Plastering complete newbie

[absconditus]

I needed a small kitchen wall plastering and today I decided to take the leap and do it myself, after all I have fitted the kitchen, done the plumbing and electrics and tiled the floor so thought what the hell.
I went to wickes and bought myself a hawk and trowel and after pondering over which sort of plaster to get
I chose a "bonding coat" in a purple bag ? correct one ? I dunno

Anyway when i mixed the plaster it had small flecks in it and it wasnt smooth at all it was almost like very fine grit, my question is does this sound right ? or did i mix it incorrectly ? (as there was no instruction on how to mix the damn thing)

Also when i was trying get get in all even and flat I kept getting raised lines from the edges of the trowel, and when i went over them it just created two more in a different place ?? How do i get rid of them properly ? Is a different tool needed ?

It doesnt look too bad, just hope it doesnt all fall off tonight when im in bed

I Also plan on putting a "finishing" coat on to make it really smooth any tips and guidance would greatly be appreciated

 

[brist]

PVA Wall then use 2 coats of multy finish plaster . To get rid of the tram lines get a decent trowel ,recommend Marshaltown stainless steel .

 

[absconditus]

PVA Wall then use 2 coats of multy finish plaster . To get rid of the tram lines get a decent trowel ,recommend Marshaltown stainless steel .

Ok thanks that

An update:

The plaster I have used hasn't fallen off the wall but there are cracks in it everywhere, it looks terrible (see picture)

Do i need to scrape all this off or can i plaster over it again ?

 

[iaith]

Hi Ab'
Unless your plastering a very rough wall you wont need bonding, just two coats of multi finish as suggested above. By the look of your photo you did not apply PVA to the wall first, hence the cracking. I think you'll have to scrape it off and start again. there's tonnes of advise on how to plaster, in previous posts on this site. as for the trowel, it will be OK but you'll need to sand the sharp edges off.

 

[Richard C]

Doesn’t look too bad! Sorry to be blunt & critical but that’s a complete & utter mess & totally beyond salvation IMO. The walls should also have been skimmed BEFORE you fitted the kitchen units, not after; & why did you choose Bonding? Asking the advice of even the simplest of Wike’s numpties would have steered you in the right direction.

If your going to have ago at DIY, at least do some research to try to understand what your getting into, what materials to use & how they behave. There are loads of sources & a good place to start is the British Gypsum site, watch a DVD or 2 & then read through the archive on this forum. Plastering is one of the most difficult skills to learn & you’re going about it in completely the wrong way.

Also FYI; Your not suppose to carry out electrical work in a kitchen unless your a Part P certified electrician or your LABC inspect first fix to ensure it comples with Building Regulations & then it's tested & certified by a Part P certified electrician!

 

[absconditus]

Doesn’t look too bad! icon_eek.gif Sorry to be blunt & critical but that’s a complete & utter mess & totally beyond salvation IMO

Dont be, I like brutal honesty. And yes I agree it's a total mess, but I dont agree it's beyond salvation, It's all been scraped off now and PVA applied read to be redone with one coat.

The walls should also have been skimmed BEFORE you fitted the kitchen units, not after; & why did you choose Bonding? Asking the advice of even the simplest of Wike’s numpties would have steered you in the right direction. icon_confused.gif

The walls were the kitchen units are actually fitted were skimmed before I fitted them! Its a new extension so walls are great, The wall in question has nothing on it at all and is on the opposite side of the room.
I did ask wickes staff if bonding would be suitable to put on a rough interior wall with holes in it.........the reply was yes!

If your going to have ago at DIY, at least do some research to try to understand what your getting into, what materials to use & how they behave. There are loads of sources & a good place to start is the British Gypsum site, watch a DVD or 2 & then read through the archive on this forum. Plastering is one of the most difficult skills to learn & you’re going about it in completely the wrong way.

I did do a little research, but was concentrating on the correct tools and technique as opposed to the materials and their behaviour...........A lesson learnt.

Also FYI; Your not suppose to carry out electrical work in a kitchen unless your a Part P certified electrician or your LABC inspect first fix to ensure it comples with Building Regulations & then it's tested & certified by a Part P certified electrician!

Thank you for that information. But I simply moved a wall light to a different position on the wall and ran a feed from this light to power my LED's. IMHO this is an easy job and I am confident and capable enough to carry out the work my myself.

