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diy plastering

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By (user no longer on site) OP   
over a year ago

Right, I want to attempt plastering a room myself over some rough walls and plasterboard - ideally looking for someone experienced to talk me through step by step. I know it isn't easy but still want to give it a go after seeing what I've been quoted!

Any tips/advice appreciated ( and before any smartarses sugguest, no I dont want you to do it for payment in kind).

I seen a tutorial using self levelling plaster, but I cant find the stuff for sale on the net???

Thanks in advanced

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"Right, I want to attempt plastering a room myself over some rough walls and plasterboard - ideally looking for someone experienced to talk me through step by step. I know it isn't easy but still want to give it a go after seeing what I've been quoted!

Any tips/advice appreciated ( and before any smartarses sugguest, no I dont want you to do it for payment in kind).

I seen a tutorial using self levelling plaster, but I cant find the stuff for sale on the net???

Thanks in advanced"

Get a plasterer in.

What you been quoted?

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

As my hubby is a builder..i would spray all of the walls with water first..apply plaster to walls and get as much of an even surface as you can with out going over it the trowel to much...as this will draw out the water in the plaster...leave to dry for twenty minutes and with a water spay go over it all taking out any lines that show...always best to do a test patch first.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Did a room in my last house, it was OK I like the rustic look!!!

Don't even think of doing a ceiling unless you have lots of practice first!

and go a step further than wetting the walls seal them with a diluted PVA first this takes care of dusty plaster and slows down the drying of the new plaster (gives you more time to screw it up!)

Then apply it FAST best if you have some help to mix it for you, just before it drys spray it and "polish" it flat.

After that get a plasterer in and let them fix it

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

if walls really bad apply good covering unibond put thin layer on ,as its setting apply another thin coat as its drying spray with water and trowel to a glass finish it takes a lot to get a good finish but if you start with small walls first you might improve to start on big walls

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Just a thought, do you have any garden walls? if so mix some cement and render them first, it's good practice and not going to cost you much to do it.

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By *ucsparkMan
over a year ago

dudley

I am a partner in a plasterering company do yourself a favour get someone in. You never be happy with the result it is a art form to do. You think it is ok shine a light and it would look crap to me and I am blind. Get quotes a decent day work rate up here is £100 to £120 per day and average room 2 days.

The self leveling you are on about is for floors.

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By *acreadCouple
over a year ago

central scotland

Up here the average is £200 a room.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

You need to mix PVA adhesive with some cold water make sure it is mixed well, then with a large wallpaper brush type, put lots of it on your wall you are about to plaster,leave it for a about 20 mins then do the same again. Leave for about another 20mins, it should have gone slightly tacky. Mix your plaster with water, it needs to look like blamounge type consistancy. I know my spelling is shite. ONLY MAKE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN REASONABLY USE IN ONE GO. The plaster you mix will last for about 15mins before it starts to go off, hence only making enough for bits at a time. If you have never done it before please bear this in mind. Then start to apply to your wall. Have a straight edge handy like a bit of wood, then pull it up from the bottom of your wall so that it levels it out and takes off the excess, and if you look carefully will see if it is uneven. when the plaster starts to go off, having done your wall, get some cold water in a bucket and with your brush apply water onto the plaster and with your trowel gently skim over your plaster, this should take out any blemishes. This is not a definitive guide to it but what I would suggest is get yourself a rogue bit of plaster board and practice, doing the above. Most builders merchants will give you a broken bit from a skip for free. Hope this helps, if failing all that fuck it get a plasterer in. xxxx

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

You need to mix PVA adhesive with some cold water make sure it is mixed well, then with a large wallpaper brush type, put lots of it on your wall you are about to plaster,leave it for a about 20 mins then do the same again. Leave for about another 20mins, it should have gone slightly tacky. Mix your plaster with water, it needs to look like blamounge type consistancy. I know my spelling is shite. ONLY MAKE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN REASONABLY USE IN ONE GO. The plaster you mix will last for about 15mins before it starts to go off, hence only making enough for bits at a time. If you have never done it before please bear this in mind. Then start to apply to your wall. Have a straight edge handy like a bit of wood, then pull it up from the bottom of your wall so that it levels it out and takes off the excess, and if you look carefully will see if it is uneven. when the plaster starts to go off, having done your wall, get some cold water in a bucket and with your brush apply water onto the plaster and with your trowel gently skim over your plaster, this should take out any blemishes. This is not a definitive guide to it but what I would suggest is get yourself a rogue bit of plaster board and practice, doing the above. Most builders merchants will give you a broken bit from a skip for free. Hope this helps, if failing all that fuck it get a plasterer in. xxxx

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By (user no longer on site) OP   
over a year ago


"Did a room in my last house, it was OK I like the rustic look!!!

