Wavy, patched walls brought back to one true plane.
Undulations, ridges at junctions, filled chases and old lumpy distemper taken back to a flat, sound surface, built up in plaster where the depth needs it, skimmed and sanded true where it doesn't.
- Free site inspection
- Written, itemised quote
- 1-year workmanship warranty
- Same-day callback
At a glance
How do you make an uneven wall smooth again?
By correcting the surface in layers rather than in one go. We map the high and low points against a straightedge, cut out anything hollow or chalky, rebuild depth with plaster where the dip is too deep for a putty skim to carry, then level with thin putty coats and sand flat against a long block under raking light.
When this is the answer, and when it is not.
Sending you to the wrong service wastes your money and our time. This is how to tell.
This is likely right if
- The wall reads wavy or shadowed under side light, cove lighting or a lamp close to the surface
- Chases, removed air-conditioner units, dismantled partitions or old fittings have left patches standing proud or sitting low
- Old distempered walls have built up an uneven, chalky layer that needs taking back before repainting
- A newly handed-over flat has ridges where masonry meets columns and beams, or plaster that was screeded unevenly
Something else comes first if
- The wall is damp or salt-stained, the source has to be traced and treated first, or the levelled surface blisters and pushes off from behind
- Plaster sounds hollow over large areas when tapped, which is replastering work rather than a levelling job
- Cracks are diagonal, wide, or keep reopening after filling, that needs a structural engineer's opinion before any cosmetic work
What the service includes.
Survey and deviation mapping
We run a long straightedge and a plumb line across each wall, tap for hollow patches and check for moisture, then mark the high and low points on the wall itself so you can see exactly what's being corrected.
Protection and dust containment
Sanding cement-based putty makes a fine dust that travels through a flat. Floors sheeted, doorways screened, wardrobes and electrical points sealed, and sanding done with extraction where the room allows it.
Removal of unsound layers
Chalky distemper, flaking lime punning and loose old putty scraped back to a firm surface. Anything applied over a powdery layer takes the grip of that powder, not of the wall.
Cracks, chases and junctions
Cracks opened out rather than smeared over, badly refilled chases raked and repacked, and mesh laid where masonry meets an RCC column or beam, the line that reopens first if it is only skimmed.
Rebuilding and levelling coats
Dips deeper than a skim are built back in plaster and cured. Putty then goes on in thin coats, each allowed to set, because one thick pass crazes and hollows as it shrinks.
Sanding, primer and light check
Cut back against a long block, not a small hand pad that follows the undulation instead of removing it. Then a sealing primer, and a lamp walked close along the wall to find whatever still reads.
Not included, or quoted separately
- Full replastering of a wall or ceiling where the existing plaster has debonded over large areas, that's plaster repair scope, quoted separately
- Tracing the source of damp or seepage, and any waterproofing
- Structural assessment, and crack stitching or reinforcement to an engineer's design
- Cutting chases and closing them for new wiring or plumbing, the electrical and plumbing trades close their grooves before we begin
- Gypsum board partitions, false ceilings and cornice work
The sequence.
Inspection under raking light
We come with a straightedge and a lamp. Held close and swept along the wall, it throws a shadow off every ridge and dip, so the problem is agreed from the surface itself and not from a photograph.
Agreeing the standard
Some walls can be brought truly plane; some can only be made fair and even. We tell you which yours is, and where removing a bulge would mean thick screeding or replastering, before you commit.
Strip and cut out
Unsound coatings scraped off, hollow plaster cut back to where it holds, cracks opened, chases raked. This stage decides whether everything above it stays put.
Rebuild the depth
Patch plaster where the correction is deeper than a skim, mesh over junctions and long crack lines, then water curing so the mortar gains strength and finishes shrinking before anything covers it.
Level and skim
Putty applied in thin coats and cut back between them, worked to the straightedge and to the corner and reveal lines rather than to the eye alone.
Prime and check with you
A sealing primer over the levelled surface, then the lamp test again with you present. Anything still showing is marked and reworked before any finish coat goes on.
What moves the price on this job.
We do not publish a rate, because it would change once someone measured your property. These are the variables that decide it.
- The area that genuinely needs levelling, which is often less than the whole wall once it has been surveyed
- Depth of correction, a skim over sound plaster is a different job from building back in mortar and curing it
- What's already on the wall: chalky distemper and lime punning must come off completely, sound emulsion often need not
- The number of corners, reveals, chases and masonry-to-RCC junctions, a long block can't be run into an edge, so every corner and reveal is built and cut back by hand to two planes at once, which is slow work compared with open wall
- How the wall will be lit and finished, matt scatters light and forgives a little, while any sheen above it reflects, so the surface is handed back to you as an image. Light running along the wall does the same thing. Either one raises the levelling standard the wall has to meet.
- Whether the home is occupied, which changes how much screening, sheeting and dust control the work needs
Wall Levelling and Restoration — your questions.
Can wall putty alone level an uneven wall?
Only up to a point. Putty is a finishing skim, laid a millimetre or two at a time and built in thin coats. Pushed thicker than that, it shrinks as it dries, crazes into fine cracking and eventually lets go in sheets. Where a wall dips deeper, the depth has to be brought back in plaster and cured first, with putty used only to finish over the top.
Why did our walls look fine before, and wavy after the new lights went in?
Because light direction, not paint, is what reveals a wall. A ceiling light comes straight down onto the surface and hides undulation. A cove light, a wall washer or a lamp near the wall throws light along it, and every ridge casts a shadow. If you are planning grazing lighting, a television wall or a large mirror, tell us at the survey, the levelling standard needed is higher.
Can you make the wall completely flat and plumb?
Flat and plumb are two different things, and a long wall rarely allows both. We can take out ridges, dips and hollows so the surface reads even under normal light. Making a wall that leans or bows genuinely plumb means screeding it out in plaster, which adds thickness and weight and eats into the room. Usually we bring the wall true to itself, square the corners, and tell you plainly what we're leaving.
Do we've to remove all the old distemper first?
If it rubs off on your hand, yes. Dry distemper and old lime punning sit as a powdery layer only loosely attached to the plaster beneath. Putty or primer laid over it bonds to that powder, and the powder releases, so the new surface peels away in sheets carrying your levelling work with it. Sound, well-bonded emulsion is a different case and can often be sanded and worked over.
Is POP punning better than putty for levelling?
They do different jobs, and where the wall is matters more than which material you prefer. Gypsum punning goes on thicker and gives a very smooth interior surface. It also softens and turns powdery if moisture ever reaches it, so we keep it off bathroom walls, external walls and anything with a history of seepage. In those places we build back in cement-based material and finish with putty.
Related services
Let us look at your walls first.
Tell us about the property and we will set up a free colour and wall inspection. You get a written, itemised quotation afterwards, with no obligation to go ahead.
- We call you back the same day to get a picture of the property and the surfaces.
- We agree a time and come out for the free inspection.
- You get the written scope and itemised quotation.
- Nothing starts until you approve it.