Plastering between beams....

Hello all,

I have taken down my old decrepid lat and plaster ceiling and decided to reveal the beams by letting in plaster board between the joists - my question is this - once I have the plaster board in with what should I skim the surface ?? - I'm trying to main a cottage feel of the property.

Any advise would be welcome.

Mike

Lime render would be "original" but not very practical today.

What about finishing plaster with some coarse sand added to give it texture and a "roughish" finish rather than smooth?

This could be painted afterwards and would give the cottage effect you want to maintain.

That sounds great ! would I be able to brush it on ?? or use a float ??

thanks
mike

I'd use the float first so that you get a good coating over the plaster board and then you could use the brush to give a "rustic" finish.

You'd need to experiment with the sand/plaster ratio to get the effect you want but that should be easy to establish. Maybe 14/ sand to 3/4 plaster?

Good luck.

cheers for the advice cobweb - I'll give it a try ! - one more question if you don't mind... what would you suggest I should use to fill the gap between plaster board and the side of the beams (between 2mm and 10mm in places) - mastic or just slap the plaster on ? - and I suppose I just slap the plaster on and don't worry about it getting on the beams too much.... get ready for a face full of plaster !!!

Mike

I wouldn't bother with mastic, I'd just plaster. Your intention isn't to seal it in, just to plaster. I would, though, try to get as little on the beams as possible...less to clean up afterwards!

One thought does occur to me though - and this may well be overkill, but I'll mention it...

If I were doing the job I'd be tempted to seal the inner faces of the beams - where the plaster will meet the beam - so that the timber doesn't leach the water out of the plaster too fast and cause it to crack. You could seal with neat PVA glue which will dry clear.

Have fun and wear a hat

that pva idea is cool ! never thought of that ! - the beams are quite old and I was going to ask about how to tidy them up - they are of a regular size (not lunking great tree trunks, I'd say 6 by 4 - and not a special wood like oak or anything) BUT they are really dirty - I was going to give them a light sand and either stain / varnish / wax ? - any ideas...

you could use reed matting - I saw it on DIY sos last week, and a quality job they did too (some squaddies house so its not surprising!!) . Stapled the matting and platstered on top. no problems with gaps or the un-based plaster cracking and dropping out.

maybe they have a web site - www.bbc.co.uk/diysos or similar

I saw that the same program, Rob. I think htey only used reed matting because the couple wanted "original techniques"; they also used lime render. I doubt it's needed - or wanted - here as these aren't oak beams being reclaimed from beneath boarding. Also the cost would be a factor; reed matting ain't cheap! PB is a lot cheaper and will do the job.

As for the beams...the best option, though messy and NOT cheap compared to the alternatives, would be to sand blast them. But not really a "goer" for a quick DIY fix. So I'd sand them back.

If you haven't already placed the plaster board in situ you might sand them first so that you can get a good sand on the inner sides. If the 6 by 4's are pretty even, which they ought to be, you might find a belt sander an advantage...just don't let it sit in the same place...keep it moving or it'll eat a trench into the timber quicker than a family of woodworm.

Your eventual finish is up to you...options:

1) Varnish...not my choice, but if you do then I'd go for a matt or semi-matt water based laquer.

2) Wax...a good finish but if you're doing a lot of timber could be expensive at about £6 a tin for decent wax.

3) Oils...tung oil or danish oil would be my choice. They protect, nourish, and enhance the grain and these two wouldn't need the timber sealing all over first - although still seal the edge faces near the plaster.

Rustins do a range of wood finishes that I've always found to be very good.

http://www.rustins.co.uk/

rob / cobweb - thanks for your excellent comments - I've decided to sand back the beams by hand and then oil with a product from rustins.

I'll take a few before and after pics to show you the results

again thanks for the help....

mike

Good luck, mikieo. I look forward to the pics!

(I wonder if Rustin's will give me my next tin of woodturning sealer for nowt for sending them customers?)

I doubt it!

Well I would love to take pictures - but some low life stole my bag containing my camera / wallet / phone / car & house keys !!!

I hope they feel guilty looking at the pictures of my daughters 2nd birthday !!!

sorry nothing to do with DIY

Mike

That's rotton luck Mikieo...I was looking forward to the pics

Seriously that is bad luck and a rotton break. I hope you're insured through you house&contents.