Don't even think of doing a ceiling unless you have lots of practice first!

and go a step further than wetting the walls seal them with a diluted PVA first this takes care of dusty plaster and slows down the drying of the new plaster (gives you more time to screw it up!)

Then apply it FAST best if you have some help to mix it for you, just before it drys spray it and "polish" it flat.

After that get a plasterer in and let them fix it "

Rustic look? was it really bad? was it your first attempt.

not to sure what you mean by garden wall? One wall is outdoor on the other side if thats wehat u mean...

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By *obinhood-maidmarionCouple
over a year ago

Yorkshire area

pva glue is the best to apply instead of water.

1st make sure all walls are free from paper, fill any holes in with filler (as the plaster will sink). I use a sweeping brush to rub the walls down so there are no bobbly bits.

Mix your plaster, but you will need a mixer, if you think your going to do it by hand with a stick your mistaken, you can get a mixing tool for about £20 from wickes, worth every penny.

Make sure your mix is smooth, no bobbles or lumps otherwise your wasting your time.

have a large paint brush and a bucket of water on hand to brush any edges.

Once your plaster is mixed, trowel it onto your mixing plate, lift and spread a couple of times, then apply by trowel to your wall, use an arc motion and thin it out as much as humanly possible.

Once you have done all that, call a plasterer to repair the job and instead of paying £200 for him to do the job he might charge £300

Best of luck

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By (user no longer on site) OP   
over a year ago

[Removed by poster at 30/04/12 18:55:28]

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By *andymanleeds43Man
over a year ago

Leeds

good for you girl for trying but honestly get a professional in you will save money in long run.plastering is not hard but you need lots of practice,have fun

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

if walls really bad, dot and dab apply new plasterboard tape joints apply joint compound and sand down then paint piece of piss easy peasy lol

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"Rustic look? was it really bad? was it your first attempt.

"

Yes it was a first attempt, had my son mixing for me so could go quite quickly. to be fair the last wall was not to bad, so it is only practice, I think if I plastered the whole house then did it a second time I would get a satisfactory result.

Garden wall suggestion was to start on something outside where finish isn't so important! but the suggestion of getting some scrap plasterboard to practice on is a much better one!

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"I am a partner in a plasterering company do yourself a favour get someone in. You never be happy with the result it is a art form to do. You think it is ok shine a light and it would look crap to me and I am blind. Get quotes a decent day work rate up here is £100 to £120 per day and average room 2 days.

The self leveling you are on about is for floors. "

What he said

Not my trade, but would advise against diy plastering at all cost. Won't save you any money in the long run. Plastering is an art, all about timing and how to prep different wall surfaces to get a good key.

Material cost which you would be shelling out anyways aren't much. Trade day rates are usually around £150, I'd take the hit

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By *thwalescplCouple
over a year ago

brecon

I worked in the building trade for 12 years, and honestly the only thing I never would do myself is plastering, its a dark art lol! Happy to do pipework, brick, block and stonework, wiring and all types of woodwork, but my one attempt under the tuition of a master plasterer was a fuck-up from start to very quickly aborted finish!!!

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By (user no longer on site) OP   
over a year ago


"I am a partner in a plasterering company do yourself a favour get someone in. You never be happy with the result it is a art form to do. You think it is ok shine a light and it would look crap to me and I am blind. Get quotes a decent day work rate up here is £100 to £120 per day and average room 2 days.

The self leveling you are on about is for floors. "

ok, im worried now

lowest quote is more than double that for 1 box room - must be a london thing

the you tube vid I saw was on a wall, was he using floor self leveling plaster on a wall?

