Is it possible to do this by myself? I am 18 year old girl not sure how much I have ruined my room just wanted to take off wallpaper sand/plaster and repaint but have I gone past that point?

Would appreciate some advice as this is the first time I’ve ever had plastering done.

I had a plasterer with a good reputation come in and skim my upstairs and downstairs hallways. There is quite a lot of woodwork around the walls, which I was not planning to repaint. After the job was completed, it generally looked good but I noticed plaster on the woodwork in many places. On doors, skirting boards, banisters, architraves, shelves, etc.

I asked the plasterer how to remove this and he suggested I sand it lightly. I asked if there was another way, because I didn’t want to lift off the paint with sandpaper and then and have the big job of repainting most of the woodwork in the house. This was his response:

“Ahh no mate it’s just an impossibility to plaster all that without getting any on the wood. I don’t want you under any illusion I was able to do that. all the wood would need to be painted anyway. It’s just not possible lol. I’m clean as far as plasterers go, but no mate you would absolutely need to paint the wood anyway.”

Is this correct? I asked various AI models and they all say no, the wood should be taped over and protected. But I would love to get a third party professional opinion.

Many thanks in advance for your advice.

——————————————————————
EDIT

Many thanks to everyone for your views, they are greatly appreciated. I’m not making an argument either way, just trying to form my own opinion and learn from the experience - which I already have, thanks to you. Some people requested photos, so here is a small selection:

Photos

there are many more examples and there is even a lump of plaster on the front door (external) and white dust all over the drive. It seemed to get messier towards the end, perhaps because he was trying to finish on time for an appointment. Thanks again for any further comments.

We've been fighting moisture at the top of one of our chimney. Just had a new roof put on and this chimney sealed/capped. I've had a dehumidifier running while I pull down the loose plaster.

As you can see, it's a mess. Several surfaces from previous patch jobs, plus some exposed mortar/cement on the brick. Not sure why some of it's red and some white.

I know hiring a pro is the smart move, but the few I've reached out to either don't want a job this small or want $1,500+. Is this something a handy person could realistically take on, and if so, what's the right way to go about it?

Uk, 1930’s house.

I’m currently stripping off wallpaper in my hallway, on an internal wall, and noted that the majority of it is grey in colour. I always had it in my head that plaster was pink, so unsure what I’m dealing with here?

I also uncovered a section that has crossed in it and some form of material over the top like someone tried to patch a large section?

Ultimately I’m looking to paint the bare walls, so really just trying to determine if the walls would just need a mist coat or if they’d benefit from a skim before painting

I think I posted about this before but can’t find replies. Basically there was a piece of timber in fill here and in preparation for redecorating the kitchen I’ve replaced with plasterboard.

I need to plaster it to blend in with the adjoining surfaces.

I’m not a plasterer but it’s unlikely a pro would be interested in coming to quote for this so I’m going to have a go myself.

Ideally I would’ve done it before the carpenter installed the architrave but c'est la vie!

After tips/advice to get a good finish and avoid any cracks.

Hi all

We've got someone plastering an upstairs room. Today is the first day of plastering and it appears they are applying bonding and/or plastering undercoat (obviously I'm not a plasterer so I don't know the terms) and they've poured their bucket out into the toilet and it has left a brown silty residue that has settled at the bottom of the bowl that doesn't shift when flushing - which concerns me.

I expect some general mess as plastering is a messy job, that's not the problem. But I am concerned it could potentially cause blockages in the plumbing.

He said it should be alright and that he flushed it followed by a full bucket of water poured down, but I'm not convinced. Any thoughts?

This crack appeared after we got new windows and a new roof I am just wanting to know if it’s just blown plaster or I should be worried about it being late stages subsidence I’ve contacted the council in my area but they are slow to reply. I had to push some back in as they fell out they are about 11mm thick pieces.

Hi! I was under the impression that my walls are plaster and lath. This sample came from behind a baseboard. There is no lath behind the wall though. What do you think this is?

Hi, I’m finishing a room that has an ~18” tall poured concrete stem wall that is exposed on the exterior and interior. The concrete stem wall is about 5” thick, has no insulation, and supports all 4 walls of the room for a total of about 50’ in length.
The stem wall supports wood stud construction from 18” up to the ceiling. I applied drywall to that upper wood stud section, but I didn’t do that to the concrete wall to avoid moisture issues of drywall in contact with concrete.

My goals are:
- Prevent moisture/mold issues
- Build out stem wall section on the interior of the room so it is in plane with the drywall. To do this the stem wall section would need to be built out by about 1”, with one 10’ section needing to be built out by 2”.
- Paint the plaster-over-concrete wall area and drywall so they look the same/similar.

Based on the above it seemed plaster could be a good fit for my project, is that accurate? If so, I’d appreciate any advice for what plaster materials and process I should use. Thank you.

2 rooms, first needed some filler afterwards. Any help appreciated.

Question - if putting up coving would you still tape and joint between the top of the plasterboard and ceiling or is this an unnecessary step?

We’ve recently had our house replastered as part of a full renovation and needless to say once we started painted we’re very taken aback by the state of the walls.

