Help wanted - HOW TO PLASTER??

MGAstra

Hi all,

I've just bought an house but need to do some work to modernise it. I've never done any plastering work before, but I now need to start!

I am looking to plaster walls and ceilings in several rooms. I have some spare time to learn how to do this properly, but I dont know where to find relevant information to learn the skills.

Does anyone know any useful free internet based guides??

Any help much appreciated...

Patr100

Plastering a ceiling particularly is not a job for a novice or even most experienced DIY persons. Apart from the odd small area of patch plaster it really takes some skill - it's not like painting a wall that anyone can do with little practice. I really suggest you get an experienced builder in to perhaps plasterboard the celing and you could possibly dry line the walls or patch plaster areas that need them after some practice.

Paul_the_Painter

I'll second that, it took me a week to repair a bad DIY job that the previous owner had done to a clients house. It was not practical to have a skim coat put over it as the gap between ceiling and top of windows was very tight.

nelly_2

Im a plasterer with 20 years behind me and I will tell you now, there is no way on this earth you will do a ceiling or wall to the standard you want.

There are a good few tips I could rattle off right now that would help you a lot and you still wouldnt stand a chance.

ie; A brand new trowel is useless because the sharp corners leave deep lines, you need one that has been used a lot already.

The trouble with plastering is, as soon as its mixed its going off.

Unfortunatley there is NO substitute for experiance and lots of it

The best description I give to people is this;

Plastering is like screwing a ball back in snooker "you hit at the bottom of the ball," so there you go, you now know how to srew the ball.

Simple?

Well no, you need to learn how to screw it back to any given spot that you want it to arrive at, and the only way to learn that is practice a million times.

Im not being cocky its just a fact, its a hard job to learn.

If you really want some tips I'll give em out but I honestly think it will be worthless.

Have a pop at the smallest wall you can find and see how you go, you never know you may be a natural

DMDz

Id appreciate the tips Nelly, although Im not going to do any plastering myself I still find them intresting!

Ted_Hutchinson

You may find your local college runs evening classes in plastering. I went on such a course when I bought this house as it's very old the walls are extremely uneven and DIY plastering just blends in with the existing handwork.
It is a skill though and to achieve the immpecably flat surfaces modern houses require is something that will take more than few evening classes.
The first trick you have to master is getting the sloppy stuff to stick onto the wall in the first place. You then have to know when it's right to smooth it out. These are things you can't learn from a book. It's only by doing it with other people who can show you and trying it out on a few dummy runs on a garage or outbuilding where it really doesn't matter. If you don't mind making a fool of yourself it quite fun learning but I haven't the confidence to do a ceiling and to be honest we used "Paint effects" washing, rag rolling etc to hide the fact that the walls were, and still are very uneven and none too square, it's fine for us as it's a listed building and finding plasterers who know about using lime is almost impossible.

plumb1_2

nelly wrote:

Im a plasterer with 20 years behind me and I will tell you now, there is no way on this earth you will do a ceiling or wall to the standard you want.

There are a good few tips I could rattle off right now that would help you a lot and you still wouldnt stand a chance.

ie; A brand new trowel is useless because the sharp corners leave deep lines, you need one that has been used a lot already.

The trouble with plastering is, as soon as its mixed its going off.

Unfortunatley there is NO substitute for experiance and lots of it

The best description I give to people is this;

Plastering is like screwing a ball back in snooker "you hit at the bottom of the ball," so there you go, you now know how to srew the ball.

Simple?

Well no, you need to learn how to screw it back to any given spot that you want it to arrive at, and the only way to learn that is practice a million times.

Im not being cocky its just a fact, its a hard job to learn.

If you really want some tips I'll give em out but I honestly think it will be worthless.

Have a pop at the smallest wall you can find and see how you go, you never know you may be a natural

Seconded,not a job 4 a DIYer

john0612

totally agree with above, plastering is a skill all on it's own, i've watched them many a times on sites and even in my own home and i wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. The finnish you'd get compared to a tradesman would be massive, as i see in peoples own painting and paper hanging it's worth getting it done right.

Paulo

Plastering guide
Hope this helps, not sure if I would be brave enough to give it a go.
But good luck if you do.

Flimber

I'm a semi-keen DIYer. I've tried plastering and I thought I was going to have something decent-looking. At least flat to within a few mm. I mean, look at the type of numpty you might often find calling himself a plasterer. How hard can it be? Boy, was I wrong. 'Nuff said. Get a few quotes and let a pro do it.

Mike.

MGAstra

Thanks for all the replys. I will certain be attempting at least some patching up, so I'll post a reply here to let you know how I go with it.

I've found an old (ish) looking trowel with slightly worn edges. That sounds like a good idea - thanks Nelly! (Ps. if you have the time I'd really appreciate here some more tips)

The guide from https://www.diyfix.co.uk mentioned above is also a very usefull read - thanks to Paulo.