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By *acreadCouple
over a year ago

central scotland

Agree with most of the above I did try it and it looked reasonable till I papered and painted it and got a new light but on the plus side I wake up to beautifal scenery every morning as in the himalayas

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By *thwalescplCouple
over a year ago

brecon

There is always a local "tradsemans network" in your area, guys who have the skills and are happy to do it "cash in hand" for a bit less, offer them copious amounts of tea and bikkies and buy the materials yourself and you might find its quite cheap.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Another problem is do you have the tools?

mixing buckets, mixer (if you have a powerfull SDS type drill then it's about £20 for the attachment if not then allow £60+), hawk, trowels, dust sheets (it's messy even when pro's do it!)etc. all cost money you could easily run up over £100 just getting set up. which is dead money unless you are going to do more afterwards.

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By *andymanleeds43Man
over a year ago

Leeds

pity im not in london still would of sorted u outxx

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By *am sampsonMan
over a year ago

cwmbran

I'm suprised no one has mentioned a Polish plasterer but really Im pretty handy but don't think I would attempt plastering a room if I wanted a good job

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"I am a partner in a plasterering company do yourself a favour get someone in. You never be happy with the result it is a art form to do. You think it is ok shine a light and it would look crap to me and I am blind. Get quotes a decent day work rate up here is £100 to £120 per day and average room 2 days.

The self leveling you are on about is for floors.

ok, im worried now

lowest quote is more than double that for 1 box room - must be a london thing

the you tube vid I saw was on a wall, was he using floor self leveling plaster on a wall?"

i suppose that stuff would work if you could lay your walls down flat before you start

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"Right, I want to attempt plastering a room myself over some rough walls and plasterboard - ideally looking for someone experienced to talk me through step by step. I know it isn't easy but still want to give it a go after seeing what I've been quoted!

Any tips/advice appreciated ( and before any smartarses sugguest, no I dont want you to do it for payment in kind).

I seen a tutorial using self levelling plaster, but I cant find the stuff for sale on the net???

Thanks in advanced"
good luck mate.

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By *s_4_uCouple
over a year ago

Nottinghamshire

Hi I'm a plasterer if u were local would charge bout 100 to do plus materials bout 40 quid tops for a box room.

Been called to so many jobs that have tried there selves it doesn't look good. But if u really wanna try n u need any advice give us a shout.

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By *kexplorersCouple
over a year ago

Bedfordshire


"I am a partner in a plasterering company do yourself a favour get someone in. You never be happy with the result it is a art form to do. You think it is ok shine a light and it would look crap to me and I am blind. Get quotes a decent day work rate up here is £100 to £120 per day and average room 2 days.

The self leveling you are on about is for floors.

ok, im worried now

lowest quote is more than double that for 1 box room - must be a london thing

the you tube vid I saw was on a wall, was he using floor self leveling plaster on a wall?"

You may get a cheaper quote of the job if is done off the books. From researching the cost in London is between £200 - £250 for a days work.

If it was to be done on a Saturday this means it would not be getting in the way of their daily work and a lot cheaper.

Doing the work on your own after not even attempting it could cost more in the long run to fix.

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By *obinhood-maidmarionCouple
over a year ago

Yorkshire area

materials will cost £50 ish so if he has charged £300-£350 I think its a reasonable price depending on the state of the walls you want plastering, the problem at the moment is plasterers are charging whatever they want and people are paying it.

you will need angle beading, clout nails, 5ltr of pva glue, trowel, mixing plate, maybe 3 or 4 bags of multi finish plaster.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Existing dry plaster of any age has a high suction capability. It quickly draws the moisture from the new plaster being applied. This makes trowelling a difficult process as the time to work the plaster is dramatically reduces if the preparation is not completed properly.

Firstly make sure that the wall to be re plastered is free of loose areas of plaster that may fall off. These would need to be hacked back to brick work and repaired with bonding.

The next process is to reduce the capacity of the old plaster to accelerate the rate at which the re skim plaster hardens. This is done by applying 1 or 2 coats of diluted PVA glue.

Most PVA glue carries instruction of the dilutions required for a range of different jobs. Preparing a wall for re plastering requires a dilution of around 3 parts water to 1 part PVA glue.

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By *amschwingerzCouple
over a year ago

West

Leave it to the pro's...if you get it wrong you will ruin the room..

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By *umpkinMan
over a year ago

near the sounds of the wimborne quarter jack!

I ended up smoothing mine out with an angle grinder when it had set then I hid it with tiles

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Youtube will give you a few pointers

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