Plasterers in...only 1 skim?

[Threadjacker]

Hi

We have some plasterers in today skimming a newly plasterboarded bedroom (dot & dab), they were done in no time and the finish is great.

They did however only skim over once with quite a thin coat as its already starting to dry. I was under the impression it was 2 skims for new plasterboard?

 

[Alastairreid]

2 coats is the norm.

 

[Threadjacker]

What are the risks of just one coat?

Will it crack?

 

[Alastairreid]

No it will be fine.

There are two ways of applying the final coat of plaster, one method uses one coat of finishing plaster and the second method uses two coats of finishing plaster. For DIY use It will probably be easiest to use two coats instead of one, to do this simply apply the plaster as described below then apply another coat of plaster before the first coat has gone off, then wait for this coat to go off sufficiently before polishing it.

 

[NickB_99]

What are the risks of just one coat?

As AR.

If you inspect the work, there may be a couple of signs if the skim is too thin.
For example, if you have some metal external corner beads, do you see the 'meccano' type pattern showing through next to the corner?

And if you look on the surface, are there any signs of plasterboard joins where you might see a mesh showing through (this is scrim tape - see the wiki).

If you have none of these signs, then the single coat they put on was probaby substantial enough and you should be fine.

 

[Threadjacker]

Just a slight tape join showing but apart from that a very good job.

 

[NickB_99]

Just a slight tape join showing but apart from that a very good job.

That sounds fine
If that bit offends, you can always work a thin coat of easi-fill surface filler over the area and sand flat to hide the mesh.
Prob not fair to get them back to correct, if you are happy with the results and only one minor blemish.

Plastering to get good results takes a lot of skill, but I guess if you look hard enough, there is no such thing as the perfect wall.
Though the greater the skill of the spread, the harder you probably have to look

(probably going to get myself into trouble with the spreads now!)

 

[grandwizard]

no your right diy

 

[joe-90]

I often use just one coat. There is no benefit of two coats if you don't need them. You just take more care with the one than banging it on with two.