plastering

[plasticpigeon]

Hello

Does anyone have any advice on plastering. I have have done a small area of lime plastering and quite enjoyed it. I had ages to play with it and it ended up very flat but slightly rough but I don't mind. I tried a bit of modern plaster the other day, just patching in and doing a bit of skim and found it really hard to work. It is very thin and greasy which makes it easy to apply, but it does seem to set pretty fast. I got the finish ok, but I am having trouble getting internal corners square, they seem to always end up a bit obtuse! Does anyone have any advice please or is it just practice practice practice?

 

[JohnB]

1) Don't aim for a smooth finish with square corners. If you do it yourself you won't achieve it, and if you pay a professional, you'll waste loads of money, and end up with boring walls .

2) Applying a thin coat of lime plaster by hand to give an intentionally rough finish, saves material and money, and is so much fun that your friends will help you .

3) Getting a rough finish on plasterboard using gypsum plaster, that doesn't look out of place in a room with 2), is far easier to achieve than a boring flat skim coat, but you have to work fast before it dries .

 

[Gervase]

Use a corner trowel or twitcher or, failing that, wrapping a plastic bag around something square, like a sandwich box, will do the trick. Plastic bags are also very handy for doing curves, for running down arrises so they don't get too sharp and for going over staff beads to ensure the plaster is a snug match.

 

[stuart45]

Using the twitcher properly takes a bit of practice, like all trowel work. Holding it at the correct angle and putting a bit of plaster on the nose helps.
I would aim for as good a finish as you can get, even on a period property. The old spreads were usually good craftsmen, and I personally am not really a fan of really rough walls were the plaster is put on with a pair of rubber gloves, but everyone has their own tastes.
Getting the first coat spot on will help when the 2nd thinner coat is applied.

 

[Gervase]

The old spreads were usually good craftsmen, and I personally am not really a fan of really rough walls were the plaster is put on with a pair of rubber gloves, but everyone has their own tastes.

Couldn't agree more! I've seen some horrible 'plastering' in my time, including some from people who call themselves 'professional restorers'. Our great grandfathers would turn in their graves if they saw some of the dreadful work that gets passed off as 'period', 'authentic' or 'rustic'. Working to screeds and getting walls plumb and square should be the aim of anyone. If the original owners of the property saw fit to plaster a wall, they saw fit to plaster it properly. A barn or stable might simple be dubbed out, but any habitable room would be properly plastered, even if only coat-and-a-half. Don't insult your ancestors by smearing it on with Marigolds!

 

[JohnB]

I didn't say mine was good advice :lol:.

 

[plasticpigeon]

Thanks for the replies. I am definitely aiming for straight walls! The original plasterwork was very straight! I agree that the old spreads were good craftsmen. In my house the original plaster is straight even where the walls are quite wonky and the 10mm render coat which was also straightened (only 2 coats, render and skim) had grit of up to 6mm in it! I wish I could find someone to do that today! Finding someone willing to use browning is nearly impossible, let alone someone willing to use lime.

 

[robgil]

I have plastered a couple of walls now that were so out of true and wobbly that a straight plumb wall would simply be impossible, but they didnt look rough either. Intentionally making a wall look rough just looks rough in my book.