Coving and cornicingin Fareham, fitted levelon long unbroken lines.
Plain coving, ornate Victorian cornices, ceiling roses and decorative plasterwork - mitred, levelled and finished so the line draws your eye around the room without a single visible joint.
Period & modern profiles · Long runs without visible joints · 30 yrs experience
- All profilesFrom 90mm plain to ornate
- 30+ yrsSteve on the tools
- 24 hrQuote turnaround
- InsuredPublic liability cover
What this service is, and who it's for.
What it is
Coving and cornicing is the moulded plaster or fibrous-gypsum line that runs around the perimeter of a ceiling, masking the wall-to-ceiling junction and adding architectural character. Coving is the simpler curved profile; cornice is the more decorative, deeper, often multi-stepped period profile. Both stand or fall on the same details: square corners, level lines, invisible joints.
Who it's for
Renovators restoring a Victorian or Edwardian property to its original character, homeowners adding a finished detail to a freshly skimmed room, builders subcontracting the coving so it's done properly first time, and landlords wanting a property to look considered rather than thrown-up.
When you need it
When original cornice has been hacked off and you want it back, when a freshly plastered room looks unfinished without a line at the ceiling, when extension or knock-through work has left mismatched coving profiles meeting in the middle of a wall, or when an ornate ceiling rose has cracked or fallen and needs replacing.
Why professional matters
Coving exposes every imperfection in the trade. Out-of-level ceilings, bowed walls, sloppy mitres - all read instantly across an unbroken 6m run. A coving fitter who doesn't shim, doesn't dry-fit, and doesn't make their own mitres will leave you with visible gaps, stepped joints and a line your eye keeps catching. We fit so the line disappears into the room.
What happens when these problems are left.
Visible joints down a long wall
Cheap fits push lengths butt-to-butt and rely on filler. Filler shrinks. Inside six months you're staring at every joint. Properly mitred or scarfed joints stay invisible for the life of the room.
Coving lifting or falling away
Adhesive applied only to the foam back, no scoring, no mechanical fixing in long runs - coving lets go in heated rooms within a couple of years. We score, bond and screw-fix where the run requires it.
Mismatched profiles in adjoining rooms
Knock-throughs and extensions often end up with two different cove profiles meeting at a doorway. The transition has to be designed - pilaster, panel break, or a clean stop bead - or it looks like a mistake.
Wrong profile for the property age
Victorian terraces with chunky modern C-profile cove look wrong forever. Get the period right first time - Edwardian, Victorian, Georgian, and 1930s profiles are all different and all available.
DIY ceiling roses sagging
Heavy fibrous gypsum ceiling roses bonded with adhesive alone will sag over time. They need mechanical fixing into joists, often via a pattress, before adhesion.
How the job actually runs, step by step.
- 01
Profile selection & measure
We bring sample profiles to site, talk through the period and feel of the room, measure perimeters accurately and price the run in writing. Specialist ornate profiles are sourced from named UK fibrous plaster suppliers.
- 02
Ceiling level check
We laser the ceiling for level and pack accordingly. On a 1930s semi a ceiling is often 8–15mm out across a room - that gets corrected at fix, not ignored.
- 03
Dry-fit & mitre cuts
Every corner is dry-fitted and mitred on site (or scribed on ornate cornice) before adhesive goes anywhere near a wall. Long runs get scarfed joints, not butt joints.
- 04
Fix & secure
Adhesive scored into both surfaces, lengths offered up, props or pins holding the line until cured. Heavy ornate cornice gets mechanical fixings hidden into the rebate.
- 05
Caulk, fill & final inspect
Joints caulked, mitres filled with matching plaster (not silicone), light sanded, then walked round with a torch to catch any micro-shadows. Painted finish ready.
What you actually get.
Invisible joints
Mitred and scarfed properly, joins don't reappear under paint after a few seasons of heating.
Level lines on uneven ceilings
Old houses don't have flat ceilings. We shim and pack so your eye reads a straight line anyway.
