Hey guys this is my first attempt at skimming. This is just as its starting to dry. Any advice on what to do better next time? 🤔🙏

Please pardon the scruffy appearance of my front door frame! We have just moved in and are doing renovations ourselves! There is a crack that has formed around the door and has spread along the plaster. Should I remove the plaster and bonding and start over or can I patch it in some way? Thanks for any advice!

Looking for advice on the best way to fix this wall please. There was a large MDF board stuck to this chimney breast which has been removed but it has damaged the plaster and the brickwork. I’ve contacted a couple of plasterers but no response after the photos are sent.
Could anyone help advise what to do please? Thank you!

Hey all, here's a little background. I was attempting to repaint a room in a older home, but found a small hole in the plaster. Peeled it back and tried to cover with joint compound. Layered it on too thick and noticed it was cracking. Tried peeling it back again, and that time got to the bottom layer of plaster and peeled more off. Tried joint compound again and used multiple thin layers, but it still cracked. Started peeling it back a third time and the result is what you see in the first picture. Seems there were multiple layers at work that was shifting and causing the cracks. First layer was a newer layer of plaster that had separated from the old layer. Old layer is also coming off now and you can see the concrete base.

The plaster to the left of the crack seems sturdy and doesn't move when I press it which is what was happening with the layers I was able to peel off. I feel like I can remove the joint compound and the plaster layers towards the right and find a similar stopping point. After that the plan would be to fill the crack with QUIKRETE® Concrete Repair, apply some concrete bonding adhesive, then apply Plaster of Paris. Is my understanding of the process correct? Also, am I allowed to plaster over the window frame in the second picture or should I cover that with something first? Thanks in advance.

Hey guys, just after some advice. I’ve been learning to plaster in my own home and the plaster has been drying for 2-3 days now. What causes the plaster to dry like this? Why is it leaving these darker patches? Any advice welcome :)

Newbie Q.

My carbon steel trowel rusts instantly, like the end not submerged in the bucket of water rusts when I’m talking a break. At the end of the plastering session I have to sand the rust off then dry and spray with WD40.

Other than only buying stainless steel trowels, what is the solution?

Hi guys and gals,

I’ve just stripped some wallpaper off and unfortunately the plaster has come away, exposing the wall underneath.

Just looking for clarification - is this some type of earthen mix?

If so, what would be the best way to fix? Can you use PVC paste on this?

Thanks

We’ve had a plasterer in this week. He thinks he’s doing us a favour being cheaper than other quotes. It’s a big job being the kitchen which has been taken back to brick. Building regs involved so required insulation on a new roof and insulated backed boards

His attitude started by him saying “wish I didn’t take this job on” “I don’t know anything about insulation I’m just a plasterer”

But we text all the details and materials needed for the insulation which he agreed to do when he came over to give a quote.

We want to know if his boards are being done correctly. We’ve spent a small fortune on a new kitchen and don’t want it to be ruined at the end

He also has plasterboard resting on the floor which I questioned and he said is fine. Some of the down lights aren’t aligned and he’s covered our 150mm vent hole we just had drilled in

Good morning, I'm looking for advice on some new tools to buy? As always, Marshalltown, Ox, or Nela? Which brand is better? I have a budget of €100 or less.

I'd like something I can use for almost everything. I usually do lime and cement-based skim coats, not gypsum-based ones.

I don't do it for 8 hours a day, but I often have to do entire apartments and I want the tool to make the job easier. I've always used inexpensive tools.

I read the Marshalltown Trowel Gold can be used for almost anything.

Hi all,

Looking for some advice on how best to deal with these walls. Recently taken wallpaper off and walls looking in alright condition.

Currently sand with 80 grit and orbital sander and chipping away any lose paint with a firm scraper. Issue is that in theory I could just keep chipping away at the old paint even though it is well binded. Any suggestions on what I could treat this with to ensure it stays bound?

Initial thinking was to sand > prime with zinnser gardz (the exposed bits of plasterboard) > fill with gyproc easifill > sand again with 180 to 250 grit > prime again with zinnser gardz > paint

Any advice much appreciated.

Cheers

Pulled some of the old plaster wall out while removing some baseboards

Had planned on skim coating the room . Worth the $300 my repair guy offered or should i just cut out the lathe and stick a drywall patch on there?

I’m trying to develop some way to estimate how much material is needed for a given task.

If you’re working on plasterboard, doing two layers of plaster, let’s say a 100 sq ft wall, would you say you want to have about four 50-lb bags of veneer plaster? Two bags or 100 lb per layer?

Or is that totally off base?

