PDS Painting Birmingham handles coving installation in Birmingham homes: fitting new coving, replacing damaged lengths, filling cracks and painting it all to finish. As a painter and decorator in Birmingham, we usually fit coving while redecorating a room, so it goes up before the ceiling and walls are painted.
Good coving comes down to the corners. Tight mitres and filled joints look crisp; gaps and mismatched mitres give a job away. We work on coving only, not plastering or ceiling repairs. For everything else we do, see all our painting and decorating services.
What We Do With Coving
Most coving jobs are one of four things: fitting new coving, replacing old lengths, repairing cracks and gaps, or painting.
Fitting New Coving
Coving suits rooms that have never had it, and rooms being given a new look. We fit ready-made lengths with coving adhesive, then fill the joints and corners and caulk any gaps along the wall and ceiling. Your quote sets out the coving, its profile and who is supplying the lengths, so there’s no confusion on the day.
Replacing Old or Damaged Coving
Tired, cracked or broken coving can be taken down and replaced. Where only one section is damaged, we try to match the existing profile, and we’ll look at it at the free visit. Older profiles aren’t always available off the shelf, and we’ll tell you honestly if an exact match isn’t possible.
Removing old coving can pull away some of the ceiling or wall plaster behind it. Where that happens, a plasterer needs to make good before new coving goes up, because we don’t do plastering.
Coving Repairs: Cracks and Gaps
The most common fault is a crack line where the coving meets the ceiling or wall, opening and closing with the seasons. We rake it out, re-fix any loose lengths with adhesive, fill with a flexible decorators’ caulk or filler and repaint.
Cracks in the ceiling plaster itself, a sagging ceiling or signs of structural movement are a job for a plasterer or builder, and we’ll say so.
Painting Coving
New or repaired coving is usually painted along with the rest of the room as part of our interior painting and decorating work. It can match the ceiling or be picked out in a contrasting colour.
Polystyrene coving should only be painted with water-based emulsion, because solvent-based paint can damage it.
Coving Materials and Profiles: What to Choose
| Material | Weight and fixing | Detail | Durability | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polystyrene | Very light, adhesive only | Soft | Dents easily | Budget rooms |
| Polyurethane or resin | Light, adhesive | Crisp | Tough, resists cracking | Most rooms |
| Plaster or gypsum (ready-made lengths) | Heavier, adhesive plus temporary support while it sets | Traditional | Solid, but brittle if knocked before fixing | Period-style rooms |
Common profiles include the plain C-shaped cove, the ogee with its S-shaped curve, and more ornate Victorian- and Edwardian-style designs. As a rule, the higher the ceiling, the deeper the profile can be: a deep coving in a low room makes the ceiling feel lower still.
This table is general guidance on the materials. At the visit we’ll recommend what suits your room and the look you’re after.
Why the Corners Make or Break Coving
Very few rooms in older Birmingham houses have perfectly square corners or flat ceilings. That’s why DIY coving most often goes wrong at the corners, and it’s where we take the most care:
- Check the walls and ceiling for level, and remove loose paint or paper where the coving will sit.
- Mark guide lines around the room so every length sits at the same height.
- Cut internal and external mitres to the room’s real angles, not 90 degrees by default. If you’re tackling it yourself, our guide on how to fit and paint coving yourself covers mitre cutting in detail.
- Fix the lengths with adhesive, supporting heavier lengths while they set.
- Fill joints and mitres, and caulk gaps along the wall and ceiling where they’re uneven.
- Leave everything to set, then paint.
Coving in Period and Older Homes
In an older house, the coving profile should suit the age of the property. Rooms with high ceilings can take deeper, more decorative profiles, which is why many period homes in Sutton Coldfield and the older parts of the city look right with something more substantial than a plain cove.
Original ornate plaster cornices are a different craft from fitting ready-made coving. If your house has one that’s cracked or damaged, we’ll tell you whether it needs a specialist.
How Long Coving Fitting Takes
The coving is fitted first, then the adhesive and filler need time to set before it can be painted. The product guidance sets how long that takes. A large room, lots of corners, a chimney breast or old coving to remove all add time. We’ll give you a timescale for your room with the written quote.
What Affects the Cost of Coving Installation?
A coving quote is shaped by:
- the room’s perimeter
- the number of corners, especially external corners around chimney breasts
- the material and profile you choose
- whether old coving needs removing first
- the condition of the walls and ceiling
- whether painting is included
After measuring the room, we fix the price in a written quote. For guide prices on other decorating jobs, see our Birmingham painter and decorator price guide.
Photos of finished coving, including close-ups of the corners, are added below as jobs are completed, or you can see more of our work.
What Our Customers Say
Our painters are DBS-checked, so you can have us working in your home with peace of mind.
For more from homeowners we’ve worked for, read our customer reviews.
Areas We Cover for Coving
We fit and repair coving across Birmingham city, including Sutton Coldfield. Find out more about our work in:
You can also browse all areas we cover.
Coving Installation Questions
Do you need a plasterer to fit coving?
Not usually. Ready-made coving is fixed with adhesive, then the joints are filled and caulked, which is decorating work. You only need a plasterer if the ceiling or wall plaster behind the coving is loose or damaged, and that has to be put right before new coving goes up. We don't do plastering ourselves, but we'll tell you at the visit if it's needed.
Which is better: polystyrene, polyurethane or plaster coving?
Polystyrene is the cheapest and lightest but dents easily and has soft detail. Polyurethane, or resin, is light and tough with crisp detail, so it suits most rooms. Ready-made plaster coving gives the most traditional look but is heavier and needs support while the adhesive sets. At the visit we'll tell you which we'd recommend for your room and why.
Why does a crack keep appearing above my coving?
The ceiling and walls move slightly with the seasons as temperature and humidity change, and a rigid filler can't flex with them. The fix is to rake out the crack, re-fix any loose lengths and fill with a flexible decorators' caulk or filler before repainting. A crack that keeps widening or runs across the ceiling may need a builder to take a look.
Can you match my existing coving?
Often, yes. Looking at the profile and measuring it at the visit is usually enough to find a match among standard coving. Older or ornate profiles, especially in period homes, aren't always available off the shelf, so an exact match isn't always possible. If that's the case we'll say so and show you the closest options.
Can coving be painted?
Yes, and it should be, once the adhesive and filler have set. Use water-based emulsion, especially on polystyrene coving, which solvent-based paint can damage. Most people paint it with the ceiling, though a contrasting colour can work well. If you're doing it yourself, see our guide on how to fit and paint coving.
How long does it take to fit coving in one room?
It depends on the size of the room, the number of corners and whether old coving has to come off first. The adhesive and filler also need time to set before the coving can be painted, so fitting and painting don't happen in one go. We'll give you a timescale for your room with the written quote.