How much does plastering cost in Amsterdam?
Most Amsterdam plasterers quote per square metre of wall or ceiling, charge by the hour for small repairs, and price a whole flat as a single project. A firm figure only comes after someone has seen the room, because the surface underneath — not the surface area — is what moves the number. In Amsterdam's older housing stock the preparation work is usually where the budget goes.
What plastering actually covers
Plastering is an umbrella term, and which version you order decides which price bracket you land in:
- Wallpaper-ready — flat and sound enough to paper over. Minor imperfections are acceptable because the paper hides them.
- Paint-ready — a finer finish, because paint and raking light expose everything. More passes, more sanding, more time.
- Levelling and repair — filling cracks and holes and bringing an old wall back into plane before the finish coat goes on.
- Decorative plaster — textured or polished finishes, usually priced per square metre with a material surcharge.
Always make the finish grade explicit in writing. Wallpaper-ready and paint-ready are different products, and confusing them is the single most common source of disputes at handover.
The main stages
A tidy plasterer follows a fixed sequence. Masking and covering comes first — in an Amsterdam flat with an original wooden floor or a period staircase, that is not optional. Next comes assessing the substrate: knocking off loose material, stripping old wallpaper paste, priming absorbent patches.
Then repair work: raking out and filling cracks, patching hollow areas, fitting corner beads. Only after that does the plaster go on, in one or more coats, followed by drying and, where needed, sanding. Handover means clearing up, removing waste and walking the walls together under raking light before anyone signs anything off.
What the price depends on
- The substrate. Fresh plasterboard is quick. Old lath-and-reed backing, sand-cement render or a wall carrying decades of wallpaper needs far more preparation.
- How far out of plane the wall is. Nineteenth-century buildings have settled. A wall that leans noticeably needs levelling in several passes, and that weighs more heavily than the square metres.
- Wall versus ceiling. Overhead work is slower, especially with the tall ceilings common in the centre.
- Damp. Single glazing, poor ventilation or rising damp in a basement flat all have to be dealt with first, or the new plaster becomes next year's problem. Investigating the cause is a separate cost.
- Access. Four floors with no lift, a narrow staircase that full-size boards will not pass, nowhere to park the van. Those are billable hours.
- Waste and logistics. A skip on the street means applying to the gemeente to occupy a parking bay. Budget time and money for that, or agree on bagged removal instead.
- Detailing. Cornices, mouldings, curves and lots of door and window reveals make every square metre more labour-intensive.
Questions to ask the contractor
- Is this wallpaper-ready or paint-ready, and what will I see under raking light?
- Are priming, crack repair and levelling included, or billed as extras?
- Who removes the waste, and is a skip permit part of the quote?
- How much drying time do you allow before painting starts?
- What happens if damp or an unexpected build-up turns up mid-job?
- Is this a fixed rate per square metre, or hourly for the repair portion?
In an apartment, check whether your VvE needs to approve anything touching shared structure. And in any pre-1994 building, suspected asbestos must be surveyed and removed by a certified company — never sanded, drilled or broken open by you or a general builder, not even a small patch.
Common mistakes
The biggest one is comparing quotes on headline rate alone. A price with no preparation scope in it is not really a price. Close behind: painting too early over plaster that is still releasing moisture, filling cracks without asking why they appeared, and failing to protect floors and joinery so you end up with fine dust through the whole flat.
If a crack runs across several surfaces, keeps widening or returns after repair, that is not a plastering problem. Have a structural professional look at it before anyone skims over it — cosmetic repair on a moving structure simply fails again.
FAQ
Per square metre or per hour?
Large areas go per square metre; small patch repairs and odd jobs go hourly. A whole-flat job usually comes as a project price with a room-by-room breakdown. Ask for that breakdown — without it you cannot compare quotes meaningfully.
Why do quotes vary so much?
Usually because they describe different work. One includes levelling and priming; another assumes a ready substrate. Line the quotes up on three points: finish grade, preparation, and waste removal.
Can I do the prep myself to save money?
Stripping wallpaper and clearing the room genuinely saves hours. Leave the cutting out, patching and substrate assessment to the plasterer — getting it wrong means paying twice.
Do I need anything from the council?
Not for interior plastering itself. You do once public space is used — a skip or scaffolding on the pavement. Your contractor usually knows how this works in your street; arrange it in advance rather than on the morning of the job.