Doing a big job in my kitchen (and some other places later).. Need some advice.. (questions in red)

drex

drex

New Member
Hi. I have had a bash at plastering and rendering as a diy chap and did a brief course at college a few years ago and now I am in the middle of big indoor project putting some render on the walls in my stripped out kitchen prior to fitting the rest of it.. (first fix electrical back boxes already done)..

So far I have done the ceiling using plasterboard and skimmed over. That was a tricky one because it's hot now and it set far too quickly for my slow pace and I had to rush to an appointment and didn't get my last trowel pass over so it ended up a bit lacking in the smoothness department.. I made the mistake of trying to skim and finish another coat over this several hours later when it had dried in the 30 degree heat, which took even longer than the 3 hours it took to put the previous two coats of skim! And I don't think it even made an improvement. I am guessing because I didn't have enough thickness on that last additional 3rd coat to work it properly over the now hardened two initial coats?

Anyway, on to the wall rendering.. I looked at a few utubes and advice places and it seemed there is a bit of variety in how folks do the job, but basically I gathered this..


1. prepare the wall (brick). pva..

2. first coat 4/1 plasterers sand/cement.. waterproofer/plasticiser in the water at 30/1 (after wetting the wall down).

3. Darby the first coat,

4. Then scratch it with the scarifier.. (It seems to not dig in very well if the render has set too much, and dig in too much if its still too wet! when is the best time to do this?)

5. Second coat.. 5/1 (Not done this yet.. I am wondering how long to wait before putting the second coat on? It seems some folks put it on straight after the first, yet others wait "at least 2 days" before second coat.. I also wonder if I need to pva the first coat before applying the second?)..

6. Float the second coat.. Now I have a few questions.. What should I do after leveling the second coat? Should I just float it with the trowel and rough up the surface or use one of those "devil floats" which seems to be just a plastic float with some screws added to one end..? I am wondering what is the point of this? Is it so the final skim coat can get key? But if that is the purpose, why not use the scarifier on this coat too?

7. Skim coat. finishing plaster. Again, how long to wait before I put the finish coat on?

I have already figured out that rendering walls isn't, despite what I have heard to the contrary, easier than boarding and skimming ceilings. It also seems to use a massive amount of material..

Another thing is, you need to cover up all the pipes, electrical stuff and anything within range of falling plaster, because a bucket full will end up anywhere other than on the wall... (Before being scraped up and used to fill the tricky bits between the electrical boxes etc.. :) )

Also, cats like to sit on the spot board under the work lamps, because even in a heat wave they prefer the direct heat from the halogen bulbs and don't seem to mind getting messed up and spending half an hour licking themselves clean after and spitting..

Render mix will splash into your eyes every time you pour it out of the mixer.. Goggles are useful unless you want to actually see what is going on in there.. :)

Rendering round multiple electrical back boxes is time consuming and fiddly!

One thing I worked out for myself.. It's a good idea to batten the walls up with the correct thickness of wood to break the job down into more manageable chunks when you are starting out/not too good or speedy at it and because it makes the darbywork easier.. I had the smart idea of screwing the wood in, and I am hoping that I can "raise" the battens higher for the second coat just by putting some folded newspaper or whatever behind, prior to taking the battens out and filling the gaps later?

Well, long intro I know but that's where I am at and I hope you chaps can tell me where I am going wrong and give me a few tips.. ;)

drex

Doing a big job in my kitchen (and some other places later).. Need some advice.. (questions in red)
 
drex said:
Hi. I have had a bash at plastering and rendering as a diy chap and did a brief course at college a few years ago and now I am in the middle of big indoor project putting some render on the walls in my stripped out kitchen prior to fitting the rest of it.. (first fix electrical back boxes already done)..

So far I have done the ceiling using plasterboard and skimmed over. That was a tricky one because it's hot now and it set far too quickly for my slow pace and I had to rush to an appointment and didn't get my last trowel pass over so it ended up a bit lacking in the smoothness department.. I made the mistake of trying to skim and finish another coat over this several hours later when it had dried in the 30 degree heat, which took even longer than the 3 hours it took to put the previous two coats of skim! And I don't think it even made an improvement. I am guessing because I didn't have enough thickness on that last additional 3rd coat to work it properly over the now hardened two initial coats?

Anyway, on to the wall rendering.. I looked at a few utubes and advice places and it seemed there is a bit of variety in how folks do the job, but basically I gathered this..


1. prepare the wall (brick). pva..

2. first coat 4/1 plasterers sand/cement.. waterproofer/plasticiser in the water at 30/1 (after wetting the wall down).

3. Darby the first coat,

4. Then scratch it with the scarifier.. (It seems to not dig in very well if the render has set too much, and dig in too much if its still too wet! when is the best time to do this?)

