Advice Needed: Rendering, Skimming And Painting.

[longtomsilver]

I wrote that we (mr+mrs posh) had bought our house in February and like many on here are/will do any work that needs doing to make it liveable.

Anyway, where i'm at now...

sunroom (can't really call it a conservatory) bare brick on internal walls, I have rendered it with bonded plaster over the last week or so. Tomorrow I intend to PVA all four sides and skim with boarded finish plaster... is it too soon, last wall rendered today? and when can I paint as my daughters 2nd birthday is on Sunday and there will be a party of sorts??

living room+kitchen... woodchip on walls, grhhh!!! i've scraped most of it off and the walls are either plastered already neat, plastered cracked, boarded (mdf) with some unevenness in places and a few holes I've poked in with the scraper. Can I just tape over the cracks, PVA the lot, skim with boardfinish and paint a few days later (party Sunday remember)?

and finally, nasty artex in hall, stairs and landed... I'm a one trick pony so... PVA and skim over artex with boardfinish? Have I missed anything or should I call the professionals in

Thanks in advance.

[drainman]

I wrote that we (mr+mrs posh) had bought our house in February and like many on here are/will do any work that needs doing to make it liveable.

Anyway, where i'm at now...

sunroom (can't really call it a conservatory) bare brick on internal walls, I have rendered it with bonded plaster over the last week or so. Tomorrow I intend to PVA all four sides and skim with boarded finish plaster... is it too soon, last wall rendered today? and when can I paint as my daughters 2nd birthday is on Sunday and there will be a party of sorts??

living room+kitchen... woodchip on walls, grhhh!!! i've scraped most of it off and the walls are either plastered already neat, plastered cracked, boarded (mdf) with some unevenness in places and a few holes I've poked in with the scraper. Can I just tape over the cracks, PVA the lot, skim with boardfinish and paint a few days later (party Sunday remember)?

and finally, nasty artex in hall, stairs and landed... I'm a one trick pony so... PVA and skim over artex with boardfinish? Have I missed anything or should I call the professionals in

Thanks in advance.

definitely skim the artex as it used to contain asbestos . either that or remove the ceiling boards as a whole . do not scrape it off . do check it out to be sure though , ask a professional but i am sure thats the case , on a awareness course the guy said when it is in powder form it is at its most dangerous and it will become one of the industrial dieseses of the future, i remember a mate of mine used to be a artexer always banging his clothes off in the pub , white dust everywhere !

[longtomsilver]

definitely skim the artex as it used to contain asbestos . either that or remove the ceiling boards as a whole . do not scrape it off . do check it out to be sure though , ask a professional but i am sure thats the case , on a awareness course the guy said when it is in powder form it is at its most dangerous and it will become one of the industrial dieseses of the future, i remember a mate of mine used to be a artexer always banging his clothes off in the pub , white dust everywhere !

Thanks drainman, the nasty should be [/]nasty[b/] it is definately white asbestos where I tested it with my trusty screwdriver - blood drained from my face. It's the walls with it on that I'm concerned with personally. Good tip re. the ceiling boards as I was unaware they could be removed, that's for another day

[OnlyMe]

On the MDF front - don't skim that - it will fall off (sooner or later). If sections remove and bond (or plasterboard) and skim or if whole wall overclad with plasterboard and them skim.

SBR is an excellent primer for bad surfaces, although mainly used for its non soluble properties.

Painting - Sunday too early. Need to mist coat, maybe just apply that late as possible in the week and have a pinky/white patchy room ;-).

Would get somebody in for the halls / landing - atrex trricky to plaster over and more than jsut a light skim.

[drainman]

On the MDF front - don't skim that - it will fall off (sooner or later). If sections remove and bond (or plasterboard) and skim or if whole wall overclad with plasterboard and them skim.

SBR is an excellent primer for bad surfaces, although mainly used for its non soluble properties.

Painting - Sunday too early. Need to mist coat, maybe just apply that late as possible in the week and have a pinky/white patchy room ;-).

Would get somebody in for the halls / landing - atrex trricky to plaster over and more than jsut a light skim.

yeah, any big area board over the lot and then just skim the lot , if you want speed board yourself and then pay a plasterer to skim, it may cost a few quid but most spreads are bloody fast and you can then crack on with the decoration. good luck.

