Kitchen Plastering

[russellellwood]

I have been practicing skimming, seem to be getting there slowly, but as my list of job to do in the house keep getting longer I don't have much time to practice. Thinking of getting a plaster in to do the kitchen for me. Wall have just been boarded, angle bead put and and joints gone over with skrim tape. The room in 2.4m by 4m, ceiling would need doing to. Before I get anyone round to quote I am just wondering a rough sort of cost to do the room to see if my budget can stretch that far. I know without seeing the job you might find it hard to give a rough price but any idea would be great.

Cheers

Russ

 

[jrplastering]

a standard price to skim only a room would be 300 depending on the akwardness of the room i.e loads of electrical sockets and pipes to go around akward angles and such forth. with materials i would say be looking at about 350 all in materials aswell
hope this is of help to you
jrplastering

 

[russellellwood]

Think my budget will stretch to that, will get some local plasters round for quotes, cheers for the rough price.

 

[Richard C]

No sure how demand is up there in Moray but £350 including the ceiling may be a bit on the lean side!

Be careful making your choice & get a recommendation if you can; believe it or not, not all plasterers can actually plaster

 

[kjacko]

approx £350 ?!?!??
I worked the area out including the ceiling at approx. 40sqm, thats without taking away area for windows and doors.
4 bags of multifinsh would cover that (<£20) and its a days job.
So....£300 labour for a days work?!

Not wanting to belittle you pro's but my god.....thats a lot to ask and Richard, you said that was "a bit on the lean side"? . BTW...as decent pro's you'd get it done quicker.

Only reason i'm chiming in, is because i've just done skimming my kitchen (which is bigger than the OP's) and my 24sqm extension so its quite topical for me right now, and my budget was so tight.

Cost me £250 to have 1 x 24sqm ceiling, 1 x 14sqm ceiling and 2 x 6sqm walls done. Took the plasterer 1.5 days and he took his time cos he was chatting to me a lot, lol. I did the remaining 20sqm of walls. Think i mentioned in another thread that he learned his trade in 2 weekend courses.
Ironically, after watcning his closely, its made my skimming better than it was, and i was always credited by others on it before. So, maybe i was just lucky that i got a good skimmer at a good price.

But seriously £350????

 

[Richard C]

approx £350 ?!?!??
I worked the area out including the ceiling at approx. 40sqm, thats without taking away area for windows and doors.
4 bags of multifinsh would cover that (<£20) and its a days job.
So....£300 labour for a days work?!

Not a large room I’d agree but if you want to do the walls & the ceiling in one day then good luck to you, I wouldn’t but then I’m an old git; I based it on 1 ½ days up to 2 @£160 - £200/day + materials.

Not wanting to belittle you pro's but my god.....thats a lot to ask and Richard, you said that was "a bit on the lean side"? . BTW...as decent pro's you'd get it done quicker.

Any fool can slap it on, it’s what it looks like when it’s finished that’s important.

Cost me £250 to have 1 x 24sqm ceiling, 1 x 14sqm ceiling and 2 x 6sqm walls done. Took the plasterer 1.5 days and he took his time cos he was chatting to me a lot, lol. I did the remaining 20sqm of walls. Think i mentioned in another thread that he learned his trade in 2 weekend courses.

He’s charging at the bottom end of the scale mentioned above, I now charge at the top end. No idea what the end result looks like, post some decent resolution pics if you want & I’ll tell you.

Ironically, after watcning his closely, its made my skimming better than it was, and i was always credited by others on it before. So, maybe i was just lucky that i got a good skimmer at a good price.

I think you were very lucky, especially with lessons as well.

But seriously £350????

I’m always serious when it comes to the quality of my work.

 

[kjacko]

Richard, i wouldn't question the quality of your professionalism at all mate, especially as your posts are mostly informative and helpful.

From my own experience of plastering, i find it fairly easy-ish to do a pretty good job, but very hard to do a near perfect job, which i guess is where you guys come in, if one wants to avoid excessive sanding and filling etc.
However, as good as my plasterer was, by the time i'd done my bit and painted everything, there was little difference in the end result. You couldn't really tell who'd done what.
I will admit that there was no way i was gonna tackle a ceiling of that size (24sqm). I wouldn't have known where to begin. But when i watched him do the kitchen ceiling (14sqm) it gave me more confidence to try a ceiling next time round. Thats why we paid someone to do it, and the fact that he had the tressles etc, i didn't.
I managed to skim all my kitchen walls in 4 hours, to the plasterers amazement, but i thought that was slow. It could have been finished better tbh, but that wasn't really down to time, it was down to me using a dodgier technique that what i learned the following day when i watched the guy work.

I'd have no problem letting you critique my work, indeed i'd appreciate the feedback, but its all been painted now and you'd never see it in decent enough detail to comment i'm afraid (pheww! )
But as a perfectionist (ask the mrs) i have to say, i'm happy with the result.

Oh, as regards the lessons, they weren't really. I just observerd and asked questions. I now no longer use a spot board. I've gone back to scooping out of the bucket straight onto the hawk, which i do find (as i've learned) that it keeps the gear for longer and there's less mess.

 

[Richard C]

From my own experience of plastering, i find it fairly easy-ish to do a pretty good job,

Maybe you’re a natural then. In my experience you can either do it or you can’t; some will spend years at it & still be completely F*U*!

but very hard to do a near perfect job, which i guess is where you guys come in, if one wants to avoid excessive sanding and filling etc.

