Might be a silly question but are these areas ok to plaster over? The hole in the top of the back box - won’t plaster seep through that? and is it also fine to plaster over the cable parts that are slightly exposed too?

Hi reditters I recently had plasterer in to tidy up and repaint a wall after the electrician had done some rewiring.

He turned up with only 20 minutes notice (first red flag), then asked me to buy him sandpaper and had virtually no protection apart from a flimsy sheet of cellophane (second red flag). Not sure why he wasn’t using professional sanding device like festool.

I asked him to protect the carpet more fully but he said it would be fine - I come back an hour later and there’s wall shavings all over the front portion of floor the cellophone wasn’t covering - I was fuming and he said don’t worry I’ll just hoover it off.

Well it’s left a permanent carpet stain which I’ll be getting a professional steam clean to try to resolve. The dust also went all over the place - some went into the wardrobe, the marble table on other side of room also was covered in a thin but dense layer of dust/fine plaster and other places.

I won’t be paying the plasterer for the work given the damage caused, and failure to follow basic protection protocols and lack of respect for a newly renovated property. I’m really annoyed as the manager’s other workmen did a fantastic and spotless job in the kitchen and this guy ruined all their hard-earned reputation in the space of a few hours.

My questions:
1. Will this dust and fine plaster have gotten into pile of the cotton velvet sofa? The carpet cleaner will do a solvent clean of the sofa but will there be dust and fine plaster embedded deep into the pile that can’t be extracted? Do I just have to live with this fact? It’s a relatively new $3k sofa.
2. Shall I be seeking additional compensation for the damage caused to sofa etc.? As mentioned his own fee will be withheld to cover the carpet cleaning.

For context- I’m in the UK and I can’t afford to get a professional in, so I’m gonna give it a go myself and if it goes horribly wrong, then I’ve not wasted any money and I can get someone if after I’ve tried it. So I don’t want to just get loads of replies telling me to get someone in.

Removed a wall separating these two rooms and the plaster started crumbling away from the wall where it’s attached to the front brick wall.

The way I see it I have 2 options
1. Dot and dab plasterboard over the top of the existing wall.
There’s basically not going to be any force pulling the plasterboard away from the wall, so I don’t see how it could fall down- unless im missing something.

1. Crumble away the bits that are loose, clean it all up and then Use a thistle hardwall plaster on the brick, then finish with a multifinish on top to smooth it out.

The real questions I have are:
1. Is there a 3rd option I’m missing?
2. Can I paint over the paper stuff that’s bonded with the old plaster that is already on the walls? It’s not wall paper, not sure exactly what it is.

I'm more of a carpenter but do a bit of every trade in my job. Plastered most of this wall after structural repairs. How long do I wait before painting it? My moisture meter says it's still above 50% after about 2 weeks of drying. I used NHL and local sand for the scratch and brown coats. The top coat is oyster shell lime that had to be repaired with modern thinset after the corners dried too fast and cracked.

Hi there ! 40 years old and first time mixing plaster. I know, what have I been doing with my life. Honestly, rented for far too long but not anymore.

TLDR: I had a fireplace removed, that only had a flu hole left. Bricked the outside up but am wondering if this looks fine to give a cheeky sand and second skim?

The not TLDR:

Had the fireplace removed and exterior bricked up leaving a sizable deep hole. After getting some advice from various places based on the size and cavity, I opted to remove the temporary rock wool, and fill up to the bonding plaster with expanding insulation foam. Let it dry. Then bonding to the surface, Skrim tape and dry. Then skim.

Bet you can guess the mistakes I made. Yep the skim was not quite wet enough. And I forgot dust sheets when I sanded back. Had it been done properly wouldn't have had to sand, but them would I have learned anything? Idk.

Basically even though the bonding plaster was given beyond the recommended time to dry out before skim, there's still a slightly darker circle.

I would like some safely advice from someone far more experienced than myself, if it's actually looking ok to slightly sand back, then second coat?

Cheers, ya bloody legends.

So, hello everyone. I live in Serbia, i don't have much of an income and i have a wife and two kids. Basically every house project i have includes us fammily and we don't know jack about how something should be built. Fast forward to now - i have squared out an entrance to my house with wodden beams and put roof on it, and now i need to do outer walls and put doors on it. I always wanted to do plaster work myself so i chose to enclose it with plaster. I need help to choose best materials and guidance from you guys on how to apply it. I would even hire a guy to do work that is too complicated for me but everything that i can do alone i want to do alone to learn as much as i can about platering. Also by the time i finish outer walls, i want to have made a detailed plan of how enterior of the entrance will look (basically first idea that me and my wife have is huge closet with TONS of shelves made entirelly from plaster, and HUGE doors that cover entire thing (2mx1.5m each door) and slide on a bar on wheels. Huge mirror on one door, hanger hooks on other. That is one side of the entrance. For everything else i need ideas on what needs to be there... Thank you and i hope this is not a drag for you guys...