[longtomsilver]

On the MDF front - don't skim that - it will fall off (sooner or later). If sections remove and bond (or plasterboard) and skim or if whole wall overclad with plasterboard and them skim.

SBR is an excellent primer for bad surfaces, although mainly used for its non soluble properties.

Painting - Sunday too early. Need to mist coat, maybe just apply that late as possible in the week and have a pinky/white patchy room ;-).

Would get somebody in for the halls / landing - atrex trricky to plaster over and more than jsut a light skim.

mega. saved me a few headaches in there.

Googling the SBR brought up loads of threads surrounding chimneys which is perfect as that's what's been covered up, hence difference materials.

[longtomsilver]

yeah, any big area board over the lot and then just skim the lot , if you want speed board yourself and then pay a plasterer to skim, it may cost a few quid but most spreads are bloody fast and you can then crack on with the decoration. good luck.

Thanks again there. My head is telling me to get a plasterer in but the 'bloke' thing is working through my veins and i'm going to see if I can 'do it'. If the artex is a chore (sounds like it is) I'll get that done professionally.

[Bruce Banner]

Thanks again there. My head is telling me to get a plasterer in but the 'bloke' thing is working through my veins and i'm going to see if I can 'do it'. If the artex is a chore (sounds like it is) I'll get that done professionally.

Plastering is impossible. You may have seen someone do it but it is an illusion, it can not be done. As an act of defeating gravity, hovering an R22 on your own, never having seen one before, governor off, is simple compared to making plaster stay on a wall.

[SarahBell]

Thanks drainman, the nasty should be [/]nasty[b/] it is definately white asbestos where I tested it with my trusty screwdriver - blood drained from my face. It's the walls with it on that I'm concerned with personally. Good tip re. the ceiling boards as I was unaware they could be removed, that's for another day

How do you do a test with your screwdriver?

Get someone in to give you a quote for skimming the lot. It'll be QUICKER than you doing it.

[longtomsilver]

Plastering is impossible. You may have seen someone do it but it is an illusion, it can not be done. As an act of defeating gravity, hovering an R22 on your own, never having seen one before, governor off, is simple compared to making plaster stay on a wall.

haha, thanks Bruce... a yardstick I can follow

[longtomsilver]

How do you do a test with your screwdriver?

Get someone in to give you a quote for skimming the lot. It'll be QUICKER than you doing it.

Nothing scientific... chipped underneath the paint to have a look and referenced it against the asbestos that I previously had experience working on hot water cylinders that plumbers used to cake in the sh1t. It looks different and is tougher than concrete

I will be getting someone in to do the artex now.

Thanks.

[Twig Vase]

and finally, nasty artex in hall, stairs and landed... I'm a one trick pony so... PVA and skim over artex with boardfinish? Have I missed anything or should I call the professionals in

Thanks in advance.

Hi Tomposh

We had artex on our walls. I got 2 young plasterers to do a reskim of the walls of our hallway, stairs and landing, they did it in a day, cost about £350 all in! I only had to take a radiator off the wall and replace it when they finished.

Might be worth getting a quote the time you have put a lot of effort in.

Twig Vase.

[Stay Beautiful]

£3 per sq m for skimming labour only round my way up north. Multi finish about £4 per bag which gives you 10 sq m.

[OnlyMe]

Thanks again there. My head is telling me to get a plasterer in but the 'bloke' thing is working through my veins and i'm going to see if I can 'do it'. If the artex is a chore (sounds like it is) I'll get that done professionally.

A few tips - recommend good quality pre-worn stainless trowel (should last a long time so you can be blokey again) - Tyzack / Marshalltown. Overkill, but give yourself the best chance.

Between coats make sure all tools are cleaned thoroughly and always use fresh clean cold water for your mix each time - unless you want to make a mix that is really going to go off quick. Three buckets - one for mixing in, one for cleaning and one for the fresh water.