That’s what you’re paying for. The odd trowel mark, I’ll give you but sanding is something you do when your painting wood; it has absolutely no place in plastering & if you have to take sandpaper to someone’s attempts at plastering then they definitely aint no F*kin plasterer.

However, as good as my plasterer was, by the time i'd done my bit and painted everything, there was little difference in the end result. You couldn't really tell who'd done what.

Well you’re obviously as good as he is.

I will admit that there was no way i was gonna tackle a ceiling of that size (24sqm). I wouldn't have known where to begin. But when i watched him do the kitchen ceiling (14sqm) it gave me more confidence to try a ceiling next time round. Thats why we paid someone to do it, and the fact that he had the tressles etc, i didn't.

24 sq/m is a big ceiling that will push most folks working on their own; hope it’s OK.

I’ve done a 15 sq/m over Artex ceiling today; one coat Bonding then Finish & it’s taken me a good 5 hours with lunch; it’s f*king killed my arm & shoulder (I still hate ceilings) but, as I said, I’m an old fart & rather unfit but I guarantee it won’t need anything before painting.

I managed to skim all my kitchen walls in 4 hours, to the plasterers amazement, but i thought that was slow. It could have been finished better tbh, but that wasn't really down to time, it was down to me using a dodgier technique that what i learned the following day when i watched the guy work.

I don’t work commercially & pace myself at 2 hours per mix; within reasonable size limits, I only ever do one wall or ceiling at a time.

I'd have no problem letting you critique my work, indeed i'd appreciate the feedback, but its all been painted now and you'd never see it in decent enough detail to comment i'm afraid (pheww! ) But as a perfectionist (ask the mrs) i have to say, i'm happy with the result.

There’s “happy” & then there’s “perfect”; I’m always criticised for it but, I’m afraid, I am Mr perfectionist.

Oh, as regards the lessons, they weren't really. I just observerd and asked questions.

That’s the best lessons you’ll get.

I now no longer use a spot board. I've gone back to scooping out of the bucket straight onto the hawk, which i do find (as i've learned) that it keeps the gear for longer and there's less mess.

I always work from the bucket.

 

[jrplastering]

if you can take the plaster out of the bucket at alll costs. think about it what happens wen you put wet plaster in a bag and leave it. it heats up and goes off quicker because it cant breath well its worse in a bucket and its slower takeing out of the bucket than a quick wipe off the spot board, i say spot board all the way if you can fit it in. as for my price i did say it all depends of the shape and size of the room i allowed for a day and a half with speard and labourer at a very easy pace if you wanted then yes do it in a day and thats how you make your money, take a day and a half job and work your nuts off to do it in a day but youve earnt your money. that is what i would do for this job you say low price i say money earner

 

[jrplastering]

i ment to say dont take plaster out of the bucket in the first sentence sorry

 

[kjacko]

i ment to say dont take plaster out of the bucket in the first sentence sorry

Lol, i WAS wondering?!?!

However if you meant to say DON'T, then aren't you contradicting yourself in your following sentences?
I started out using a bucket, then went to spot board, then saw how much easier it was when the plasterer used a small square builder trowel to scoop it from the bucket to the spot board, and found it much easier and cleaner tbh.

Richard, i'm certainly not naturally gifted at it (sadly). Sometimes i can do a really good job, sometimes its shocking and i have to make good by sanding etc. I agree that's where the professional rates come in i guess, constistency and all that.
I think the inital approx. price at the top of the thread surprised me as a sparkies and plumbers i know wouldn't charge that much per day, and my (and probably others) perception is that a sparky's trade is more specialised than a plasterers.
Without sounding disrespectful, hope that make some sort of sense.

 

[marshman]

[quote="Richard C";p="1248424
if you have to take sandpaper to someone’s attempts at plastering then they definitely aint no F*kin plasterer.
[/quote]

Spot on Richard, and don't mince your words.

 

[jrplastering]

haha i ****ed up again even on my correction message i ment to say always take the plaster out of the bucket haha third time lucky

 

[kjacko]

jrp, If what you say is true, how come plaster that's slightly out of date will go off much quicker when dumped onto a spot board than it does in the bucket?
That's my experience anyway. I used some that i knew would be dodgy, (wanted to experiment withit) but keeping it in the bucket allowed me enough time to get a small reveal skimmed without any cracking/falling off.
When i put another mix onto the board, from the same bag (i made a post about this somewhere), it literally went off as i turned my back to pick something up. I turned back round and my trowel had stuck fast in the gear. Lol, it was like Arthur pulling excaliber from the stone.
It amazed me that it could go off so fast once it hits open air.
As a diyer, i've tried both methods, and again, due to less mess, less room etc, i find the bucket method better, and you can move it with you, without the need to keep going back to the spot board. An important factor when you're wanting to save time i think.

 

[jrplastering]

ahh but you waste time putting hawk and trowel down to move the bucket its swings and roundabouts really i find its quicker wen its out of the bucket and on the spot board and find i waste more time putting down trowel to pick up bucket trowel and put a couple of dollops on the hawk then move the bucket and pick up the trowel again then get back up on the hop up wen i could just go to the spot board one pull back up and away. but if out of the bucket works for you then thats the method for you to use. personal preference plays a big part thiers many different ways to do all aspects of the plastering trade but if something works for you then thats what to do