Very first attempt at plastering....

[wanabechippie]

Started out as an intention to fill the gap left from where the previous owner had decided to plaster the walls, up to the boxing for the gas pipes. We'd had the pipes removed when we had new central heating installed, leaving this void in the plaster.

'Fairly easy job' - thought I.

Just a case of slapping a bit of plaster into the recess (approx 50mm wide by 3mm deep) thought I.

Away I goes - first mistake being to use 'B&Q's value one-coat plaster?? Loaded up the hawk, onto the trowel (looking very professional going by wot is on da telly). Got the plaster into the recess and pushed it up with a nice, smooth up-ward stroke (jus like wot it sed on dur bag). Then, for some reason, I didn't leave it at that.

I just kept on playing around with it....

.... and playing...


....and playing....

... eventually, I ended up with an effect not too dissimilar to the field the tiling cowboy must have learnt in!!!

'No worries' sed I. 'on dur telly dey leave it a bit then smooth it over with some water and sponge/trowel'.


So....

.... a 'bit' later, I slosh on a wee bit of water, gently apply my trowel and:


..... 'b*****r'. The b****y stuff had already gone off!!! I'd literaly left it for 5 mins. On 'dur telly' they s** off and have a full-blown 3 course meal and a pint before coming back and doing the 'water water, skimmy-skimmy fing'

Stoopid telly peepul! Me gonna getchoo!


So... what now? As I am clearly too inept to fully skim the wall and waaaay to poor to afford a plasterer (I bought 'Value plaster' for crying out loud!!) I think I may resort to sanding down the *ahem* imperfections.


.... suddenly tilling looks like an attractive option!

 

[d4n]

Sanding it back flat would be what you need to do.

I'd opt for an orbital sander (The sort that vibrate) with a medium grade paper. If you use a belt sander you are likely to guage the trough out again.

You could rub it down by hand. It will help to affix the sandpaper to a flat surface (like a block or short plank) to flatten the highpoints back.

 

[wanabechippie]

Right.

I'll get the virbrator fired up and have a bash....

... could have phrased that better, methinks!

 

[Tozzy]

6 stage plastering (If I remember correctly ):

1st stage: 1st coat
2nd stage: 2nd coat
3rd stage: Dry trowel
4th stage:Wet trowel
5th stage: Wet trowel
6th stage: Dry trowel

.

Hey not bad . I'll be plastering in a few weeks. Got a window area to work on. Hope it turns out just as good as yours .

Offtopic: Dyson is the best make .

 

[The-brickie]

I bought 'Value plaster' for crying out loud

You pays for whats ya get

Avoid home brand 'one coat' plasters. Browning and multi finish a lot easier to work and probably fresher too so longer set time

 

[bob sedgewick]

I bought 'Value plaster' for crying out loud

You pays for whats ya get

Avoid home brand 'one coat' plasters. Browning and multi finish a lot easier to work and probably fresher too so longer set time

Well, you only learn from experience. I've bought this B&Q one-coat plaster in the past and ended up throwing the lot away because I wasn't happy with the quality.

When patch plastering I prefer the tried and tested method of building up using bonding coat to within 3mm of the existing surface and then skimming with multi-finish British Gypsum. I find local builders merchants are quite competitive on price and you can usually be guaranteed a good quality product so I tend to avoid the DIY chains for certain products. If you're going to cover the wall with lining paper e.t.c I find that you can always leave the surface fairly rough (as long as its flush with the existing wall), sand it and then use plasterboard joint filler to achieve a smooth surface.

 

[Lantash]

When buying any DIY materials I find it's always best to buy 'Trade' products rather than 'DIY Specials.'

Think about it, tradesmen have been doing these things for a while, and if the product didn't work for them..

 

[xposis]

Wickes for example its great for plaster products. Plaster board, multi and bonding are all great value. Even their PVA is over half the price. Just because its cheap doesn't make it rubbish. And because you get 5% off 6 bags or more or even more for a pallet i know many full time guys who always drop in. Then they try ripping you off on the beading.

Aloways worth a try on cheaper stuff. If its old or crap just move on back to someone else. Over all i worked out i saved over £500 buying 'selected' stuff from DIY stores and a further £2000 from using screw fix for my house.

The internet is the best thing ever to save money

 

[AndersonC]

Wickes for example its great for plaster products

So why are Knauf and BG the UK market leaders in plaster products?

The internet is the best thing ever to save money

It can be, if you know exactly what you want to buy.

 

[BigIan]

Wickes for example its great for plaster products

So why are Knauf and BG the UK market leaders in plaster products?

I do believe Wickes stock BG, and thistle plaster aswell as there own brands,
and the wickes by us seems to stock either lafarge or knauf boards


Oh and Just was a bit of sandpaper over it it`ll be fine.

Next time try wetting the surface with a little water or PVA bond as that will stp the wall soaking all the moisture out of the plaster