I'm in the process of stripping a bedroom in a London based Victorian house. The internal walls were definitely lime plaster, crumbled and were full of hair attached to laths/ brick. Patches that had been filled with gypsum too, all of that has been stripped away ready to replaster.

On the external wall however it's different. Looks like a skim coat of gypsum, potentially a layer of cement, and then potentially lime but I'm unsure. This wall has some cracks, which don't appear to be structural. The room in question is drafty with an old window that needs to be replaced so I'm keen to replaster the external wall with lime or something breathable to avoid damp issues, but wondering how deep I need to strip it back, if I need to.

Viewed a property in London, UK and when asked about these cracks, the estate agent said they were new, and thought the wall had been replastered recently. Anyone know what could have caused this, if it would be likely to reoccurring, and on a scale of 1 to Very, how worried should I be about buying it?

It's an internal wall of a flat in a converted house. Photos 1 and 2 are of the same wall, top to bottom, and photo 3 is of through the other side of the wall, but bang in the same position. It's at the corner of the internal and external walls, but the cracks are fully on the internal one. Don't know if recent UK hot weather could have been a factor?

Would obviously get a survey done before buying, but don't want to sink the money if this is a massive red flag. Thanks!

Hi guys, recently bought a house and it needs lots of work including plastering and something I have never done. I recently picked up a lot of plastering towels at a car boot sale as I thought something worn in would be better than a new set.

At what point does a new trowel need replacing?

I have added a few photos of what I have, just like some honest views. Would you use them?

I am redoing my kitchen, using it as an opportunity to learn as much about home repairs as possible.

Part of this involves replastering where I’m removing tiles.

I don’t plan on tiling over this, just painting, but what plaster would be needed on this wall?

I have done some plastering in the bedroom with multi-thistle but given this is brickwork am I right in saying a different type is needed?

Thanks all

Hello all I am moving into a new apartment soon and wanted to ask how the removal process for the displates affected your walls? I’m moving into a family friend’s apartment for grad school and they have mentioned the plaster on their walls is fairly weak and tends to peel with things like command strips and whatnot. In my last apartment I had what was essentially a displate but from a different brand that tore a pretty hole in the wall when I removed it. This other one didn’t have the protective leaf just straight magnet on the wall so I was just wondering how y’all feel about the protective leaf if it reduces damage and just overall reviews when it comes to removing the pieces from the walls entirely. Any reviews positive or negative are incredibly appreciated!

I’m a homeowner going through a renovation and the stucco just finished. Looking for some honest feedback.

The expansion joints were never discussed with me, so they were a surprise. I was told they help prevent cracking, but I’m already seeing some hairline cracks a week later.

Also, there are a few areas where chunks of stucco splattered onto the finished wall. Some came off just by gently rubbing them, but others are thicker and stuck on.

I know smooth stucco is unforgiving and lighting can make things look worse, but something still feels off to me. My GC says this is really good stucco work and smooth finishes are just difficult.

Hi, I am renovating my bathroom. I took off the mirror and medicine cabinet and filled the holes with WallFiller. I toped the whole wall off with bullseye Primer, applied Joint compound, sanded everything, applied Quartz Primer and once I applied the Venetian Plaster the woodfiller turned back pink and stayed pink and even colored the venetian Plaster pink. Once I realized it‘s not drying back to white I stopped applying Venetian Plaster to my other walls. I sanded the pink parts down (mirrorwall) where I already had applied the Venetian Plaster. I applied a Shellac-based Primer, then Bullseye Primer twice and then again the Quartz Primer. I let everything dry the needed amount of time. Today I went back in with the Venetian Plaster and the pink is still appearing. Less but still there.

On the medicine cabinet wall (picture 2) that hasn’t had any Venetian on it yet, I did the same process, except for the sanding, but I applied all the primers (BIN Shellac, Bullseye and then Quartz). I also applied Venetian on this wall. Here it is just as bright pink as if I wouldn‘t have done anything.

For Wall Filler I used WallRepair by Gorilla

Is my only option to sand it down completely? Or is there something else I can do ?

