Property Maintenance, Plastering Your Property

By Author: Carolyn Clayton
Total Articles: 174
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Plastering is a trade that dates back to being one of the oldest handicrafts. It is a skill that has carried on through generations and one that is handy to have.

The plastering trade is one that will probably be around for a long time to come as the need for smooth walls continues to grow everyday. People all across the UK are on the hunt for smooth walls as painting has overtaken wallpaper in the most desired aspect for the walls of a room but no one wants to paint over rough walls now do they.

Plastering is also a form of home improvement that has developed over the years and evolved in the way it is carried out. In the past plastering was applied in thick heavy stages but this has changed in recent times and now plasterboard is chosen as the most popular way of plastering interior walls. Plasterboard is the most commonly used material globally for finishing off internal walls and ceilings. It comes in an array of sizes and thickness in order to suit the walls of most properties; however the most common size in the UK is 2400mm by 1200mm, which is referred to as an 8 by 4.

Plasterboard appears under ...
... many different trade names but is most commonly referred to as Gyproc, which gets its name from Gypsum, the most common form of interior plaster. This has been produced in the UK for over 90 years. This plasterboard is a sheet of building material that consists of gypsum, which is compressed between two sheets of heavy paper.

Once you have applied the plasterboard to your walls you are able to apply the final/top coat of plaster, which is the most important one as it is the plaster coat that will be seen. The applying of this plaster coat is often referred to as skimming.

Skimming requires skill and practise and should be done in a professional manner to ensure that it is done correctly and to a high standard. When you are skimming over plasterboard no preparation work is needed but if you are skimming over existing plaster or paint you should apply a coat of PVA bonding to the walls before skimming over them or your plaster will be likely to crack.

If you are plastering never attempt to plaster two walls that are next to each other (that form a corner) at the same time as the result will be damage to one of the plastered walls.

When you have spread the plaster onto the wall using the float you can relax for a while as you should give the wall about 30 to 40 minutes to let the plaster set a bit. After this you can then ‘polish' off the wall. The way in which this is done is by wetting the wall; a good way to achieve this without getting the wall too wet is by using a paint brush to spread water over the wall.

If you have never plastered a wall before it is advised that you enlist the help of professional to carry out the job for you otherwise your walls could end up looking worse than before you began.