Coving Installation Cost

How much does it cost to install coving?

Coving is a stylish way to add character and a polished finish to any room.

Lightweight modern coving, or traditional decorative plaster, there's an option to suit every home.

In this guide, we'll explore the cost of different types of coving, the process, as well as the price for professional installation.

If you want to add ceiling coving to your space, the best way to get started is by requesting a personalised quote tailored to your home and design preferences.

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On average, the cost to install coving typically lies anywhere between £250 and £450.

How Much Does Coving Installation Cost?

The cost of installing coving depends on the type and style you choose such as coving for ceiling, victorian coving, or modern coving, as well as the size of the room, and the finish you want.

For most homeowners, the price of fitting coving falls between £250 and £450 per standard room, with an average cost of around £340.

If you want a simpler breakdown, here's what you can expect to pay if you're looking to buy coving:

• Lightweight Polyurethane Coving. From £130 to £300 per room. A budget friendly choice, easy to fit and ideal for smaller spaces.
• Standard Coving. Best suited to living rooms and bedrooms, this type of wall coving is priced between £100 and £300 for polystyrene coving and £180 to £500+ for standard plaster coving including labour and materials.
• Bespoke Plaster Coving. A premium option for an average sized room will be priced around £1,000. Costs will vary depending on the design, detail and room size.

For a more detailed comparison, coving installation is often priced by the metre, as well as per room.

For an average sized room, expect to pay between £27 per metre for supply only. Coving supply and fit is around £60 per metre depending on the material.

These prices for coving installation typically include materials, adhesive, cutting, fitting and finishing, but they won't include additional work such as painting, skirting replacement or plaster repairs.

If your ceiling or walls need preparation before fitting, this can also add to the total cost.

Coving Prices

The main expense when fitting coving is the labour. While the material itself is relatively inexpensive, the skill and time required to cut, mitre and fix the coving neatly means most homeowners hire a professional plasterer or carpenter.

Cost Factors of Fitting Coving

Several factors influence the cost of coving installation. Understanding these will help you plan your project and budget more effectively.

Type/Size of Coving

The style, material and dimensions of coving affect both supply and labour costs. More detailed designs take longer to install, increasing the overall price.

Ease of Access

Rooms that are easy to reach are cheaper to work in. Hard to access or high ceilings may require staging, adding to the time and cost.

Location of Property

Labour costs vary across the UK. Prices are typically higher in London and the South East, and lower in Northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Supply Only Costs For Coving

If you plan to install coving in your home, it's important to factor in the cost of supplying the coving itself.

These are the prices for buying coving materials without professional labour. The total will depend on the type of coving you choose, the material and the length you need.

The average supply costs are as follows:

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Additional Costs

When having coving fitted, it's worth factoring in extra jobs that are often carried out at the same time.

Bundling these with your coving installation project, can save money on labour and ensure a consistent finish across your room.

Plastering

Some rooms might need additional plastering to ensure a smooth, professional finish before coving can be installed. For an average sized room, this typically adds around £200 to £300 to the overall cost.

Painting and Decorating

To have a room painted with two coats of emulsion would be priced at around £300 to £500. If old wallpaper must be removed first, this will bring the overall cost to around £450 to £550.

Replace Skirting Boards and Ceiling Architrave

New coving pairs well with updated skirting boards and a ceiling architrave.On average, the cost of replacing skirting boards and architraves lands around £200 to £300. Prices depend on the material, with MDF being the cheapest and hardwood the most expensive.

Coving Lighting

Modern homes often incorporate LED lighting strips into coving for a subtle, yet contemporary effect. The cost of LED coving installation varies from £300 to £600. The cost will also depend on the size of the room and whether the wiring needs an upgrade.

Labour Costs and Timescales

On average, coving labour costs range from £150 to £250 per day. Many tradespeople charge on a per room basis, which typically works out at £250 to £350 for a medium sized room including fitting and adhesive, but excluding painting.

Some fitters may also charge by the hour for smaller projects, withhourly rates between £20 and £40 depending on location and experience.

Plasterers are often hired for heavy plaster coving.

Carpenters or handymen - often used for lightweight polyurethene or MDF mouldings.

Labour rates in London and the South East are generally 10% to 20% higher than in the North of England, Scotland or Wales.

As for the time required to fit coving, it depends on the size of the room, the design complexity and whether any additional preparation is needed. As a guide:

• Small room (e.g. box room or hallway) - Half a day to 1 day.
• Medium room (e.g. standard bedroom or lounge) - 1 to 2 days
• Large or irregular rooms with complex coving - 2 to 3 days

Additional work such as wall repairs, painting or installing LED lights for coving can add to the cost and timescale.

Plaster coving usually takes longer to install than lightweight coving because it's heavier and requires more precision.

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What's Involved in Installing Coving?

The process of installing ceiling skirting and coving in general can vary depending on the size/type being installed. However, in this section, we’ll give you an approximate step-by-step guide to the installation of coving.

1. Coving for Ceiling Preparation

Before any real preparation work can get underway, you’ll need to decide whether you want to hire a contractor for this job or not. If you do, don’t forget to check our final section ‘Hiring contractors to fit coving checklist’ for more advice on this.

