Dry lining jobs in Shoreham-by-Sea tend to follow the shape of the town. The High Street, East Street and Brunswick Road are lined with shops that have homes on the upper floors, and turning those into comfortable, separate flats is a boarding job. The terraced side streets have roof spaces that owners want to use. And the older cottages, with their solid flint, cobble and brick walls, are often cold to the touch on the inside of an outside wall. Each calls for a different mix of frame, board and insulation.
Flats over shops on a busy road
The A259 runs through the High Street, carrying heavy port and coast traffic, so homes above the shops share a building with a business below and a lot of noise outside. Between a shop and a flat, Building Regulations expect fire separation and sound insulation, and the way to get there is careful dry lining: a metal frame (MF) ceiling hung below the floor joists with mineral wool in the void, fire-rated boards in the right number of layers, and every joint and service penetration sealed. Metal stud partitions form new kitchens and bathrooms quickly, with space inside for cables and acoustic insulation. Traffic noise comes in mainly through windows, so boarding helps most with sound between rooms and between floors rather than from the street, and it is worth being clear about that from the start.
Loft rooms in the terraces
Shoreham's council appraisal notes that in the conservation area's uniform terraces, owners have often added roof lights rather than front dormers, and that flat-roofed front dormers in places like New Road and Brighton Road look out of place. If you are converting a loft in the conservation area, that is worth knowing before the design is drawn. Inside, the roof slopes are insulated with rigid boards between and under the rafters, stud walls are packed with rock wool, everything is tacked with plasterboard and the joints staggered, with fire-rated board where the stair and new room require it. Sealing around roof lights matters to keep condensation down.
Warming up solid walls
Solid walls lose heat freely and leave cold surfaces where condensation gathers. Insulated plasterboard, fixed with dot and dab on a reasonably flat wall or on battens where flint or cobble make it uneven, raises the surface temperature and makes rooms feel warmer. On listed cottages, lining walls can affect historic fabric and may need consent, so check first. For walls that can be insulated from outside instead, see external wall insulation in Shoreham.
The finish
Boards fixed by plasterers go up ready for plastering: firm fixings, straight edges, beads on every corner and reveals set out square. They are then given a two-coat skim in British Gypsum plaster, as described on our page for plastering and skimming in Shoreham. Celotex, rock wool and EPS insulation can all be fitted as part of the same job, so one team handles the void, the board and the finish, and nothing is left waiting between trades. On a refurbishment that keeps the number of visits, and the dust, to a minimum.
See our full plasterboarding and dry lining service, or other work we cover in Shoreham-by-Sea. Call 07824 165672 for free, no-obligation advice.