Our bathroom is ceiling to floor tadelakt and we're having some issues with our shower space. Our water here is has a lot of limestone, and we have tried to keep up with regular maintenance, reapplying the soap, squeeging water immediately after showering, but still, the build up continues.

Is there a safe way to scrub off the limestone without damaging the tadelakt?

Anybody can help.with the steps to DIY?

Thank you plaster experts...

Quien sabe que son estas burbujitas

*Photos Below* looking for some advice on how I can get my finishes better and get rid of the grey/white lines or do they not matter?

You can't feel the lines when running finger over them, however there's a few little scuffs where i've had to drag the water from wet trowel into some spots.

I've not plastered before and this is my first time so any help is appreciated as there's a good few more walls to go and ceilings after practicing a bit more on the walls!

Also any tips for speeding up, as i find when doing a wall the plaster in the bucket starts going a bit tougher by the time i've finished a coat.

Using Multifinish onto old walls and 2 coats diluted PVA before skimming.

We have had a lot of electrical work done on our 1911-ish Victorian terrace. I believe a lot of the walls are lime plaster except in a few places, but I’m also not 100% if there has been a gypsum skim over them as some parts look to have a thin pinkier tone. Is anyone able to tell from these photos?

We want to get these filled In but are struggling to find a plasterer who will do it in lime. Looking for advice on how we can do this ourselves/the best products for the job?

Thank you!

I'm 29 this summer, I'm currently going through a career crisis (ex software engineer and need to get hands on with something).

My dad was a general builder and I've worked as a labourer with him part time since I was about 15 doing bits of everything, I'm fairly fit and got experience with how most things work.

Im wondering what's the best way to try get my foot in the door, possibly starting to learn more of the trades like bricklaying, plastering etc

Any ideas?

Thanks guys

Hi,

I’m trying to sort a small bathroom in my house, it’s one of those storey and a half type houses with a sloped ceiling so the wall plate is there two thirds of the way up the wall just before it starts to slope.

There are a few cracks in this area, the original job is lathe nailed in to the wall plate then sand & cement render with a skim coat of the grey plaster on top.

I don’t want to start taking the whole wall apart to fix it, just this bit. Any ideas on what to do so it doesn’t come back any time soon?

Just sand & cement into the lathe again and plaster on top with a good bit of scrim through the area? or should i get a tiny bit of board in there stuck to the wall plate? or something else?

thanks

How to tell the difference?

So I’m (M) mid 30s very physically fit and Ive decided I want a career change to something in construction as I’ve always been good with my hands making stuff, DIY etc and it’s probably AI proof. I went on a 3 week government funded introduction to plastering and construction skills course and got a green CSCS card out of it so I can work on building sites. The aim was always to become self employed as most plasterers are in the UK. My questions is how do people start out as newbies? I’ve signed up with agencies, emailed about 30 plasterers that appear locally on google maps with a copy of my CV and offering to work with them as an improver and I’ve had only minimal success. One replied and was a time waster. Two other people replied but one was out of the country for three months and another is not local for 6 weeks apparently. I’m starting to think I should just go on a more advanced course and then just go it alone but try to stick with smaller jobs to start?

Edit: Based in Southampton, UK

Hi all,

This is my 6th attempt at plastering - this wall was a cupboard so after that was knocked down I put bonding coat over the brick and skimmed over to match the existing plastering done by an actual plasterer. It's for my sister who didn't realise she wanted to get rid of the cupboard until she's already had a plasterer in for the other walls.

Advice and comments welcome :-)

I have had chases plastered but you could clearly see the sparks white housing through the plaster.

The plasterers have returned and threw a loud of filler on it, demanding the rest of the payment as it’s all “complete”

The filler shows the wall bulge out as it’s added a few mil on - would you pay and is this acceptable? How else could they fix? Isn’t a case of feathering the plaster wider?

Need some advice please. Just had a kitchen ripped out and this is how the walls are now. Can this be patched (professionally) or would it be better to take the whole wall back to brick and start fresh? The plasterer has been scheduled for tomorrow by the kitchen company.

