Venetian plastering in South Wales

For Venetian plastering in South Wales, Zavoré supplies and installs authentic Italian lime based Venetian plaster across Cardiff, Swansea, Newport and the valleys between. We are based in Birmingham, our own applicators travel to site, and your plaster is tinted to the approved sample before it leaves us. Send photos, rough measurements and your postcode to sales@zavore.co.uk, or begin with a sample board.

Bigger installations in the region are arranged as a run of days, so the applicators remain on the job and each coat goes on in sequence.

What we would be plastering in South Wales

South Wales is where most of Wales lives, and the housing reflects the industry that built it.

Cardiff is the capital, with Victorian and Edwardian terraces in Roath, Cathays, Canton and Pontcanna, larger villas in Penylan and Llandaff, and the grand civic buildings of Cathays Park. Cardiff Castle contains the elaborate Victorian Gothic interiors commissioned by the Marquess of Bute, a reminder of how much craft once went into a Welsh wall. Cardiff Bay has replaced old docks with newer apartments and offices. Swansea has terraces and villas climbing from the bay, the seafront at Mumbles, and the new flats of the waterfront. Newport has Victorian streets, and its Transporter Bridge is the best known landmark.

Then come the valleys. Rows of stone terraced houses follow the hillsides, built for miners and ironworkers in towns such as Merthyr Tydfil and along the Rhondda, with small rooms, thick walls and often a long history of damp. Out on the coast, the Gower peninsula and the villages of the Vale of Glamorgan add cottages and holiday homes, and the Vale of Glamorgan has its own page.

Those buildings need different advice. A solid terrace must be able to breathe. A new flat needs reinforced joints and the right primer. A grand Victorian room deserves a finish that matches its proportions.

Finishes for South Wales homes

• Marmorino for Victorian terraces and villas in Cardiff and Swansea, in a lime based surface that lets older masonry dry out.
• Limewash for valley cottages and stone houses, where a soft chalky finish suits low rooms.
• Polished plaster for apartments in Cardiff Bay and on the Swansea waterfront, where flat walls reward a deep sheen.
• Gilding and cornice for period rooms where the ceiling and the walls should be treated as one scheme.
• Concrete effect for bars, restaurants and loft style conversions in the cities.

How we run a South Wales job

Photos and a quick call come first. If a survey is needed, we check the substrate, flatness, cracks, damp, movement, how the room is used, and access and protection. If a wall needs skimming, stripping or damp fixed first, we say so plainly.

Once the sample and price are signed off we agree dates. Your colour is tinted in Birmingham, drawn from 48 house colours or any NCS reference. In the city centres, parking and loading are limited, and flats may have lifts or rules for deliveries. Up the valleys, steep streets can make access harder. Please tell us in advance. Cold rooms dry slowly, so we talk about heating before the first coat.

Designers and developers can use our specification page, and our installation page shows the range of finishes we lay.

Materials for your own decorator

If your decorator or builder will apply the finish, we tint the plaster to your colour and send it tracked, along with base coats and wax. Our Venetian plaster courses are in Birmingham, and trade accounts make repeat orders easier. See every area we cover.

For more on choosing where to use it, read Venetian plaster walls room by room.

Questions about Venetian plastering in South Wales

Do you work in Cardiff and Swansea?

Yes. Our own applicators travel from Birmingham to both cities and everywhere between them. Dates are agreed once the sample and price are signed off.

Is Venetian plaster suitable for a stone terrace in the valleys?

Lime based plaster is, because it lets thick walls breathe. We check for damp and cracks first and say plainly if repairs are needed before decoration.

What suits a flat in Cardiff Bay?

Polished plaster or Venetian plaster on flat walls, once plasterboard joints have been reinforced and the right primer applied. Showers call for tadelakt or microcement instead.

Can I buy the plaster for a local decorator?

Yes. We tint it to your approved colour and send it tracked, with base coats and wax.

To begin, call 07592 929191, Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm, or email sales@zavore.co.uk with photos and your postcode. A sample board shows how your colour will look.