Use a two coat mehtod to skim - get the first coat on - this coat concentrate on daubing out the low spots and getting a generally even wall. Make a cup of tea, have a break and wait until you see the first small dark patches, then apply the second coat, wait for that to start to go off and then get to work on getting a finish. The still damp first coat gives you loads more time as the second coat does not go off as quick, the bottom coat will level itself but won't move all over the place like one thick coat might. If you see any bubbles appear, stop, still too wet. Use a spot board - time will be against you so anything that makes things easier/quicker when you need the time is worth it.

When you get really good try this:

[Number79]

A few tips - recommend good quality pre-worn stainless trowel (should last a long time so you can be blokey again) - Tyzack / Marshalltown. Overkill, but give yourself the best chance.

Between coats make sure all tools are cleaned thoroughly and always use fresh clean cold water for your mix each time - unless you want to make a mix that is really going to go off quick. Three buckets - one for mixing in, one for cleaning and one for the fresh water.

Use a two coat mehtod to skim - get the first coat on - this coat concentrate on daubing out the low spots and getting a generally even wall. Make a cup of tea, have a break and wait until you see the first small dark patches, then apply the second coat, wait for that to start to go off and then get to work on getting a finish. The still damp first coat gives you loads more time as the second coat does not go off as quick, the bottom coat will level itself but won't move all over the place like one thick coat might. If you see any bubbles appear, stop, still too wet. Use a spot board - time will be against you so anything that makes things easier/quicker when you need the time is worth it.

When you get really good try this:

Good advice. I would also add that getting the mix right is probably the most important thing you can do. And start with the water first - adding the plaster to it rather than the other way around.

Dont mix it thick so that you can handle it and are sure that it will stick. If you look closely at the vid you can see just how wet the plaster should be.

And dont overwork the plaster, take the breaks that are needed to let it go off. I prefer to trowel - float - trowel and only wet the wall with a paint brush but a sponge float works for others.

[Number79]

....forgot to say, for something that is easy and can be painted quickly look at hiring spray plaster kit.

also, artex dries out and can be painted much quicker than plaster (within 48hrs instead of 4 or 5 days) so if you want to get it done quickly then skim over the artex with artex.

[longtomsilver]

Thanks again guys for taking the time to reply comprehensively. I feel that there is enough here for me to go it alone and I'll report back in a few weeks even if/when I make a hash job

That guy in the video is pretty good but I reckon I'm on his tail -

[Number79]

Thanks again guys for taking the time to reply comprehensively. I feel that there is enough here for me to go it alone and I'll report back in a few weeks even if/when I make a hash job

That guy in the video is pretty good but I reckon I'm on his tail -

You gonna do it with a trowel or have you had a look at spray plastering?

Bear in mind that sprayed plaster can be painted straight away. Failing that it may be worth a skim with artex as that can be painted in 48 hours.

I've never done spray plastering but I never want to plaster around a stairs and landing again either, it is an awkward tw@t of a job.

Good luck though.

[longtomsilver]

You gonna do it with a trowel or have you had a look at spray plastering?

Bear in mind that sprayed plaster can be painted straight away. Failing that it may be worth a skim with artex as that can be painted in 48 hours.

I've never done spray plastering but I never want to plaster around a stairs and landing again either, it is an awkward tw@t of a job.

Good luck though.

I'm going to do it as OnlyMe describes. Two skims and not overworking the plaster as per your post... The tea break sold it to me

I know it's going to be a ****t of a job and have this week to practice on the sunroom that I bonded last week - no cracks, even and very neat. The neighbour complimented saying that her parents tried to plaster years ago and it was nothing like as good as mine and in fact they had to call a prof. in to knock it back and redo.

[Stay Beautiful]

I'm going to do it as OnlyMe describes. Two skims and not overworking the plaster as per your post... The tea break sold it to me

I know it's going to be a ****t of a job and have this week to practice on the sunroom that I bonded last week - no cracks, even and very neat. The neighbour complimented saying that her parents tried to plaster years ago and it was nothing like as good as mine and in fact they had to call a prof. in to knock it back and redo.

Good luck...................

[longtomsilver]

Good luck...................

Much appreciated - watch this space haha

[OnlyMe]

Much appreciated - watch this space haha

Make sure you watch a few more vids than just the blindfolded plasterer - lots of good tips on there.

PS start with the smallest walls first, will give you an easier run in to the larger ones so that you know how much you'll need to mix up and how fast you need to work, good luck and post some pics!