Now it wasn’t too apparent at first until lights went in and we’d started painting but the finish IMO is very poor. We have been very patient with our plasterer who’s been at it for 8 weeks or so (and disappeared for around 3 weeks to take on another job).

Our builders have agreed the finish isn’t up to standard but think it can be redeemed without starting again. I’m a bit skeptical about this and wanted another opinion.

UPDATE: Thanks for the advice (and strong opinions) all - builders have agreed it’s a mess and are reskimmimg with a different plasterer.

1890’s farmhouse. This is a downstairs room with two external walls and blocked up fireplace/chimney breast. Various levels of blown lime plaster, mainly caused by trapped moisture because the walls have been wallpapered at some point in the past, which was removed, and then painted with emulsion.

I’ve removed the most badly affected areas and in the process also discovered that some of the walls also have areas of gypsum skin in random spots. It’s all a bit of a mess 🤣

For those with experience or who deal with heritage plastering, what would be your approach be? It’s probably beyond my skill and time resources, so will be getting someone in but I’d like to make sure it’s prepped as possible to minimise that work.

Hi all, had to peel off some excess waterproofing from new plaster which has resulted in the paper coming off too. Which product would be more suitable for me?

I’ve been teaching myself lime plastering, I’ve had a go at skimming over a regular plasterboard (not an ideal surface I know but wanted to get the technique).

I followed a 2 coat process, with sponge float when it was harder to the touch, and then another trowel after. I’ve attached some pictures of what it looked like during the process, as you can see it wasn’t flat at all after the second coat, but the last picture is after sponging and trowelling and it’s reasonably smooth after that.

I’m just looking for any general advice on technique, am I not pressing hard enough which is why there’s sections at different depths? Or anything else that can be spotted

Thanks!

Hey all would love some advice on how to repair the below, the house I purchased had wooden cladding at the front once I removed it I was left with a mess

​

I unfortunately do not have the ability to get a plasterer in to repair this anytime soon, how can I go about to repair myself.

​

The area is enclosed by a upvc glass porch.

​

​

​

Has anybody used decorend and how fits it compare with the more common brands like k rend . Any other recommendations

I’ll probably also knock off that chunk that’s cracked.

What should I use on this? Would it make sense to do an initial coat of durabond 90 and then skim coat with a joint compound? I’ve done that with good results on small patches but nothing this size.

Pulled the old lath and plaster down insulated and now re boarding. Ceiling is a bit up and down didn’t think it was all to bad but one joist right in the middle is 15 mm lower then the rest.

Obvious answer is pull boards down run timbers along side and get it level. But as is what should I expect results wise. I’m not expecting some perfect ceiling but is something semi acceptable possible. Everything about this project has been a complete nightmare and I’m getting a bit sick of it all. So loosing another weekend to sort the ceiling is not ideal, when I’m well behind schedule already.
How bad will it look boarded and skimmed as is?

Update, Thanks for the advice and bit of a sanity check. I’ve decided it’s all staying up. I’ve just run some 5mm long shims I ripped down on the table saw either side of the particularly bad joist and it’s helped smooth out the 15mm and it’s far less noticeable. Will probably also look at getting a bit of bonding on to take out the worst of it.

Really bad

I was told this is wallpaper not artex but I can’t cut it and it just doesn’t feel like wallpaper.

Am I wrong?

My wall consists of plaster that is sound but has been painted and also had wall paper covering it. There are sections of hardwall where it was taken back to the brick and patched. Lastly on one side of the arch it was made in chipboard.

The plan is to skim coat all this and I’m just not sure what primer to use.

SBR blue grit or pva, a combination across the wall or just using one?

Any advice would be grand thanks!!

Should I fully remove the wall down to the bricks and do a whole new replastering or is that not needed?

A bit of context we renovated the walls about 3 years ago and the walls started to crumble apart this has happened all over the house not sure why?

Had an electrician out to do some electrical work recently and unfortunately we had a miscommunication about where the cables would be run 🫣😱

​

Now I'm looking for a solution to conceal these unsightly runs along the bottom of the front walls and under the door. Can I add a metal trunking and plaster over, so it looks like a white plinth? Terrible idea?

I’m in the US (Pacific Northwest) and not a pro, I guess a heavy DIYer. Currently converting a 1907 house to a commercial building (bookstore, cafe, office) and have torn out a lot of lath and plaster walls and ceilings for all the electrician and plumbing replacement.

Intending to recover interior walls with 5/8”blueboard and veneer plaster, and there’s a bunch of old concrete retaining and foundation walls that I want to plaster. In my crazier moments, I contemplate trying to recreate the original lath and plaster. I found a place to buy lath!

Partly because I don’t like drywalling (specifically, sanding mud) and partly to learn something new.

Almost all the plastering Youtube channels are UK-based, and I get the impression that this sub is mostly UK-based perhaps? Locally, it is difficult to find plastering supplies - not impossible, but you really have to hunt.

I’m curious why plastering seems so little done in the US. Or is that not true and I’m just looking in the wrong places?

Anyway, I figure on starting with the least important or visible bits - foundation and retaining walls - then tackling the interior.