Plastering before windows

[nevergettingplastered]

Hello plasterers hope you can help me.
I bought a listed property in 2017 which was pretty run down but moved in with the intention to renovate it. There are no strict regulations about what to do with the inside but any changes to the outside need to be approved, including the windows which need to be specially carved from wood. It has been a long battle to get approval to change the windows, frames were rotten, but to get all of the documentation in place has been a nightmare and finally we had an offer from one provider approved. However, they have no availability until September.
In the meantime the woodchip wallpaper was so old (around 25 years) that it was going mouldy and had holes in several places. It has been a nightmare to get off even using a steaming machine. Underneath the paper it has been clear the walls need replastering with massive parts of the walls crumbling off.
Having lived like this so long, I am desperate to get something done. How bad would it be to hire a professional plasterer before the windows are changed? Would it just be a waste of money because the plaster would be damaged when the windows are changed? Or can it be avoided/damage just minimal?

 

[Monkey Boy]

Steamer is not best idea on old plaster me thinks anyway done that now.
You know deep down best to wait on windows fitted if you can
On an old building the damage done touching stuff often avalanches

 

[John j]

You can and leave all reveals but you would have to dangle a big carrot to get some one to come just to skim a house full of reveals

 

[Trppy]

If you can put up with I would leave it it’ll cost more in the long run and you will never know what damage they will do when the fit the windows, however it is possible like John j suggested

 

[smoother09]

You can and leave all reveals but you would have to dangle a big carrot to get some one to come just to skim a house full of reveals

£100 per window I'll do it

 

[raggles]

Hello plasterers hope you can help me.
I bought a listed property in 2017 which was pretty run down but moved in with the intention to renovate it. There are no strict regulations about what to do with the inside but any changes to the outside need to be approved, including the windows which need to be specially carved from wood. It has been a long battle to get approval to change the windows, frames were rotten, but to get all of the documentation in place has been a nightmare and finally we had an offer from one provider approved. However, they have no availability until September.
In the meantime the woodchip wallpaper was so old (around 25 years) that it was going mouldy and had holes in several places. It has been a nightmare to get off even using a steaming machine. Underneath the paper it has been clear the walls need replastering with massive parts of the walls crumbling off.
Having lived like this so long, I am desperate to get something done. How bad would it be to hire a professional plasterer before the windows are changed? Would it just be a waste of money because the plaster would be damaged when the windows are changed? Or can it be avoided/damage just minimal?

an internal picture of the Windows would help. Are they sash encasement ? Have they had or do they still have wood panel shutters ?

 

[Topspread16]

Plaster it all out, timber line the reveals arc on the face. It’s more then likely how it was or at least how it should be.

 

[ChrispyUK]

Guessing it’s being wet plastered, but if not, it could still be boarded out which will make the place feel better till you get the window situation sorted, so you can get things moving.

 

[Monkey Boy]

 

[nevergettingplastered]

Thank you for all the replies. To be honest I could live with paying 100 per window later down the line for touch ups if it means I get to use my home properly for the next 6 months. My 3 year old is sleeping in with me until I can get her a decent bedroom sorted out and it’s becoming unbearable. I’ve lived with it with so long but lockdown and not being able to properly use the space means I have to find a way to use the rooms.
I understand no plasterer wants to plaster around furniture. So if I build my kid’s furniture I will have to unbuild it all again when the plasterer comes, the doors are to narrow to move furniture in and out.

Attached some photos. I imagine the silver foil was put on to prevent mould - I can’t get it off. Is that something straightforward for a plasterer?

As you can see one window is smashed but I can’t change the glass because the frame is too old. Will this kind of window just pop out without making a mess?
My question is will it ever look right again if we plaster first and then have to redo the messy bits later?

 

[Stevieo]

You can and leave all reveals but you would have to dangle a big carrot to get some one to come just to skim a house full of reveals

£5 a reaveal John. Money is in the little jobs. You could make £60 a day at that easy.

Up here for thinking

 

[Deleted member 23452]

Thank you for all the replies. To be honest I could live with paying 100 per window later down the line for touch ups if it means I get to use my home properly for the next 6 months. My 3 year old is sleeping in with me until I can get her a decent bedroom sorted out and it’s becoming unbearable. I’ve lived with it with so long but lockdown and not being able to properly use the space means I have to find a way to use the rooms.
I understand no plasterer wants to plaster around furniture. So if I build my kid’s furniture I will have to unbuild it all again when the plasterer comes, the doors are to narrow to move furniture in and out.

Attached some photos. I imagine the silver foil was put on to prevent mould - I can’t get it off. Is that something straightforward for a plasterer?

As you can see one window is smashed but I can’t change the glass because the frame is too old. Will this kind of window just pop out without making a mess?
My question is will it ever look right again if we plaster first and then have to redo the messy bits later?

Is there access to the windows outside? It looks like you're a few floors up in a block of flats?

If that's the case, then the window replacement will need to be done from the inside. That means tht any plaster around them (not just the reveals) runs the risk of getting damaged.

I'm guessing you already know that the answer is to leave the plastering until after the windows have been replaced. That said, if you do have to go ahead with plastering to make the place liveable I would suggest you get the rooms done, but leave the window walls until after the windows have been replaced.

 

[nevergettingplastered]

Is there access to the windows outside? It looks like you're a few floors up in a block of flats?

If that's the case, then the window replacement will need to be done from the inside. That means tht any plaster around them (not just the reveals) runs the risk of getting damaged.

I'm guessing you already know that the answer is to leave the plastering until after the windows have been replaced. That said, if you do have to go ahead with plastering to make the place liveable I would suggest you get the rooms done, but leave the window walls until after the windows have been replaced.

As a plasterer would you be willing to plaster the window wall of a room (room about 30 square meters) if on the other side of the room there was a child’s bunk bed and on one wall a large wardrobe unit? As I really like the idea of getting everything done except the window wall and starting to build the furniture, then once windows done getting the same plasterer back to do the window walls.
I’ve read on here that plasterers usually refuse to plaster in rooms that have not been emptied. Once the furniture is in it won’t be coming out.
Same with a new kitchen. I want to rip out the old kitchen, get the walls plastered, then have the kitchen built. So if I left the window wall, the kitchen units would still be in the kitchen obviously when the time came to do the window walls.

it’s an apartment in a block of flats so windows need changing from inside. The property is nothing special but one side faces a fancy street and the facade is old. Therefore everything facing outwards needs to be preserved as close to its original condition as possible. Nobody cares about what goes on in the inside so how I plaster is thankfully up to me.

 

[John j]

As a plasterer would you be willing to plaster the window wall of a room (room about 30 square meters) if on the other side of the room there was a child’s bunk bed and on one wall a large wardrobe unit? As I really like the idea of getting everything done except the window wall and starting to build the furniture, then once windows done getting the same plasterer back to do the window walls.
I’ve read on here that plasterers usually refuse to plaster in rooms that have not been emptied. Once the furniture is in it won’t be coming out.
Same with a new kitchen. I want to rip out the old kitchen, get the walls plastered, then have the kitchen built. So if I left the window wall, the kitchen units would still be in the kitchen obviously when the time came to do the window walls.

it’s an apartment in a block of flats so windows need changing from inside. The property is nothing special but one side faces a fancy street and the facade is old. Therefore everything facing outwards needs to be preserved as close to its original condition as possible. Nobody cares about what goes on in the inside so how I plaster is thankfully up to me.

In a perfect world I.d like room cleared but it's not allways possible . Rather be doing a wall in a room with stuff then a ceiling