Poor quality wall

[marsaday]

A wall in our house is pretty crappy and bumpy. It is painted white and i was thinking could i sand out all the imperfections ? If so would a normal rectangular sander do the job ?

If i had to replaster what would i do here. The wall has an opening which goes through into the kitchen. So would i have to be careful not to disturb the plaster on the inside of the opening ? Or do you need to plaster both sides ?

 

[Richard C]

It may even things out a bit but it depends what the imperfections are, if it’s badly applied filler then it may work but if it's damaged plasterboard or the plaster is blown (does it sound hollow when tapped) your wasting your time; all the hollow sounding bits will have to come off which may include the base coat. Finish plaster isn’t designed to be sanded as it opens the grain which makes it very rough & absorbent & leaves it looking like suede brushed the wrong way.

You can plaster just the face of a wall without the reveal but it takes so little extra time for a plasterer to fit corner beads & skim the lot, it makes little if any difference to the cost. If it needs re-plastering, you’d do better to get a plasterer in, especially if the base coat is also in a bad way; sometimes it’s quicker to strip the lot off & start again. Plastering is one of the most difficult trades to master & is not really a DIY proposition if your inexperienced, it’s not easy & your first efforts are most likely to end in tears.

 

[spc]

but some ready mix joint cement, should cost you about £30.

put a thin coat over the wall,let it set, (it air dries) get a pole sander £20, not an eastern european and sand it down with fine paper £5 it will be flat as a pancake dont worry about the reveals in to the kitchen just feather it in short of the beads

Or pay a pro £80 to pva it, two coats of board finish, paint and enjoy.

or i remember polycell did a revolutionary product that made you wave goodbye to plasterers (smooth over i think it was called) came with a free fish slice and some plastic gloves. awesome

 

[marsaday]

This is where i own up. i reskimmed myself when we moved in 3 yrs ago and the wall was in good nick, but we put the opening in for the kitchen - hence the reskim.

i had so much to do in the last 3 yrs i havent had time to get round to redoing the wall.

My mistake was just one coat onto the bond-it soultion with sand in it.

So you think i can sand out any of the trowel lines etc ?

 

[Richard C]

This is where i own up. i reskimmed myself when we moved in 3 yrs ago and the wall was in good nick, but we put the opening in for the kitchen - hence the reskim.

Ahh so the truth is out then.

So you think i can sand out any of the trowel lines etc ?

As I said, finishing plaster isn’t designed to be sanded but if it’s bad it probably won’t make it look any worse as long as you don’t go through to your “Bond it”; what reason did you use that? Where possible, you would do better using some “Easy Fill” to fill out & sand back rather than “blanket sanding” the entire wall which is going to make one hell of a mess.

 

[jrplastering]

re skim it mate easy filling the whole wall wnt make it as nice as plastering and that pollycell smoothover is macca stuff mate not worth a buck mate.
best result will be skimming again makes sure yoy get a nice consistant blemish free and true finish through out.

 

[Richard C]

re skim it mate easy filling the whole wall wnt make it as nice as plastering and that pollycell smoothover is macca stuff mate not worth a buck mate.
best result will be skimming again makes sure yoy get a nice consistant blemish free and true finish through out.

I never said Easy Fill the whole freekin wall & what’s with the pollycell smoothover crap. I’m all for re-skimming to sort it out (& no offense OP) but knowing he forked it up the first time, would he really do much better skimming it the second time around & after a 3 year break! Unless he calls someone in to re-skim, Easy Fill & sand is probably the best option.

 

[jrplastering]

erm i never said that you said easy fill the wall or the whole wall rich read the posts again

 

[marsaday]

i will give it a sand over when i get the time.

the bond it product is expensive, but you dont have to mess around letting the pva going off and it has sand in it, so a good key.

the problem i have with redoing it all (normal wall no probs) is that this wall has a big opening going through to the kitchen. When i come to the edges do you just feather it all in around the opening then ?

An alternative is to put up an architrave around the opening to disguise the plaster edge.

 

[jrplastering]

bondit should be left to dry before skiming it mate i know you can but if you read the tub it says to leave for 24 hours.
and yeah mate just feather down to the edges if you do it right itll be fine i find an easy way to feather in and make sure its perfect is to sponge float the edge in also this way you dnt have to pay loads of attention to the feathering untill youve done everything elso on whatever coat your onto.
how comes you used bondit in the first place, mate?

 

[spc]

wood chip. problem solved, or apparently you can get artex flat.

just get someone in, you will be pleased you did. plus it keeps her indoors happy

 

[jrplastering]

keep her indoors happy?? the huys only there to plaster the wall, what do you get up to on your jobs j haha

 

[spc]

i fill cracks

 

[marsaday]

Yes i left the bond it to dry the day before.

I use it because i find it easy to use. PVA makes everything much longer.

I am not a plasterer and so do the odd wall in the house etc. Currently converting my attic and so there is a lot to do up there though. Nearly finished the plaster boarding.

 

[spc]

post some pics mate