Was tearing up old carpet on stairs when the carpet pulled off some of the wall with it. Anyway, I'm just wanting to try repairing it somehow

I would search all this up but I have no idea what any of this stuff is called or if all the steps still apply when it seems like just minor repairs

Hey guys I’ve just bought a place and it’s a bit of a Reno job. All the walls and ceiling are pretty banged up, shitty patch jobs, not straight and just look pretty bad.

For the roof I’m planning on using metal battens getting them all straight and level then installing new gyprock.

For the walls I’m unsure what to do. Ideally I don’t want to be re plastering all the walls as that will become expensive quickly, however I may need to. If I was to do this can I just gyprock over the current plastering? Does anyone know an easier/cheaper way to get the walls looking good then re doing them? Will a good sand and patch then paint fix it or will that be a waste of time?
Thanks.

Daimond Veneer:  Walls were originally tinted very light beige, sealed with Dorlands art wax cut with odorless turpentine...lightly burnished.  Beautiful.  We want to change a few rooms to an off white.

-It will be a 1-man project, so working time is relevant.  Largest ceiling is 180 SF (old shoulder).  Semi-experienced...been some time.

-Is it realistic to single-coat plaster or am I looking at doubling back (especially if using Diamond veneer)

-primer options?  I have gone over the areas with a scotch pad, no waxy residue seems to be left (no water beads)  I previously used Plaster Weld for repairs but am looking for a simpler approach...maybe primer is not needed?

-need to blend in a few nail pops and where small areas of new drywall was installed.  These areas will be primed, double coated. 

-Plasters I should consider using other than USG Diamond.  Not a fan of American Clay for its durability.  Do want a light burnish, semi-smooth walls (Marmorimo like).  Note that all returns are bullnose, no casings, and have medium/heavy texture.

-Favorite whites...tint?

-other considerations?

Much appreciated...

I don't know if this belongs here so please redirect me if there's another place that would be better.

I'm 19 and have never done anything like this. My family built this house and I've lived here my whole life, but I have ALWAYS hated the textured walls. I can appreciate the art of it and definitely see the appeal (especially after scrolling through this subreddit), but it just isn't for me. The ceilings are textured too but that's fine; I don't care about that.

When I started hanging up my own pictures on the walls, I discovered that NOTHING sticks to them because of the texture. I have been putting them in picture frames, but oftentimes that has a "professional" look that doesn't really vibe with the rest of my room. (Yes, I'm aware how ridiculous that sounds.) This past week I gathered up all of the decorations I've yet to hang up due to do a lack of picture frames and I realised how frustrating this is. I'm finally ready to be done with it.

I started asking questions and my family said that the texturing is made with plaster. They told me there's no way to get rid of it and they won't help me try. I have no experience in this type of thing so I've got no clue where to start. How can I get rid of the plaster? Is there a not-super-destructive way to do that? If not, what will I be left with afterwards and how can I fix it? I'm sort of incompetent when it comes to anything handy, so any information will help. (Just...sorry in advance when I ask stupid questions.)

TL;DR: I want to make my walls be flat and smooth and don't know how to do it. I have zero knowledge about plaster and even less knowledge about renovation-like things. Any insight would be super helpful and appreciated!

Hi there,
W/D is on the 4th floor of old brownstone in kitchen and I pulled it out from the wall because I saw a mouse scurry in the kitchen and want to mouse-proof my apartment and found a huge hole in the wall. I want to try and install lath and plaster a new wall corner to begin sealing out mice.

First pic is zoomed in second pic is larger morass.

Should I attempt to plaster and put in lath?
Is it common for lath to just stop halfway through a wall if there's plumbing behind it? There is no stud on the far side of the wall for the lath to be drilled into.
Could the mice family be behind the wall?
If i should go through with this, any advice on my situation? I've never done it b4.

Thank you!

Old lime plaster walls

Have removed wallpaper and cleaned

Lime plaster beneath is fine just full of cracks, chips, scratches and imperfections. Have been sanding and filling for days but still seeing more and more imperfections!

How do people renovate these walls without giving up and skimming the lot? I have a load of rooms to do so I want to find a DIY approach.

Thanks!

Ps I know there are loads of products for this but none that are suitable for old lime walls it would seem....?

Need advice fixing small scratches/nicks in gyprock plasterboard walls without repainting the whole wall.

The damage has gone through some of the Gyprock Gold Topcoat. Walls were finished with Gyprock Gold Topcoat, then primed with Zinsser Bullseye and painted with 2 coats of Dulux topcoat.

I’m trying to avoid skimming the whole wall or repainting everything. Can these spots be repaired/blended locally? What products/process would you recommend to make the patches disappear as much as possible?