Period-correct profiles
We carry Victorian, Edwardian, 1930s and modern catalogues and won't fit the wrong profile for your house.
Secure long-term fix
Adhesive plus mechanical fixings where the run demands it - no sagging, no falling away in heated rooms.
Clean prep & paint-ready handover
Caulked, filled and sanded so your painter can roll without any prep. No mitre showing through cutting in.
One-trade ceiling work
Coving fitted by the same hands that did your skimming - joints between the two are properly integrated, not buttering filler at the boundary.
The materials, methods and situations.
For homeowners, specifiers and surveyors who want to know exactly what they're commissioning.
Materials we fit
Lightweight plaster-faced foam coving (cost-effective, modern rooms), traditional fibrous gypsum coving and cornice (heritage projects, deeper profiles), Duropolymer composite mouldings (cleanest paint finish), and full plaster-of-Paris cornice on listed restoration work where original material is required.
Profile families
Plain C and S profiles from 90mm to 200mm, Victorian classic egg-and-dart, dentil and bead profiles, Edwardian deep cornices with multiple steps, 1930s plain-edge cove, Art Deco geometric profiles, and contemporary shadow-gap cornices for modern apartments.
Variations of the service
Plain coving on freshly skimmed rooms, ornate cornice restoration on period property, ceiling roses (plain to fully decorative), corbels and brackets, dado and picture rails, and bespoke profile matching where existing cornice in an adjoining room needs to be replicated.
Situations it applies to
Brand new extensions tying into original cornice, post-skim finishing on Fareham new-builds, knock-through projects where coving needs to be replaced through the entire run, listed building restoration in Portsmouth and Winchester, and high-end renovations where the cornice IS the architectural statement.
Residential vs. commercial
Residential coving is room-by-room work in occupied homes, scheduled around decorating. Commercial cornice work - boardrooms, hotel function rooms, restored period offices - often involves bespoke profiles, longer continuous runs, and stricter snagging from the architect. Pricing reflects the spec.
Honest answers to the questions we get most.
How much does coving cost in Fareham?
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Plain 127mm cove on a standard bedroom typically runs £180–£320 fitted, depending on perimeter and access. Ornate Victorian cornice on a lounge usually £600–£1,400 including profile sourcing. All quotes include caulking, filling and a paint-ready finish.
How long does the work take?
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A standard room can usually be coved in a single day. Ornate cornice with mitred and filled corners runs 1–2 days per room. We schedule between drying coats if we've also skimmed the room.
Can you match my existing period cornice?
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Yes - we either source the matching profile from UK fibrous plaster suppliers, or for one-off bespoke matches we can take a silicone mould of an original section and cast new lengths to match.
Do you fit ceiling roses?
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Yes, from simple 300mm plain roses up to fully decorative 600mm+ Victorian fibrous roses. Heavy roses get mechanical fixing into the joists via a hidden pattress - not adhesive alone.
Will the joins show after a few years?
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No - properly mitred, scarfed and filled with matching plaster (not flexible filler or silicone) joins stay invisible. Cheap installs that rely on caulking the gap will always reopen.
Can you do coving in a room with an uneven ceiling?
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Yes - we laser the ceiling and pack the coving so the line itself reads level even when the ceiling above it isn't. This is one of the differences between a good and bad coving fit.
Do I need to remove furniture?
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Cover and move-from-the-wall is enough. We work from a step or low platform and dust-sheet everything below. Most rooms stay functional during the work.
Can you fit coving after the room is painted?
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Yes, although we prefer to fit before the final coat of ceiling paint so the caulked junction can be over-painted clean. If it's after paint, we tape, caulk and supply touch-up advice.
Often booked alongside this work.
Local to you across Hampshire.
Can't see your village? Call 07907 511080 - we cover the surrounding ring as well.
A coving line that draws your eye round the room - quoted within 24 hours.
Bring me sample profiles, get a written price, see the finish before you commit.
Checkatrade · Permaguard · Fully insured · 30+ years on the tools