5. Second coat.. 5/1 (Not done this yet.. I am wondering how long to wait before putting the second coat on? It seems some folks put it on straight after the first, yet others wait "at least 2 days" before second coat.. I also wonder if I need to pva the first coat before applying the second?)..

6. Float the second coat.. Now I have a few questions.. What should I do after leveling the second coat? Should I just float it with the trowel and rough up the surface or use one of those "devil floats" which seems to be just a plastic float with some screws added to one end..? I am wondering what is the point of this? Is it so the final skim coat can get key? But if that is the purpose, why not use the scarifier on this coat too?

7. Skim coat. finishing plaster. Again, how long to wait before I put the finish coat on?

I have already figured out that rendering walls isn't, despite what I have heard to the contrary, easier than boarding and skimming ceilings. It also seems to use a massive amount of material..

Another thing is, you need to cover up all the pipes, electrical stuff and anything within range of falling plaster, because a bucket full will end up anywhere other than on the wall... (Before being scraped up and used to fill the tricky bits between the electrical boxes etc.. :) )

Also, cats like to sit on the spot board under the work lamps, because even in a heat wave they prefer the direct heat from the halogen bulbs and don't seem to mind getting messed up and spending half an hour licking themselves clean after and spitting..

Render mix will splash into your eyes every time you pour it out of the mixer.. Goggles are useful unless you want to actually see what is going on in there.. :)

Rendering round multiple electrical back boxes is time consuming and fiddly!

One thing I worked out for myself.. It's a good idea to batten the walls up with the correct thickness of wood to break the job down into more manageable chunks when you are starting out/not too good or speedy at it and because it makes the darbywork easier.. I had the smart idea of screwing the wood in, and I am hoping that I can "raise" the battens higher for the second coat just by putting some folded newspaper or whatever behind, prior to taking the battens out and filling the gaps later?

Well, long intro I know but that's where I am at and I hope you chaps can tell me where I am going wrong and give me a few tips.. ;)

drex

View attachment 24497
Click to expand...
Move house with a kichen done
 
drex said:
Hi. I have had a bash at plastering and rendering as a diy chap and did a brief course at college a few years ago and now I am in the middle of big indoor project putting some render on the walls in my stripped out kitchen prior to fitting the rest of it.. (first fix electrical back boxes already done)..

So far I have done the ceiling using plasterboard and skimmed over. That was a tricky one because it's hot now and it set far too quickly for my slow pace and I had to rush to an appointment and didn't get my last trowel pass over so it ended up a bit lacking in the smoothness department.. I made the mistake of trying to skim and finish another coat over this several hours later when it had dried in the 30 degree heat, which took even longer than the 3 hours it took to put the previous two coats of skim! And I don't think it even made an improvement. I am guessing because I didn't have enough thickness on that last additional 3rd coat to work it properly over the now hardened two initial coats?

Anyway, on to the wall rendering.. I looked at a few utubes and advice places and it seemed there is a bit of variety in how folks do the job, but basically I gathered this..


1. prepare the wall (brick). pva..

2. first coat 4/1 plasterers sand/cement.. waterproofer/plasticiser in the water at 30/1 (after wetting the wall down).

3. Darby the first coat,

4. Then scratch it with the scarifier.. (It seems to not dig in very well if the render has set too much, and dig in too much if its still too wet! when is the best time to do this?)

5. Second coat.. 5/1 (Not done this yet.. I am wondering how long to wait before putting the second coat on? It seems some folks put it on straight after the first, yet others wait "at least 2 days" before second coat.. I also wonder if I need to pva the first coat before applying the second?)..

6. Float the second coat.. Now I have a few questions.. What should I do after leveling the second coat? Should I just float it with the trowel and rough up the surface or use one of those "devil floats" which seems to be just a plastic float with some screws added to one end..? I am wondering what is the point of this? Is it so the final skim coat can get key? But if that is the purpose, why not use the scarifier on this coat too?

7. Skim coat. finishing plaster. Again, how long to wait before I put the finish coat on?

I have already figured out that rendering walls isn't, despite what I have heard to the contrary, easier than boarding and skimming ceilings. It also seems to use a massive amount of material..

Another thing is, you need to cover up all the pipes, electrical stuff and anything within range of falling plaster, because a bucket full will end up anywhere other than on the wall... (Before being scraped up and used to fill the tricky bits between the electrical boxes etc.. :) )

Also, cats like to sit on the spot board under the work lamps, because even in a heat wave they prefer the direct heat from the halogen bulbs and don't seem to mind getting messed up and spending half an hour licking themselves clean after and spitting..

