What is the difference between plastering and skimming?

Plastering is the whole trade — bonding, rendering, boarding and lime work included. Skimming is one specific job: the thin finishing coat applied over a surface that is already sound.

• ✓ Ask for a "re-skim" if your walls are sound and just tired.
• ✓ Ask for a "replaster" if the plaster itself has failed.
• ✓ Being specific stops two plasterers quoting two different jobs.

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