Insulating bay windows before plastering:

In October this year I received a call from a client who’s family I have been working for for over a decade, she was expecting her second child in December and was in the process of changing their once office into a nursery for their soon two arrive baby girl. Initially they just wanted the ceilings and walls skimmed so that they were nice and smooth and ready for decorating, but during our discussion I pointed out that it could be a good time to insulate the bay window, which I knew from experience was uninsulated. I offered to measure up and put a separate price on their quote for the insulating. It added an extra days work onto the job which we both agreed would be money well spent considering the savings they will make over the coming years and the added knowledge that their daughters room will be as draft free and snug as it can be.

Insulating:

A freshly stripped bay window that has been insulated with a 50mm polystrene insulation leaving an air gap behind as a cavity, all gaps were later sealed with spray foam and the collapsed brickwork recemented in.

Plastering:

After the insulating was complete two layers of 12.5mm plasterboard were screwed over the top, before the ceiling and walls were covered with a primer called Blue Grit and then re-skimmed with multi finish plaster.

Preparation is key in plastering, this room has had the ceiling and walls primed with Blue Grit adhesive as the paint was shiny and PVA would have unlikely dried correctly on it, the bay has been stripped, insulated and boarded, any cracks have been taped up and we’re ready to get skimming!

And here is the finished room, with nice smooth plastered walls and ceiling, much warmer with its now insulated bay window, the brand new windows kept clean as thanks to the plastic they were covered in and the woodwork wiped clean ready for painting in a few days time.