 

[brist]

You say ready to be redone with one coat. You must use Two coats to acheive a good wall.

 

[absconditus]

You say ready to be redone with one coat. You must use Two coats to acheive a good wall.

Its "one coat" plaster that dries to a white finish. I didn't mean one of of regular plaster.

 

[brist]

LOST ME

 

[Richard C]

I dont agree it's beyond salvation, It's all been scraped off now and PVA applied read to be redone with one coat.

Sorry, what I should have said was beyond salvation without scraping off & starting again but use 2 coats of Multifinish as Brist suggests, a look in the archive will explain how & why. One coat plaster is truly awful stuff, it can have its uses but I wouldn’t list skimming a complete wall as one of them; I did try it on the first wall I ever did (total disaster) but I can’t think of any occasion I would ever use it again.

The walls were the kitchen units are actually fitted were skimmed before I fitted them! Its a new extension so walls are great, The wall in question has nothing on it at all and is on the opposite side of the room.
I did ask wickes staff if bonding would be suitable to put on a rough interior wall with holes in it.........the reply was yes!

Hmm; well that bits correct but they should also have told you Bonding is really a base coat plaster & needs a finishing coat over it.

I did do a little research, but was concentrating on the correct tools and technique as opposed to the materials and their behaviour...........A lesson learnt.

They are both equally as important, materials probably more so; as you say, a lesson leaned.

Thank you for that information. But I simply moved a wall light to a different position on the wall and ran a feed from this light to power my LED's. IMHO this is an easy job and I am confident and capable enough to carry out the work my myself.

The fact it’s an easy job that you feel confident in doing I’m afraid has absolutely nothing to do with it as far as the regulations go. A kitchen is classed as a special location (along with bathroom, shower room & outside) & even a qualified electrician can’t undertake work in these areas unless they are Part P certified (a separate accreditation) unless the work is done under supervision & tested by someone who is. The work may be perfectly safe but it’s very likely to get picked when you come to sell & if you don’t have a compliance certificate, it could jeopardise any sale.

 

[roy c]

There is an art in spreading "one-coat" and getting a nice smooth finish. We used to use it in the 80's in Guernsey when it first came out, and a guy gave a demonstration how to apply it and bring it up to a nice finish. A lot of plasterers (old school) would not use it and it never really caught on, but used properly it was great stuff'...Why don't you use "Hardwall " and then skim it with 2 coats of multi when the hardwall has picked up....??

Ps One-coat was used on the continent quite a lot it was sprayed on with a pump and the spreads followed behind and trowelled it up...

PPs "One-Coat" could be built out to 50mm and more, we would lay it on about 12mm then leave it to change colour(to pink) then scratch it up and lay another coat on and do the same till we got it to the thickness we wanted then rule it off and leave it till it picked up. Then the trick was, was to use a sponge float all over it even throwing water on it to get a nice "scum" on it, ( I think the sponge float was invented for this plaster) this would bring little particles to the surface, then leave it for a while then polish it up with our trowels filling all hollows in with the "scum" then leave it and then give it a final polish with a wet trowel. The trouble was one bag never went very far, it was very messy, it rusted trowels and metal paddles and mixing trowels,and it couldn't be put on damp area's. We always scratch coated with s/c and w/proof first beore we applied it. Now you can see why it never caught on and why they applied it with a pump on the continent..

 

[absconditus]

Well thank you all for your help and advice, the one coat is now on and its staying on What a bloody nightmare scraping that bonding coat off! jeez.

As for the electrics Richard C I appreciate what your saying but I know its safe and having only bought the property 3 months ago I have no intention in selling it for at least 10 years and if I need a certificate or work doing to satisfy regulation when and if I do sell, then of course it will be done.

What I know about plastering you could fit on the back of a match box, but hey its on smooth and looks quite nice, its going to be ripple painted then emulsioned so i'm confident the final look will be to my satisfaction

Ill post a picture later on for anyone who is interested.

Thanks again all.

 

[brist]

Should of used multi finish there seem to be many blemishes on your wall and will stick out when painted.

 

[absconditus]

Should of used multi finish there seem to be many blemishes on your wall and will stick out when painted.

Ill sand them out brist.

 

[roy c]

If you had sponged it all over when it was going off and then polished a few times you would have been there. But not a bad effort and if your happy with it who cares