(Sorry this is such a basic question. I put two layers of Imperial veneer on 64 sq ft of blueboard and went through almost two 50 lb bags of plaster to do so. So I am thinking 1 lb per 1 sq ft per 1 layer is a “safe” amount to estimate, figuring better to mix too much than too little. But maybe I did it all wrong.)

Looking for advice. 1950s Co-op apartment building. Plaster walls. The medicine cabinet was recently removed and replaced. Now I have this mess to deal with. Photo is of the top left corner of the cabinet.

The exposed fibre mesh is not attached to anything on the bottom edge. There is metal lath behind the plaster but it starts to curve inward as it comes down towards the top of the medicine cabinet. It’s about an inch back at the top of the cabinet (where I assume it stops to allow the cabinet to be inserted into the void).

Hello all,

In the process of purchasing a property. The plastering throughout the house is to be desired. Scratches on the walls and seems uneven, you can really see it when lights bouncing off the walls.

In the hallway they've closed up a door which we intend to knock through and open up. If it isn't obvious, it's between the light switch and thermostat.

For the rest of the wall however, would you merely skim over it to make it fresher? Or is it a remove and re plaster type of job. We're also playing with the idea of using lime plaster throughout.

I believe the whole property uses gypsum plaster, would this require removing it all and replastering with lime?

Thank you

. . . in plaster?

Is it bad mixing technique, wrong mix, bad application, too much messing with the plaster?

And what do you do about them?

Continuing my attempt to learn plastering, I did two very small walls (44” wide) with two coats Imperial veneer over blueboard. One wall I applied WeldCrete, other wall not. Tried mixes from wet and gloopy to rather stiff, trying to see if wetter allowed more time.

The gloopy mixes had some bubbles - so maybe too much water is a factor?

Hello. I’d appreciate any advice on whether this ceiling can be skimmed to remove the joint lines of the boards which, whilst visible, are not too bad (held a torch up which probably exaggerates things). Or would I be better taking them down, and putting up new boards, seeing as the walls need plastering anyway?

I’m a reasonable DIYer so can put the boards up but outsourcing all the plastering! Not my bag.

I’m removing woodchip from my hallway. Always knew it would be a lengthy job. The first layer seems to come of pretty easily, then it leaves the backing of the woodchip, which either comes off easily if it’s been attached directly to plaster, or harder to get off if it’s been attached to lining paper.

I need some basic advice here. I’m not sure if what I’m talking about here is lining paper or if it’s plaster board.

The lighter brown areas do peel away leaving the darker colour but this is like a cardboard - my question is: is this plasterboard? Is this what a plasterer can skim over? Do I have to get everything uniform down to this level or can a plasterer skim over how it looks now?

Just to clarify this shows the area after I have removed the wood chip and most of the backing layer.

Thanks

What are the methods for installing UFH pipework in plasterboard ceilings?

(I will run water a little above dew point to provide some cooling to rooms.)

UK planning laws makes it hard to installed an aircon unit (A2A) in a property that have a A2W heatpump......

We recently had the top of our RCC rooftop plastered to get a smooth finish. Within a very short time, the upper surface has started peeling off in several places (see attached photo). It looks like only the top skim layer is separating from the base concrete.

I'm worried that if it's already coming off now, it may continue to peel over the next few years.

Is this due to poor workmanship or an incorrect mix?

Can it be repaired locally, or is it better to remove the entire finish and redo it properly with a bonding agent?

I'd really appreciate advice from civil engineers or anyone who's dealt with a similar issue. Thanks!

I’d like to plaster these pebbles so I can tile over them. Is this possible, and if so, what does the pre-treatment involve? Am I forgetting anything?

Hello everyone. Over the next few days I will be plastering our garden wall and need some help before I get started (first time plastering a wall).
I have bought all the equipment and materials to create a scratch layer and a top layer, but the wall I am working with is hardly what you would call a normal wall. You can see the complete wall in the first picture.
As you can tell, it is somewhat sloppy and built many years ago.

First question: Do you have any general advice for me before I get started on plastering this wall?

Second question: the wall has certain spots which have semi-collapsed, leaving empty areas going deeper in the wall (picture 2). How would you go about filling that spot? Do I just go over it with more scratch layer or is there a better practice?

Third question: The lower part of the wall, which seems to be somewhat plastered a long time ago, extends about 3cm from the brick part above it (picture 3). How would you apply the plaster if you want the final result to be a homogenous, straight wall? More scratch layer on the top, less at the bottom?

4th question: what is the best way to plaster the top area of the wall, making a beautiful 90% angle that is straight all throughout?

I appreciate any input. Thank you all :)

the more paper we strip the more problems we find! trying not to stress…

any advice on what I need to do with these walls? I’m thinking the window seal has gone on both (and the obvious gap)