Smiths & Co Building Ltd
Smiths & Co Building Ltd
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Interior of a Forest of Dean home mid-renovation

Renovations & refurbishments

Tired houses, brought back properly.

Whole-house renovations, structural openings, damp work and replastering across the Forest of Dean. We sort out what’s actually wrong first, then fix it, not just paper over it.

What we take on

The unglamorous work that makes an old house right again

A lot of the Forest of Dean’s housing stock is stone, old brick, or was extended piecemeal over the decades. That means structural openings that were never calculated properly, damp that’s been painted over rather than solved, and plaster that’s blown and needs stripping back to bare wall.

We take on the whole job, opening up walls with a proper steel and calculation, tracking down where damp is actually coming from, replastering room by room or the whole house, and rendering the outside to match. Kat Ross had her whole house replastered by Dan and Paul, which is the kind of job we do week in, week out.

We do it as often in Mitcheldean’s older cottages as we do near the river in Newnham, where a lot of the property is listed or within a conservation area and gets restored in keeping with its age, not modernised out of character.

  • Whole-house renovations
  • Structural openings & steels
  • Damp & old-property work
  • Replastering & rendering
  • Full refurbishments
Renovated Forest of Dean property with new brickwork and dormer windows

What’s included

Sorted properly, not papered over

From a single damp wall to a whole house stripped back and refurbished.

Whole-house renovation

A full room-by-room programme, planned so you know what’s happening and when, not just a list of jobs.

Structural openings & steels

Chimney breasts and dividing walls removed with a proper calculation and steel, opening signed off before it’s plastered.

Damp & old-property work

The cause traced first, ground levels, failed render, blocked ventilation, then treated properly, not just covered up.

Replastering

Old, blown or cracked plaster stripped back to bare wall and finished smooth, room by room or the whole house.

Rendering

Old, cracked or failed render stripped and renewed, protecting the wall behind it rather than just tidying the surface.

Full refurbishments

First and second fix coordinated with plumbers and electricians, so a full refurb comes together as one job, not several.

How it works

From tired house to finished home

Five stages, each one signed off before the next starts.

  1. 1

    Survey & diagnose

    We walk the house, work out what’s actually wrong, and quote for fixing that.

  2. 2

    Strip out

    Old plaster, failed render or damaged structure stripped back to sound material.

  3. 3

    Structure & repair

    Steels fitted, damp treated at source, openings made good and inspected.

  4. 4

    Plaster & render

    Walls replastered and rendered, finished smooth and true, inside and out.

  5. 5

    Finish & handover

    Decorating and final fit-out completed, site cleaned and handed back to you.

Recent renovation work

A closer look

Wall opened up mid-renovation with new blockwork and insulation
Structural opening mid-renovation, steel going in
New blockwork tied into an existing wall during renovation work
New structure tied into the old wall
Older property finished with new render after renovation work
Finished, rendered and weathertight
A room replastered around a new opening
Replastered around a new opening
A finished hallway and staircase, decorated and carpeted
Hallway and stairs finished and carpeted
A room decorated in yellow with new windows and an external door, floor not yet laid
Decorated, with the flooring still to go down

★★★★

“Dan & Paul did an incredible job replastering my house. Kind, understanding and reliable.”
Kat Ross · Google review

Common questions

Renovations, answered

Yes. Opening up a wall between a kitchen and dining room, or taking out a chimney breast, usually means a structural calculation and a steel beam. We arrange the calculation, fit the steel and make the opening good, all signed off by Building Control.

Often, yes, but we start by working out what’s actually causing it rather than reaching straight for a chemical damp-proof course. In Forest of Dean stone and brick cottages it’s frequently rising ground levels outside, a failed render, or no ventilation behind old plaster. We treat the cause, then replaster properly.

Yes, room by room or the whole house in one go. Kat Ross had her whole house replastered by Dan and Paul. That’s the kind of job we take on regularly, old or new plaster stripped back and finished properly.

Sometimes, depending on how much structural work is involved. We’ll be straight with you at the quote stage about which rooms will be out of action and for roughly how long, so you can plan around it rather than find out on day one.

Cinderford, Coleford, Lydbrook, Bream, Mitcheldean, Newnham and across the wider Forest of Dean and Gloucestershire. If you’re nearby and not sure, just ask.

One renovation often leads to another job

Stripping a house back regularly uncovers a kitchen or bathroom that needs the same treatment, a roof that’s due attention, or room to finally fit the extension you’d been putting off.

Ready to get started?

Let’s talk about your renovation

Tell us what’s wrong, or what you want to change, and we’ll come out, take a look and give you a free, honest quote.

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