Plastering Tips?

[SimonWray]

Hi

I'm renovating my house a bit at a time and am after some tips on plastering. So far I've plastered over a bricked-up fireplace (left an air-vent), done about the size of an airing cupboard and behind some kitched units.

I've been using Blue Hawk undercoat and then a top coat. I've not had any problems getting it to adhere - I've PVA'd old brickwork and keyed the undercoat.

I'm now doing another area in the kitchen that is more visable and I want to get the best finish I can - though ultimately it's going to be part-tiled and papered.

So... what tools/methods should I be employing? I've only been using a platerers trowl & hawk so far - what exaclty is a float for? do I use it as I go? or after I've done an area?

Thanks
Simon

 

[fattony]

Dont bother, I plastered my entire bathroom, it wasn't a complete disaster but had several little dents in it and uneven in places, took me ages but i sanded, filled and sanded, filled a little more and sanded, sanded, sanded and sanded some more.

The end result is good but took me a weekend to plaster it, and probably a week (on and off) sanding and filling. You've proved you can do it yourself a little butvtake my advise get a pro in, may cost you £150 but definately worth it, when I think of how many hours I spent plastering, filling and sanding a pro could probably completed it in just 1 day.

 

[SimonWray]

I am seriously tempted to get someone in. However .... The house needs a fair amount of renovation from it's 70's decor and so I've indentified future plastering I'll have to do and I can't really afford to get someone to do each part.

 

[fattony]

If the end result is poor then it will reflect in the value of the house, so can you afford not to get someone in?

Maybe a little overtime will help pay for the additional outlay, plastering is an art, I was too stubon to realise this.

 

[Richard C]

Simon
I’m renovating a 60’s house & sections of the plaster on both walls & ceiling are shot in almost every room. With all of the rest of the work the house needs, I can’t really afford to pay the thousands it would ultimately cost to get the professionals in to re-plaster & I became very aware that even some of those aren’t so good. After watching the initial efforts of 2 different plasterers on some of my new build work I got shot of them. I was sure I could do better so I bit the bullet & taught myself. It took a bit of reading, lots of watching others, lots of question a few attempts to get it right; it’s probably one of the most difficult things I have ever done & I can turn my hand to anything! You really have to get a feel for it, there are no short cuts or ‘magic’ tools (you’re using the correct ones already) & you can either do it or you can’t. I still get butterflies when I start on a new wall but once I get going, I’m OK; it also makes your arms ache like hell! If you find you just don’t’ get any better, probably the best advice is to give up.

It’s important to understand the different materials available & the tools you’re using; getting the consistency of the plaster mix right, being able to work quickly & knowing when to trowel of & polish it up. Using the correct base coat & getting this as flat & even as possible is the trick to a smooth flat finish coat & never use out of date plaster. Sanding to get an acceptable finish is messy, hard work & rather pointless in my view. Have a go by all means but if your efforts are consistently that bad you either need a lot more practice or give up get the pros in but make sure you look at some of their work first!

 

[Nige F]

Good advice , It`s certainly a craft rather than a brain job.........my boy took to it like a duck to water ........no academic ability at all but he gets £100 a day cash on weekend jobs so who`s the fool now Labouring during the week.....and how many spreads have their tools nicked out the van overnite.......just carry the mixing paddle indoors

 

[tomjollydee]

yes I had a go at plastering to. Utter rubbish. Take my advice get a pro. Or tiles and thick wallpaper!

 

[jason_s]

Simon,if you really want to have a go,then i suggest you prime seal the wall first 5 parts water 1 part pva,wait for that to dry,then apply another coat of 3 parts pva 1 part water.Wait till this coat go tacky.than apply your 1st coat of skim,then the 2nd.Wait till this goes firm,then trowel in.after about 20mins give it another trowel using a brush to apply water where needed.
Hope this helps.

 

[SimonWray]

I've done what I consider a fair bit of DIY plastering now - a few sq metres hear, a chimney breast there, around an expanded loft-hatch, etc.

The results are certainly acceptable and I think I'm getting a feel for it... I'm getting used to trowling the plaster off the hawk and onto the walls, etc.

But so far, I've been doing a fairly thick build-up of plaster in areas that don't really matter. e.g. a 1m wide wall floor to ceiling onto the laths where a new hot water tank needed to go and which an airing cupboard will conceal. Getting the plaster on the laths was fine - and I could build up a couple of finishing coats and then a final bit of patching if necessary to get an acceptable end result without sanding.

In the kitchen, I've had to repair the wall where the old boiler and sink went - so lots of different materials and levels. The lower half of the wall is now slightly thicker than the wall from sink-level upwards and so I want to skim the top half of this wall to blend it all in to one thickness.

What do ppl mean by trowel in? also, the trowel edges leave faint cut lines when trying to smooth over - I can feel all the experienced plasters out there give a knowing smile - but how can I work to overcome this?

 

[jason_s]

Lol yer i know what you mean by the judder lines.There is a few things that cause this.The trowel might not be held at the correct angle,uneven pressure.or it could be the trowel not having a feathered edge.As for the term troweling in,it means letting the plaster go firm(after approx 30mins -1 hr)then running your trowel over the wall to smooth off any lines and shallows.