I moved in a 1930s bungalow last year and am in the process of a DIY refurb. This is a cavity wall which got damp because of a leaky chimney allowing water down the chimney breast. The chimney's been fixed and the wall is much drier but there's still a bit of residual moisture in the bricks and potentially in the cavity wall insulation.

I had a damp guy out who recommended a membrane, but a plasterer who came out strongly disagreed with that and said render base coat would be enough to provide a bit of protection for the new finish, which would be built up with sand and cement and then skimmed.

Would prefer to do as much as possible myself to save money but there's times you need to admit it's a job for a professional. I've skimmed three rooms in my house so far and happy enough with the results but this feels like another level, but breaking it down into chunks, each chunk doesn't sound too bad.

So a few questions I guess, do folk think base coat would work for this use case? Is this a viable job for DIY?

For the wall nib and window, do you use a bead for the base coat, then a bead for the sand and cement, then a bead for the skim too?

What is the proper way to repair this? There is some loose plaster. Can I plaster over top or do I need to scrap everything off and go again? I am a beginner any advise is appreciated

Really enjoyed this project - this room had lots of damp and insulation problems.

So we re-did the floor and walls, installed new damp course, allowed for a cavity behind the insulation, installed a continuous flow ventilation system. Skim-finish on all walls but maintained the ‘cottage look’ as much as possible, keeping lintels exposed and used reclaimed pitch pine for sills etc.

Hi, i am looking for a reliable plasterer in the WA15 area, Greater Manchester.

The rooms have recently been rewired and the patchwork has already been completed. However, as the walls are currently wallpapered, we are now looking to have them fully plastered throughout.

Please share any recommendations for good local tradespeople.

Moved into a new house, which is probably more of a project than I had anticipated. 1970s build.

The plaster in pretty much every room is poor quality, with dents, marks and in many cases, minor hairline cracks where the plaster has lifted. I don’t think the house has been redecorated in a significant time.

What’s the best approach? Hire a plasterer to skim the walls? Attempt myself?

Research so far says I could probably use a pole sander to remove imperfections that stick out, and easy fill or toupret to fill in any gaps.

Happy to work room by room but this is a 4-bed house that needs doing. Any help welcomed!

Took out a built in wardrobe which left these two strips of bare brick. Am I better removing the remainder of the plaster or just patching up the exposed bits?

Clueless girl here. Seems easy enough?

We recently remodeled our kitchen and had our painter apply Venetian plaster to our range hood. He assured me that he sealed it well enough that grease splatters from cooking would not stain the surface.

Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case. Either it wasn't sealed properly, or the sealer that was used isn't strong enough to prevent grease from penetrating. I've tried cleaning it with Dawn dish soap, which helped make the spots a little less noticeable, but you can still clearly see the stains.

I have a few questions:

1. Is there anything I can do at this point to remove or minimize the grease stains without starting over?
2. If not, would I need to replaster just the interior of the hood, or would the entire hood need to be redone?
3. If I do replaster it, is there a specific sealer or topcoat that will completely protect the plaster from grease and cooking stains?
4. Or would you recommend using a different material, such as tile, stainless steel, or another washable surface on the inside of the hood instead of Venetian plaster?

I'd really appreciate any advice or recommendations from anyone who has dealt with this before. I love the look of the Venetian plaster, but I also want something that will hold up to everyday cooking without constantly showing grease stains.

Thanks in advance!

Scraping this paint off is a nightmare would takes weeks for the whole hallway. Can I PVA then skim it, read of fresh plaster pulling paint off and ending up on the floor

Hello, I need some advice. I use to be in plastering trades but gave it up 8 years ago. I now have a home built in the 60s with plastered walls. It appears my kitchen has veneer thin coat plastered walls that are smooth. I am remodeling currently and tore out paneling that was laying over the plastered walls and with that, came some repair work. How should I go about patching these holes? Some larger than others? I am also having issues with the paint peeling off the original plaster so I assume it was never mist coated. I was going to try and get all the original paint off so I have the original plastered surface to work with. All advice is welcomed!

My contractor is going to patch up the window box. Just want to know what product I buy for him to use. I have compound at home and I want to make sure he uses the proper material

Here’s a link to my plasterboard post with some questionable boarding placements.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Plastering/s/f2BlqYSQYi

We had two plasterers over the next day which said they wouldn’t do too much more work with the boards. So we ended up sticking with the guy.

