Plastering costs

[kkliskey]

Hi, Could anybody give me an idea of how much to I should expect to pay a good plasterer with experience in using tradional lime plaster. If anybody could give me an average and acceptable daily rate it would be much appreciated. Also,should I avoid a plasterer who wishes to add cement to their lime plaster?
Finally, are the materials needed to plaster a room with lime much more expensive than modern materials?

Mnay thanks in advance....

 

[Pford75]

how much to I should expect to pay a good plasterer with experience in using tradional lime plaster

Huge regional variations and will depend also on the size of the job. I would expect to pay 250/day excluding materials.

should I avoid a plasterer who wishes to add cement to their lime plaster?

Doesn't seem much point in using lime if you're going to add cement. So I would say..yes avoid

Finally, are the materials needed to plaster a room with lime much more expensive than modern materials

If you buy ready mixed, then yes. But you can easily make up your own lime putty very cheaply (will also save labour costs). Personally, I'd mix my own putty in plastic dustbins and purchase the sand myself....then leave the plasterer to mix up and apply.

 

[kkliskey]

Brilliant, thanks for the advice - all very appreciated as this is all very new to me and I don't want to make any disastrous mistakes.

But you can easily make up your own lime putty very cheaply (will also save labour costs). Personally, I'd mix my own putty in plastic dustbins and purchase the sand myself....then leave the plasterer to mix up and apply.

Sorry for such naive questions but could you tell me what I need to make the lime putty and also where the best place to purchase these materials - i.e can you get them from a regular DIY storre / builders merchant? Sorry if this is a really silly question but I thought that lime plaster also had horse hair in it....?

Many thanks,
Karolina

 

[skier-hughes]

Add your location to your profile, such as your county and someone can suggest a local supplier, otherwise we'll all be giving you our prefered ones!! :wink:

Lots of info on this site, search the forum for making lime putty, or lots of good reading here
http://www.mikewye.co.uk/

 

[Pford75]

No problem....we were all new to this once (much if it is still news to me )

To mix lime putty, you can purchase 'bag lime' (also known as Hydrated lime) from your local builders merchants (Jewson's sell it).

Mix it with water in a large plastic dustbin (or similar container). When it is well mixed, leave a layer of water on top of the mix (this stops the putty coming into contact with the CO2 in the air and setting). Don't worry about having too much water....you can simply pour this off when you come to use the putty.

It can be stored indefinately (some say it improves with age....but I have used putty after 24 hrs without problems). Just check the water level to ensure it is topped up and hasn't evaporated.

The horse hair can be added to the putty when the sand is added.

 

[MdB]

(also known as Hydrated lime)

Hydrated Lime and Hydraulic Lime are different so be careful not to get them muddled up.

Hydrated lime (what you generally want) won't set whilst wet. I get mine from Jewsons. Its says not for making mortar on the bag - ignore this, it is deliberately wrong. Make sure you get a bag which looks new and doesn't look like is has got damp in the past.

(Naturally) Hydraulic Lime or NHL will set whilst wet and can be ordered by Jewsons but most people get it from specialist firms. Do not turn into putty first as it will start setting straight away.

 

[Gervase]

What others have said, really. Many plasterers will quote by the square metre rather than give a day rate - prices vary from around £30 to silly sums in excess of £150 for three-coat lime plaster work.

 

[alison]

Why are the bags deliberately labelled not to be used for making mortar?

 

[alison]

I see you're in Oxon, kkliskey - so am I. Lime plasterers I have tracked down are Peer Lime Work (Burford way), Castle Bros (Leamington Spa) and Limeworks (south Gloucestershire I think). All googlealbe. I've talked to some of their previous clients and they all say that lime plasterers are extremely thin on the ground. Don't know if any other areas are blessed with a plethora of plasterers, but you'd think that if anywhere was, it'd be the Cotswolds. In the other place I've lived recently (Northumberland) I couldn't find a single one.

Scratching my head a bit on this one. Why so few enlightened builders, or am I missing something? So as not to hijack your thread I think I might post this as a new one.

 

[MdB]

Why are the bags deliberately labelled not to be used for making mortar?

Thread here