Render mix will splash into your eyes every time you pour it out of the mixer.. Goggles are useful unless you want to actually see what is going on in there.. :)

Rendering round multiple electrical back boxes is time consuming and fiddly!

One thing I worked out for myself.. It's a good idea to batten the walls up with the correct thickness of wood to break the job down into more manageable chunks when you are starting out/not too good or speedy at it and because it makes the darbywork easier.. I had the smart idea of screwing the wood in, and I am hoping that I can "raise" the battens higher for the second coat just by putting some folded newspaper or whatever behind, prior to taking the battens out and filling the gaps later?

Well, long intro I know but that's where I am at and I hope you chaps can tell me where I am going wrong and give me a few tips.. ;)

drex

View attachment 24497
Click to expand...
To be fair, that looks like the work of a madman - why not just get someone in?
 
Stevieo said:
To be fair, that looks like the work of a madman - why not just get someone in?
Click to expand...
Maybe I am a madman.. :)

But seriously, it's hard work trying to find reliable tradesmen who actually turn up and do a proper job without cutting corners so they can finish early and leave a mess everywhere..
 
I was going to suggest you put grounds in to make the application of the top coat easier for yourself but it would appear you have quite a few in already. I am just guessing here but are you leaving bare brick where you are fitting units ?
 
raggles said:
I was going to suggest you put grounds in to make the application of the top coat easier for yourself but it would appear you have quite a few in already. I am just guessing here but are you leaving bare brick where you are fitting units ?
Click to expand...
f**k**g boge job
 
Stevieo said:
Just ask on here. Nobody would DARE do you a bad job because they'd never hear the last of it.
Click to expand...
Bit late now, already started and paid my nephew £50 for half a day of slapping the muck on so he can "learn" something new..
I'm often out during the week which is major problem when getting indoor workers too..
I quite like the sense of satisfaction from DIY.. saves a bit of cash too.. At the end of the day, it doesn't have to be perfect, but i'd definately want It to be if I was paying proper cash for a job!
Sadly, most tradesmen I have had in haven't really impressed me much.. I got my double glazing done by a right bunch of cowboys for example who pestered for the payment before they had even finished the job and had a major strop when I insisted they finished the job, and they flat out failed to clean all the broken glass and crap from my garden..
 
drex said:
Hi. I have had a bash at plastering and rendering as a diy chap and did a brief course at college a few years ago and now I am in the middle of big indoor project putting some render on the walls in my stripped out kitchen prior to fitting the rest of it.. (first fix electrical back boxes already done)..

So far I have done the ceiling using plasterboard and skimmed over. That was a tricky one because it's hot now and it set far too quickly for my slow pace and I had to rush to an appointment and didn't get my last trowel pass over so it ended up a bit lacking in the smoothness department.. I made the mistake of trying to skim and finish another coat over this several hours later when it had dried in the 30 degree heat, which took even longer than the 3 hours it took to put the previous two coats of skim! And I don't think it even made an improvement. I am guessing because I didn't have enough thickness on that last additional 3rd coat to work it properly over the now hardened two initial coats?

Anyway, on to the wall rendering.. I looked at a few utubes and advice places and it seemed there is a bit of variety in how folks do the job, but basically I gathered this..


1. prepare the wall (brick). pva..

2. first coat 4/1 plasterers sand/cement.. waterproofer/plasticiser in the water at 30/1 (after wetting the wall down).

3. Darby the first coat,

4. Then scratch it with the scarifier.. (It seems to not dig in very well if the render has set too much, and dig in too much if its still too wet! when is the best time to do this?)

5. Second coat.. 5/1 (Not done this yet.. I am wondering how long to wait before putting the second coat on? It seems some folks put it on straight after the first, yet others wait "at least 2 days" before second coat.. I also wonder if I need to pva the first coat before applying the second?)..

6. Float the second coat.. Now I have a few questions.. What should I do after leveling the second coat? Should I just float it with the trowel and rough up the surface or use one of those "devil floats" which seems to be just a plastic float with some screws added to one end..? I am wondering what is the point of this? Is it so the final skim coat can get key? But if that is the purpose, why not use the scarifier on this coat too?

7. Skim coat. finishing plaster. Again, how long to wait before I put the finish coat on?

I have already figured out that rendering walls isn't, despite what I have heard to the contrary, easier than boarding and skimming ceilings. It also seems to use a massive amount of material..

Another thing is, you need to cover up all the pipes, electrical stuff and anything within range of falling plaster, because a bucket full will end up anywhere other than on the wall... (Before being scraped up and used to fill the tricky bits between the electrical boxes etc.. :) )

Also, cats like to sit on the spot board under the work lamps, because even in a heat wave they prefer the direct heat from the halogen bulbs and don't seem to mind getting messed up and spending half an hour licking themselves clean after and spitting..

