Coving Question

Sprintz

Hi There,

Wondering if any fellow amateur DIYers have been able to successfully put up Coving?

Any advice and what type of materials did you use? (Supercove Lightweight coving any good or should I go for pure plaster material?)

Or Did you just call in the professionals...in which case how much were you charged for Labour and for Materials?

Thanks folks

Plasterer

Sprintz wrote: »

Hi There,

Wondering if any fellow amateur DIYers have been able to successfully put up Coving?

Any advice and what type of materials did you use? (Supercove Lightweight coving any good or should I go for pure plaster material?)

Or Did you just call in the professionals...in which case how much were you charged for Labour and for Materials?

Thanks folks

Get lightweight coving - get the one with a paper coating its easier to paint. Next step get a COVING mitre block from b&q abou £8 (with this block comes a clear step by step way how to cut and place the coving) And use proper coving adhesive about £5.

This way by using the ligt stuff you can put up a 3 metre piece on your own.
I wouldn't bother with plaster coving - its heavy and its not really for the diyer as you will have to temp hold it up with screws and you could make a bit of a hash of it.

jcb208

plaster coving will gve a much better finish , its not that hard to do once you have done it a few times but first time can be confusing and can look bad If you dont get the joints right.Supply and fix your looking at about £5- £7 per mtr depending on how many joints in the room

Plasterer

Picture below shows a job myself and one of my boys did 2 weeks ago.
Plastering over artex on ceiling and window wall, papering and decorating and coving - This is the lightweight coving with the paper lining on it - doesnt look any different to plaster coving



PS Lightweight is also cheaper

ormus

as above.
the only real problem for a diyer is the corners. take yer time cutting the mitres.

Sprintz

Thanks for the input!

I have been quoted £8 / metre all in. But seeing as I have 20 metres then £160 seems a bit steep :S

I am thinking along the same lines as Plasterer and using the Supercove from B&Q (2 pack of £17.98) + Mitre + Adhesive = ~£45

The thing is I also have the main bedroom to do, so I could save a lot in the long run by trying to learn this skill

In addition to the corner cutting challenge (there are 7 corners/joints), I also have quite high windows to the ceilings and I have not yet put up curtains ... so the gap will be quite small between the windows and the coving to allow for the curtains :S

ormus

you may need to put small pins underneath sometimes, just to help hold it up whilst it dries.
so id always have some small pins ready to hand. id never use screws.

booty40uk

This little tool is one of the best buys i ever made and it works perfectly.

Hth

Andy

http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/224588

Plasterer

Sprintz wrote: »

Thanks for the input!

I have been quoted £8 / metre all in. But seeing as I have 20 metres then £160 seems a bit steep :S

I am thinking along the same lines as Plasterer and using the Supercove from B&Q (2 pack of £17.98) + Mitre + Adhesive = ~£45

The thing is I also have the main bedroom to do, so I could save a lot in the long run by trying to learn this skill

In addition to the corner cutting challenge (there are 7 corners/joints), I also have quite high windows to the ceilings and I have not yet put up curtains ... so the gap will be quite small between the windows and the coving to allow for the curtains :S

Just one more thought - if your worried you can't do the mitres you can actually buy them already cut in a pack for the DIYer

Plasterer

ormus wrote: »

you may need to put small pins underneath sometimes, just to help hold it up whilst it dries.
so id always have some small pins ready to hand. id never use screws.

you won't need them with the coving your buying sprintz - honestly it really is that light - if you threw a 3 metre peice out of a window it would almost fall to the ground like a feather - One thing to bear in mind though as your ceilings and walls might not be square/true the cove might flex slighty - this is where it might start "ahem" falling - just keep an eye on what youve put up and if it does start doing this simply keep pressure on it for 30 seconds and it will adhere as it dries - then carry on with the rest and keeping you eye on them so to speak - Asthetically you will not notice any slight imperfections of your wall/ceiling not be "true" as it will be very slight.

Having said all this once you get going you will ask yourself what you were worried about - peice of cake

Sprintz

The particular coving I have taken to is:

Supercove Lightweight

However, I cannot find any pre-cut mitre ends of the same brand / type ... is it okay to use the following pack:

Artex Simply Classic


The dimensions of the Artex are: 13cm Depth and 34cm Length whilst the Supercove just says Diameter 115mm and 105mm Depth.


Is this compatible?

Cheers!