Terms and conditions for a plasterer

A plasterer needs terms that deal with what happens after you have left: the hairline crack at the ceiling joint, the customer who ran a dehumidifier flat out for two days, the decorator who painted a wall that was still green, and the builder who says he will pay you when his client pays him. I draft those terms for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Plastering, skimming, rendering, dry lining and floor screeding businesses in England and Wales, trading as a sole trader or a limited company. Most plasterers work for homeowners direct and also subcontract to builders, developers and letting agents. The law treats those two customers very differently, so one set of terms has to be written with both in mind.

What matters in a plasterer's terms

The price, the background and what is under the old surface

You price what you can see. What matters is what is behind it: blown plaster that sounds hollow once you tap it, walls with suction that swallows the first coat, a ceiling that will need over-boarding rather than a skim, and textured coatings on anything of age, which may need surveying before you touch them. Your terms should state what the quote assumes about the background, give you the right to stop and re-price when it turns out otherwise, and require variations to be agreed in writing with the price before you carry on.

Drying, cracking and when the decorator can start

This is where the complaints come from. Fresh plaster needs time and ventilation, and it is not your fault if the customer puts a heater against it, keeps every window shut, or lets a decorator paint it before it has changed colour. The terms should set out drying and ventilation instructions as the customer's responsibility, explain that fine shrinkage cracks at joints and angles are a normal characteristic rather than a defect, and say what you will come back for. Against a consumer, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 still requires reasonable care and skill, so the wording has to describe the finish honestly rather than pretend to exclude that.

Subcontracting to builders and developers

Plastering for a main contractor is a construction contract between businesses, so the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 applies: you have a right to adjudication, there are payment notice rules, and pay-when-paid clauses are banned. That Act does not apply when you contract with a homeowner in their own house. Your terms should set out your payment application dates, resist retention or cap it, deal with who supplies materials and scaffold, and preserve your late payment entitlement under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, which gives interest at 8% over base rate plus fixed compensation per debt.

Homeowners, deposits and the fourteen-day right to cancel

Domestic work is usually agreed in the customer's hallway or over email and phone, which brings it within the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. The customer has fourteen days to cancel. Start skimming inside that window without their express written request and you may not be paid for the work, and if the cancellation notice was never given the period can run on by up to a year. Deposits should be proportionate to materials and to the week you are holding, and the terms should say plainly what happens to the deposit if the job is called off.

Access, protection and washing out

Rooms cleared, carpets lifted or covered, furniture moved, and a working supply of water and electricity are the customer's job, not yours, and the terms should say so with a charge for a wasted visit. Say where you may wash out: plaster washings down a domestic sink or gully block drains, and that bill lands on whoever the terms say is responsible. Dust travels, so make clear what protection you provide and what the customer should expect. Set out what you will do about accidental damage and what is fair wear from getting boards and mixers through a house.

Waste, labour and limits on liability

If you carry away old plaster, rubble or lath you need to be registered as a waste carrier with the Environment Agency, and commercial clients now ask for the number. The terms should allow you to use self-employed labour, state your public liability cover, exclude consequential losses such as a delayed room let or a decorator's lost day, and cap your liability to business customers at a figure you can defend. Under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 that cap must be reasonable, it cannot cover death or personal injury caused by negligence, and it cannot be used to cut down a consumer's rights.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted around your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want to know how much of a problem they are. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of terms drafted around your business, not a template with your name inserted
• A covering note in plain English explaining every commercial choice I made and why, so you can defend the terms in a negotiation without ringing me
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions set at a level that will survive a procurement review
• Consumer-facing wording drafted to be enforceable where you sell to consumers
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly, which is where most businesses actually fail
• One round of amendments after you have read them

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country

Questions I am often asked

The customer painted too soon and the paint has flaked. Where do I stand?

Better than you think, if the terms are right. They should record that drying times and ventilation are the customer's responsibility, warn against forced heating, and state that the surface must be fully dry and mist coated before decoration. Handing those instructions over in writing at handover, and keeping the proof, is what turns the clause into a defence.

A builder wants to pay me only when his client pays him. Can he?

Pay-when-paid is banned in construction contracts between businesses, so the clause will not hold. The practical problem is cash flow while you argue about it. Your terms should fix your own application and payment dates, and my covering note explains how to use the adjudication route rather than waiting on a main contractor's goodwill.

I already have terms I copied from another trade. Are they any use?

Possibly in part, but plastering has particular risks that general trade terms rarely mention: background condition, drying and cracking, washing out, and subcontract payment. I offer a review of your existing terms for £495, returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation, in three working days, so you can see how much of a problem they are.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Consultancy and contractor agreements, £595
• Ask Caesar, £495 a month
• Terms and conditions for a painter and decorator
• Terms and conditions for a builder doing domestic work

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.