Another Ceiling plastering quesiton.

[Andy7]

Got a nice little Christmas diy job for myself this year.
I'm going to skim over the nasty artex and scars in the living room (~3m x 7m)

Is it advisable to use flatness or skim guides on the ceiling to help divide up the work so that I can take it in managable chunks in the same way as Wickes advise for walls?

There's a LITTLE bit of sag in the ceiling between joists, so I'm thinking that if I put my guides up at right-angles, say at 900mm centres to the joists I ought to be able to get a nice flat finish.

I impressed the heck out of myself with the last room (walls only) I plastered, so I'm looking forward to this one - I'm not looking forward to the aching arm, but a little bit of 'Christmas Spirit' afterwards should soothe it.

Cheers,


Andy

 

[neds]

Good luck to you! Ceilings are a whole different ball game, I found that out after doing my walls relatively well. Its the aching neck and arms I did a ceiling about that size and did it in one go in the end but you are constantly fighting with the working time for the plaster as it dries before you can dry and wet trowel it off in time! Beading is another option which I never tried but wish I did now.

 

[keyplayer]

If you really can't manage it in one go then you can use a stop bead. I've done this a few times, and I find the best way for me is to fix the bead to the area not being skimmed, preferably through to a joist and fixed at many points as they flex a bit. Skim that section, up to the bead, let it go off and then remove and reverse the bead by fixing it to the same joist, and skim the other side. If you are following this, you should now have an unskimmed area, after removing the bead for a second time of about 30ishmm, with set plaster on either side. This trough can be easily filled with skim using the newly set plaster as a guide to run your trowel along. This method works fine for me if working alone, although I have been known to require a smidgeon of easifull afterwards. But not always. I could manage 3 x 7 without doing this, and I'm not fast, so you should get away with cutting it in half.

 

[Richard C]

That’s a rather big ceiling to cut your teeth on &, as neds said, they are a whole different ball game to walls; expect it to be at least 3x more difficult for you. Plain boards would be challenge enough for you let alone skimming over Artex which is really best left to the experienced. I still hate doing them & always have to get the adrenalin going before getting stuck in. If it’s stipple pattern, I run a broad flat shovel over the ceiling the day before to knock the tops off & apply 2 strong bonding coats of PVA (1:2/3); leave it 24 hours preferably. Apply a light wash coat of PVA (1:4/5) just before starting & skim when tacky; but don’t over brush it.

Forget the Wickes depth guides; the stop bead trick works well & I’ve used it many times in the past for various reasons but not necessarily down to size. I’ve never used it over Artex & am not sure how well it will work out. The depth of the Artex pattern will dictate how many plaster coats you need but it’s best to skim over the heavy patterns with Bonding plaster 1st & then follow on immediately after with your finish skim coats. In this case, it may be better to fit your stop bead over the Bonding rather than directly to the Artex. It will allow you to skim sections in quick succession, the trick is to take the bead off before the plaster has fully set or you’ll pull the edge off it. I’ve never found it necessary to use the bead again the other side, I just skim up to the raw plaster edge which acts as a guide, no gap to fill; if you do it right, it’ll blend in so you’ll need very little possibly even no filler.

I would be concerned about what caused the sagging between the joists & would advise you investigate that first; is it lath & plaster or boards? Was there a water leak at some time? If the lath is failing or boards are warping away from the joists, your newly skimmed ceiling may be relatively shot lived. Personally I would consider taking it down, re-boarding & then skim over that. It sounds like more work but in reality it isn’t; it can be messy but the materials are cheap & skimming over new boards is always a whole lot easier.

 

[Alastairreid]

That’s a rather big ceiling to cut your teeth on. I still hate doing them & always have to get the adrenalin going before getting stuck in.

after more than 30yrs i still have to take a deep breath before tackling larger ceilings. And they dont get any easier

 

[Andy7]

Happily, the artex isn't very deep, it's just a rough texture.

The sagging is really only just noticable and probably just caused by going round the sun 40 odd times, no just or damp problems. The material is plasterboard, so there's no failing lath going on there either.

Thanks everyone for the good advice - I think I'll go for a stop-bead, probably twice now as I pulled a muscle in my neck at lunchtime eating my instant noodles - don't ask!

Andy

 

[stevethespreader]

Happily, the artex isn't very deep, it's just a rough texture.

The sagging is really only just noticable and probably just caused by going round the sun 40 odd times, no just or damp problems. The material is plasterboard, so there's no failing lath going on there either.

Thanks everyone for the good advice - I think I'll go for a stop-bead, probably twice now as I pulled a muscle in my neck at lunchtime eating my instant noodles - don't ask!

Andy

if your going to use a stop bead reverse it so its back to front skim up to the bead and take it off then carry on skimming there is no need to put the bead back on again

 

[keyplayer]

if your going to use a stop bead reverse it so its back to front skim up to the bead and take it off then carry on skimming there is no need to put the bead back on again

That's easier said than done for a beginner who will probably end up making a mess of feathering the two together.

 

[Andy7]

if your going to use a stop bead reverse it so its back to front skim up to the bead and take it off then carry on skimming there is no need to put the bead back on again

That's easier said than done for a beginner who will probably end up making a mess of feathering the two together.

Nah, I'll give it a go. I've managed to feather in an L-shaped gap in a ceiling skim where a wall used to be. Can't see the join now.

Anyhow, if it leaves an ugly scar I'll just cover it up with a fibre-glass mock tudor beam... I'll get me coat.

Merry Christmas all !


Andy

 

[keyplayer]

Nah, I'll give it a go. I've managed to feather in an L-shaped gap in a ceiling skim where a wall used to be. Can't see the join now.
Andy

Fair enough, but the gap that you describe is easier than what you are about to do. In that you already have a hardened finish on either side of the fresh stuff, which is much easier to drag a trowel across to get your level, if you see what I mean. And you'll have 10.5 sq m going off at the same time remember.

 

[Andy7]

I've played it safe and I'm doing it in three sections.
First section is up and I have to say it looks almost like a pro-job.
Took ages to get the finish, right of course and my arm and back hurt like hell - but its a GOOD hurt.

Gotta take my hat off to you guys who do this every day. On to the rest of the ceiling tomorrow.

... let's hope it STAYS up.

 

[Richard C]

On to the rest of the ceiling tomorrow.

... let's hope it STAYS up.

Ahh; it's best to do the whole lot in one hit if you can, even if it’s in separate sessions. It may prove difficult for you to blend in the plaster edge once its gone from “set” to “fully hardened” & it may lead to cracking in the future. Soak the edge of the today’s plaster well with water to help prevent the join going off too quickly & do the remaining sections in quick sucession tommorow.

 

[Andy7]

Thanks for that.
Yeah, I should be able to finish the whole lot tomorrow - I didn't start until late today due to bpoler problems (never rains, but ot pours huh). Took time to get up to speed. Got faster as I got more confident.

 

[wozza56]

One thing i have not seen anyone mention is when doing ceilings always work towards the window as that way you can see the imperfections better as you go

 

[Andy7]

"bpoler problems" - erm, I meant boiler problems (sounds like I've got a mental condition there - no comments on that one please!!)

Nice idea about working towards the window. I had a lamp trained at an angle to help show up any bumps though.