Plastering Course - Fred Flinstone

[FredFlintstone]

Oh, no, I don't PVA before dot n dab.

I'd wait until after the course before you get a decent trowel. If you get one before, don't take it with you - use theirs. Only because it could get lost, nicked or accidentally swapped over when you're on the course.

Emulsioned walls - rub em down to give a key, PVA and skim away.

 

[diyisfree]

Andybill,

Sorry for delay in replying. I have never been on a plastering course, not sure where you got that idea from ?

I fit bathrooms and Kitchens and have been plastering for many years. I specialize in a complete job. What i mean by that is that i come in rip out your old stuff including the walls and totally re-fit your room.

Here i mean like this, I remove old gear, re plaster, Plumb, tile, refit, decorate and then you pay me

This is one i did last week. I forgot to take an after picture I must go back and pretend i have left a screwdriver under the bath and take one As you can see, i specialize in OLDER properties that have lots of hidden history beneath the old tiles and walls If you look carefully, you can see my 14" trowel on the windowsill

Please note the only time i use plasterboard is if the wall is a stud. I NEVER dryline walls. Thats a job for amateur plasterers who like a flat surface to skim.

Look over the window, you have the wallplate, one course of brick and a wooden lintel They really knew hoy to build houses in those days..

Get yourself a Marshalltown perma shape stainless steel trowel. They are VERY light (very important when you are plastering all day) and the finish they give is very good.

As for the practice, well you can skim a few times but the more you keep building up the layers, the smaller the room is going to get If your beloved will allow you, hack the lot off to bare brick and have a play at bonding or browning...

 

[AndyBill]

diyisfree,
well impressed with your work , must be very satisfying walking away from that.
yes i think i will get me a decent trowel and as you said, just keep practising.
thanks for the advice.
Andy

 

[diyisfree]

I take great pride in my work and never cut corners.

Not sure about feeling satisfied when i walk away from some of the houses, More like "i wish i lived there" But saying that, payday always brings back the smile...

 

[AndyBill]

do you use the same trowel for skimming and finishing,
as you do for say putting on render or first coat plaster?

 

[Aqua]

Hi diyisfree, love this hand rail etc, where did you get it from and how much, cheers aqua.

 

[FredFlintstone]

do you use the same trowel for skimming and finishing,
as you do for say putting on render or first coat plaster?

I use a cheap 12" steel float for bonding / browning / render and applying skim and then my 14" MT trowel for flattening and finishing.

 

[diyisfree]

Andy,

I use a normal steel trowel 14" for the bonding, render and the stainless one for the finishing coat although i have used the stainless for applying bonding but never for render.

Aqua,

Its a Richard Burbridge product called Fusion. You should be able to get it from any of the big sheds (B&Q warehouse possibly) Got that one from Jewsons.

YES it is quite expensive when you compare it to wooden spindles but it looks the dogs dangly bits especialy if you are going for a very modern look.

The stair case has LED's illuminating the chrome so it looks pretty good in the dark.

Think i have a picture somewhere

It continues up on the landing.

Its amazing how nice you can make an old house look. New Architrave, doors, re plaster all the walls, Re plaster the ceilings and lose the artex, and a nice coat of paint finishes the job.

 

[Aqua]

Thanks for the info diyisfree, i will be checking that out at Jewsons.

Nice job by the way, looking at those pictures pine wood finish can't compare to chrome and a clean painted finish.

 

[AndyBill]

diyisfree,
did you just skim over the existing walls on the landing or hack it off and start again?

 

[diyisfree]

Andy,

The lot was taken back to bare brick. It was such a small area and the old plaster was blown.

The ceiling was artex and was just re-skimmed. unfortunately i don't have a picture of that. I always take pictures and then give them to the clients to remind them of how it used to look. They love it

Here is another example of how sometimes things go from bad to worse. I was removing the old rad after fitting a new window ready to re-plaster the full room.

I grabbed the rad to lift off the brackets and the wall came with it

Ignore the lovely red carpet it was the old one.

 

[AndyBill]

another great job in the end though!
do you do your own brickying too?

can you tell me , do you pva the brickwork before the first coat of plaster gos on? or wet it down at all?

Also i went to B&@ today (again) and found that there is Bonding, Browning, Multifinish, Board finish ... etc, loads of different types of plaster.
What are they all used for?

 

[diyisfree]

Andy,

Bonding for low suction

Browning for high suction

To be honest, i PVA high suction backgrounds and use Bonding. I find its a much tougher backing than browning.

I always use board finish. It goes off quicker so im not standing around waiting for it to stiffen enough to give it its final trowel.

I suggest you stick to multi until you can work quickly enough to get it on the wall before it sets

Yes i do my own bricklaying. When i was 17 ( nearly 30 years ago ) i did a spell on the building sites. I got with a guy who taught me the ins and outs. don't get me wrong, I am nowhere near as fast as the guys doing it all day everyday but i still managed to build my extension and i will and do take on small jobs.

 

[AndyBill]

ok thanks for all your help and advice , im going on the 2 day course in Bedford next week , then i suppose ill have to think of the job of taking out the chimney breasts in our house!! ahh good fun

cheers