Ceiling or wall first?

[vbpupil]

Hey guys, im new to the forum. My question is this, i am coming to the final stages of boarding out a downstairs bedroom, this consists of 4 walls and the ceiling. the area is almost ready for a skim, is there any order to which i should tackle first? i have heard that the ceiling should always be done first? im not sure why exactly.

Also, i have done quite a bit of plastering recently round the house, always to areas which have been boarded out first, but i do seem to struggle on getting a perfectly flat finish - looks great when it dry and i do a great polish job but its when it painted and you can see the plaster by lamp light, any advice? i have seen mentions of the using a float - are these generally to be used on bare brick projects?

Thanks guys.

 

[noseall]

gravity and a sloppy mix says, always do the ceiling first.

no plaster finish is absolutely perfect, but it is how you work the fat on the second coat that produces results.

it is always the case, that blemishes are best seen or are most easily visible once the plaster has completely dried out.

 

[roughcaster]

Undercoat plaster (bonding ,browning, hardwall) or a cement/lime render undercoat put onto brickwork is called the "float" coat.....and the finish coat is called "set",,,,,float and set..... Some people wrongly refer to a trowel as a "steel float", it is called a plastering trowel. A "float" as such is a rectangular piece of wood or plastic, (sizes vary) with a handle attached to it, and it is used to close up the surface of say a rendered wall after screeding/ruling off, or a wall that has been floated with bonding etc. rubbing up concrete, there are many uses for the float. You would not normally use one though if you are just skimming walls/ceilings. The thickness of the skim,(just a few mm, would not require it), although it can be done to pull out, or straighten an angle with a thicker coat of finish here and there. As you said in your post, getting the plaster on is just the start, the skill is in the finishing of it, sounds as if your getting the hang of it, but keep trying.

Roughcaster.

 

[Richard C]

i do seem to struggle on getting a perfectly flat finish - looks great when it dry and i do a great polish job but its when it painted and you can see the plaster by lamp light

Just when you think you’ve cracked it, wall or up lighting shows up just how good it really isn’t! It’s always going to be the hardest of tests, just keep practising.

Always ceilings first but sometimes circumstances dictate otherwise. How much cleaning off (walls) you have to do depends how much plaster you’re still dropping & throwing around; in my case, hardly anything now but when I first started, I & practically everything else in the room would be covered in it!

 

[vbpupil]

Thanks chaps very helpful, encouraging to know it's normal to have imperfections. I will certainly persevere.