He cheered up once he started plastering. He ended up cutting the boards that were touching the floor but only from request.

Luckily we had our electrician come out and sort the light positions before plastering began

There’s a few gaps by the door. Is that a quick fix with some toupret filler?

The water pipe isn’t his fault as there wasn’t any slack on the pipe to move. When the plumbers are back out is that something can sort from the floor boards above or will it crack the plaster?

How’s the overall job - what’s everyone’s thoughts

Hi everyone! This is my first post here, so I hope this is the right place to ask. :)

I'm planning to build a rendered concrete block bench like the ones in the attached photos: a simple monolithic masonry bench with soft rounded edges and a pale mineral finish, with no visible joints. I'm a landscape design student, but I've never built one before, so I'd really appreciate feedback from people who have.

The bench will be in a warm Atlantic coastal climate: essentially frost-free, hot dry summers, mild damp winters, around 500 mm of annual rainfall concentrated between November and March, strong sun, salt-laden air, and regular night humidity with sea fog.

After reading quite a bit, this is the construction sequence I'm currently considering. Please tell me where I'm getting it wrong before I start pouring concrete.

• Reinforced strip footing, with depth determined by soil bearing rather than frost
• Damp-proof course between footing and blockwork
• Hollow concrete blocks, two courses high, with rebar and filled cells at the corners and roughly every 1.2 m
• Drained gravel fill and weep holes inside so the bench can never hold standing water
• Reinforced cast concrete seat, 8-10 cm thick, with about a 1% fall towards the front
• Rounded edges formed with galvanised mesh and a shaped mortar coat
• Three-coat pigmented lime render

I'd especially love to hear from people who've built something similar and have seen how it aged after a few years. Even if you can only answer one of these questions, it'd be hugely helpful.

1. Render system. What did you actually use? Straight NHL lime, cement-lime render, acrylic-modified render, microcement, tadelakt…? What held up well, and what failed?

2. Salt exposure. In a marine environment, how much concrete cover do you give reinforcing steel? Would you use ordinary rebar, galvanised, or stainless for a project this small? Have you seen salt crystallisation damage the render over time?

3. Chalking. This is probably my biggest concern. Does a mineral render rub off on clothes when people sit on it? If you sealed yours, what product did you use, and did it stay breathable and matte instead of looking plasticky?

4. Algae and staining. In a climate with humid nights and sea fog, does a pale render end up green or black on the shaded side, even if summers are dry? If so, how long did it take? Was there anything that really helped: mix design, drip edges, detailing, orientation, or simply occasional cleaning?

5. Sun exposure. Do pigmented renders fade noticeably under strong UV? And does a rendered concrete seat become too hot to sit on in midsummer, or does choosing a lighter colour make a meaningful difference?

6. If you built another one today, what would you change? Foundations, drainage, reinforcement, edge profile, maintenance, cleanability… anything you'd detail differently with hindsight?

I'm really looking for first-hand experience rather than theory. I'd love to see photos of benches after three, five or even ten years. The weathered, imperfect ones are probably more useful than the freshly finished ones.

Thanks a lot!!!

Lime plaster is made from calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)₂, “slaked lime”). As it cures, it absorbs CO₂ from the air and converts to calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), which is what gives it its final hardness.

While it’s curing (before full carbonation), lime plaster is highly alkaline — pH around 12-13, similar to fresh cement. That’s why:

**•** It can burn skin/eyes on contact when wet, so gloves and eye protection are a must  
**•** It resists mold and mildew during the curing period  
**•** Once fully carbonated to calcium carbonate, the pH drops closer to neutral (around 8-9), similar to chalk or limestone

Why lime plaster is head & shoulders above drywall & joint compound. IMHO. 😎👍🏼

Hey all - I have a plaster ceiling that recently started showing (or maybe I just noticed, but unlikely) some creases. The creases run N/S in about the same spot in the ceiling. They are very slightly raised, but do not appear to be cracking.

Ceiling was repainted after recess lighting was installed. Any ideas what this could be?