower + sander)
£3,400 → £6,400
Polished-plaster kit + Armourcoat training
£1,800 → £3,800
Render pump + scaffold (if render specialism)
£4,400 → £14,000
Opening materials stock
£1,800 → £4,400
Software + IT + phone
£480 → £1,400
Branding + accreditations + insurance + licences
£900 → £2,400
Houzz + Instagram + portfolio shoot
£900 → £2,400
Pre-launch marketing + Checkatrade
£640 → £1,800
Working capital (3 months)
£6,400 → £14,000
Typical total
£38.1k–£81k
Recurring · Monthly
Keeping the lights on
Storage rent
£420 → £1,400
Van (lease + fuel + insurance)
£640 → £1,400
Materials COGS (28–38% revenue)
£3,400 → £12,000
Wages (2 plasterers + labourer + part-time finisher)
£8,400 → £18,000
Software + accreditation + insurance
£280 → £900
Marketing + Houzz + Checkatrade
£420 → £1,400
Typical total
£13.6k–£35.1k
Numbers that compound
How a plastering actually looks on a chart.
Illustrative planning ranges, not measured customer data. Toggle the views to see ramp, mix and weekly load.
12-month revenue ramp
Low vs high scenario (£ monthly)
High Low
Illustrative example for planning, not measured customer data.
First 90 days
Dates that actually matter after opening.
01Day 1
Soft open: 1 room skim + 1 ceiling overskim. £900 revenue.
02Day 7
First week: 8 rooms skimmed, 1 Marmorino feature wall (£3.4k portfolio piece). £6.4k revenue.
03Day 30
Steady: 28 rooms, 2 polished feature walls, 1 render. £22k revenue. Armourcoat certified.
04Day 90
Full ramp: £26k/month, 3 interior designer accounts active, Instagram polished reel hits 320k views.
05Day 180
Mature: £30k/month, polished share at 12%, render share at 22%, first heritage lime-plaster commission.
What's inside
DNA, route, automations, integrations, benchmarks, advisors — tuned for a plastering.
02Move
Suggested route
Get British Gypsum trained-plasterer status + Stuc-O-Flex / Armourcoat polished-plaster certification, build 5–8 builder + extension subcontract relationships, partner with 4–6 interior designers for Venetian / Marmorino feature-wall lead flow, develop lime-plaster heritage list for Conservation Area properties.
03Move
Automations
Materials cut + bag count auto-from-area, drying-time + handover SMS to client + decorator, photo progress to designer, snag-list + 12-month return reminder, Instagram reel auto-export of polished finishes.
04Move
Integrations
Powered Now / Tradify, Stripe, GBP, Houzz, Instagram + Pinterest, Xero.
05Move
Benchmarks
m²/day, polished-plaster share and render share vs British Gypsum trained-plasterer cohort.
06Move
Advisors
Encore advisors from Federation of Plastering & Drywall Contractors, ex-British Gypsum technical reps, Armourcoat polished-plaster master craftsmen and lime-plaster heritage specialists.
Stack
Modules used in this playbook.
01DNA Engine02Route Map03Launch Twin04Automation05Verified06Encore
Related playbooks
Owners of a plastering often run — or cross-sell with — these adjacent operations.
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