Alternatively, you may want to fit it DIY, and we’ll touch more on this approach in the following section.

Measurements are required prior to the actual installation taking place. You’ll need to first measure the width of the coving and mark it on a ruler. Next, mark a straight line on both walls.

It should be the same distance from the ceiling as the coving width itself. The marked spot on your ruler can be used to help here. The line needs to be level and run from corner to corner. The reason for taking this approach is to ensure the coving adhesive will stick firmly in place.

2. Installing the Ceiling Coving

We're now getting on to the more practical side of things. Using a knife, score the area between the marked lines and the actual ceiling. This is a way of making sure there are no sizeable areas of undisturbed paint/wallpaper.

Sort of returning briefly to the preparations phase, you’ll need to make more measurements. In this case, you have to measure out the actual coving areas. At both coving corners, the coving should be cut at a 45° angle as a way to ensure each section runs from perpendicular walls and slide over one another.

The first section of coving entering a corner should persist atop the other. The cut in the first coving should slope upward and vice versa for the second piece. Decide which section will protrude which way and mark the lines accordingly.

After this, grab a mitre box and fit the coving sections in place so that you make the necessary markings. Employ a saw to cut through these lines. It’s important that you keep the edges as level as you can for the best results.

Once you've cut the coving sections, add adhesive to the back of one coving section. This adhesive should be added as a thin and even layer; it should cover the full length of the section too.

Press this coving piece against the wall based on the correct position it should be installed. You’ll be using your marked line as a way to achieve this accurately. Hold the coving section in place firmly and hold it with the palm of your hand.

While the adhesive dries, you can hammer several nails into the section to fully secure it into position. Now, repeat the previous actions for the second coving section although, the only difference is that you’ll want to add adhesive to the edges of each coving section so that they press together and stick in place fully.

Once everything is in place, you should wipe off any excess adhesive on, above or below the coving sections with a towel.

Can I Fit Coving Myself?

The good news is that yes, you can indeed fit coving DIY. Of course, it’s important that you have the right skills and knowledge.

An incorrect coving installation could prove costly as you could spend time and money on doing it yourself only to find you need a professional to come out and do it all over after.

Even with the right skills and knowledge, it’s important to take your time to ensure the job is done right. Fitting it DIY would reduce the cost of installing coving as it means no labour fees.

Hazards/dangers of installing coving by yourself:

• Hurting yourself while cutting with a saw.
• Injuring yourself with a knife when scoring the work area initially.
• Ingesting adhesive by accident.
• Falling from a ladder, particularly if the coving is in an awkward or hard to reach area.

Building Regulations & Planning Permission for Coving Installation

There are no specific building regulations or planning permission rules that relate to installing coving. However, you should still make sure you install it in the correct manner and in a safe way also.

If you are undertaking additional work, then regulations or planning permission may apply. If in doubt, you should get in touch with your local council.

Planning permission approval can take up to eight weeks and often costs about £200 whereas building regulations approval tends to be priced at around £100.

Types of Coving

There are indeed different types of Coving. We can break them down by category of quality/scale, such as lightweight polyurethane coving vs. bespoke coving. However, we'll look more at the different types in terms of style and material.

Coving/Cornice

The primary option is regular coving or ceiling coving; this is the strip that is fitted to the join between a ceiling and wall. The cornice is a decorative C-shaped type of regular coving.

Cornice (a sort of Victorian coving style) is often found in Victorian houses whereas contemporary cornice tends to be plainer and is sometimes referred to as art deco.

For a simple and popular option, regular coving/cornice would be a good option for you. Two sub-categories of regular coving are polystyrene coving and polyurethane coving.

Picture Rail/Dado Rail

Similar to coving, these ‘coving rails’ exist along a wall and do not reach up to the ceiling. They are called rails because they are often positioned at the height, you’d expect to find a handrail in a given location.

Both a picture rail and dado rail are quite similar with a few differences between them. Picture rails would be used to avoid wall plaster having nails knocked directly into them. Picture hooks can then be employed as an alternative for fitting artistic work. Dado rails are designed to prevent wall scuffing.

Hiring Contractors to Fit Coving Checklist

Hiring a professional to supply and fit coving is often the best way to ensure your coving is installed neatly, especially for heavier plaster coving or intricate designs.

Here's how to find and hire the right coving contractor, and what to consider when comparing quotes.

Checklist for hiring a contractor to install coving:

• Ask friends/family for their recommendations.
• Obtain several quotes before making a decision. Always get at least 2 to 3 quotes to compare prices and services.
• Check out any online ratings/reviews different coving installers might have.
• Check credentials, experience and prior work. Ask for their previous experience in installing the type of coving you want (polyurethene, plaster or bespoke).
• Ask the right questions. To avoid surprises, ask how long the job is expected to take, if adhesive, finishing and painting is included, whether they handle preparation like old coving removal or wall repairs.
• Look for savings opportunities like bundling work. Ask if they offer coving packages like replacing skirting boards, installing dado rails or adding wall panelling.

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