If I mess it up can it be re skimmed.

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I plastered my first wall today and it went really well. I got a finish that I think is fairly decent.


My original plan was to get a plaster to skim my ceilings (plastered boarded and taped) and id do the walls.

Today went better than expected so now im thinking about giving the ceiling ago.


If it all went wrong on me and i didn't get a decent finish would it acceptable to PVA and have a proper plaster reskim it.


Id hate to have to re board it but if im just risking loosing a few hours of my time and a bag of plaster id give it ago.
 
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If you don't get a decent finish you can always use an electric sander, lots of masks etc and sand it down to acceptable.

Who knows, you may do it so badly it falls off and doesnt give a suitable key for doing again, or you may do it so well you can come round and do my hallway :)
 
You hit the nail on the head Tom,, pva the plaster to seal it/kill the suction,, let the pva dry, then pva it again and skim straight onto it while the pva is still wet/tacky,,, oh,, and let a plasterer do it. Watch him and learn.
 
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Make sure you have everything to hand so you are not messing about getting up and down .To find out the best height to work from , put your out stretched hand on top of your head and your thumb should touch your head and your little finger should touch the ceiling. Put your planks or staging out to work at that height. It is better to work off a set platform to save getting up and down unless like me you use stilts which you set to "thumb finger height".Being as it is quite a small area you will probably get away with a plank and 2 pair of steps or a couple of crates. Take some pics and let us see how it looks when done.Have a clean bucket of water ready for your mix and another bucket of water with a brush in to clean off .Dont"play" with the muck just get it on then you can lay it down a bit. You will be fine...
 
In some ways they are easier as the trowel is near your eyes so you can see what you are doing. Wear Goggles though and don't mix too sloppy.
 
My first ever attempt a plastering was on a kitchen ceiling. With a bit of reading up, a few video tutorials, the right kit (right height very important - I used multipurpose folding ladders and kitchen units), plaster coving at the edges, occasional use of a sponge float (apologies to the pros) and a bit of sanding, it ended up looking great.
 
Ive got another couple of walls to go at first for a bit more practice then ill let myself at it. Im also having plaster coving which helps a bit.

When I said my wall came out "decent" I mean it will need a bit of a rub down and a few spots of filler here and there but its not a total cock up like i thought it was going to be. Its no where near like glass like ive seen from some decent plasters but since having a play ive been rubbing my hands over some ceiling at different peoples houses which look fine from the floor but are abit uneven and lumpy to touch.

thanks for the tips. The bloke I work with has some of though ladders that fold into a 3 foot hop up and been 5,4 that works out stop on for the that finger thumb distance. (y)
 

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