Render mix will splash into your eyes every time you pour it out of the mixer.. Goggles are useful unless you want to actually see what is going on in there.. :)

Rendering round multiple electrical back boxes is time consuming and fiddly!

One thing I worked out for myself.. It's a good idea to batten the walls up with the correct thickness of wood to break the job down into more manageable chunks when you are starting out/not too good or speedy at it and because it makes the darbywork easier.. I had the smart idea of screwing the wood in, and I am hoping that I can "raise" the battens higher for the second coat just by putting some folded newspaper or whatever behind, prior to taking the battens out and filling the gaps later?

Well, long intro I know but that's where I am at and I hope you chaps can tell me where I am going wrong and give me a few tips.. ;)

drex

View attachment 24497
Click to expand...
mate were are the indeans
drex said:
Hi. I have had a bash at plastering and rendering as a diy chap and did a brief course at college a few years ago and now I am in the middle of big indoor project putting some render on the walls in my stripped out kitchen prior to fitting the rest of it.. (first fix electrical back boxes already done)..

So far I have done the ceiling using plasterboard and skimmed over. That was a tricky one because it's hot now and it set far too quickly for my slow pace and I had to rush to an appointment and didn't get my last trowel pass over so it ended up a bit lacking in the smoothness department.. I made the mistake of trying to skim and finish another coat over this several hours later when it had dried in the 30 degree heat, which took even longer than the 3 hours it took to put the previous two coats of skim! And I don't think it even made an improvement. I am guessing because I didn't have enough thickness on that last additional 3rd coat to work it properly over the now hardened two initial coats?

Anyway, on to the wall rendering.. I looked at a few utubes and advice places and it seemed there is a bit of variety in how folks do the job, but basically I gathered this..


1. prepare the wall (brick). pva..

2. first coat 4/1 plasterers sand/cement.. waterproofer/plasticiser in the water at 30/1 (after wetting the wall down).

3. Darby the first coat,

4. Then scratch it with the scarifier.. (It seems to not dig in very well if the render has set too much, and dig in too much if its still too wet! when is the best time to do this?)

5. Second coat.. 5/1 (Not done this yet.. I am wondering how long to wait before putting the second coat on? It seems some folks put it on straight after the first, yet others wait "at least 2 days" before second coat.. I also wonder if I need to pva the first coat before applying the second?)..

6. Float the second coat.. Now I have a few questions.. What should I do after leveling the second coat? Should I just float it with the trowel and rough up the surface or use one of those "devil floats" which seems to be just a plastic float with some screws added to one end..? I am wondering what is the point of this? Is it so the final skim coat can get key? But if that is the purpose, why not use the scarifier on this coat too?

7. Skim coat. finishing plaster. Again, how long to wait before I put the finish coat on?

I have already figured out that rendering walls isn't, despite what I have heard to the contrary, easier than boarding and skimming ceilings. It also seems to use a massive amount of material..

Another thing is, you need to cover up all the pipes, electrical stuff and anything within range of falling plaster, because a bucket full will end up anywhere other than on the wall... (Before being scraped up and used to fill the tricky bits between the electrical boxes etc.. :) )

Also, cats like to sit on the spot board under the work lamps, because even in a heat wave they prefer the direct heat from the halogen bulbs and don't seem to mind getting messed up and spending half an hour licking themselves clean after and spitting..

Render mix will splash into your eyes every time you pour it out of the mixer.. Goggles are useful unless you want to actually see what is going on in there.. :)

Rendering round multiple electrical back boxes is time consuming and fiddly!

One thing I worked out for myself.. It's a good idea to batten the walls up with the correct thickness of wood to break the job down into more manageable chunks when you are starting out/not too good or speedy at it and because it makes the darbywork easier.. I had the smart idea of screwing the wood in, and I am hoping that I can "raise" the battens higher for the second coat just by putting some folded newspaper or whatever behind, prior to taking the battens out and filling the gaps later?

Well, long intro I know but that's where I am at and I hope you chaps can tell me where I am going wrong and give me a few tips.. ;)

drex

View attachment 24497
Click to expand...
Were the indains
 
raggles said:
I was going to suggest you put grounds in to make the application of the top coat easier for yourself but it would appear you have quite a few in already. I am just guessing here but are you leaving bare brick where you are fitting units ?
Click to expand...
What's "grounds"? Is that something left over from making coffee? ;)

I'm going to do all the wall but I sectioned bits off because there is no way I could do the whole area quick enough before it goes off even if my mixer could manage that rate!
 
Andy g said:
f**k**g boge job
Click to expand...
T'aint pretty so far I will admit.. But as long as it stays where it's put and ends up flat enough to take the tiles later then it'll do for me..

I ain't a pro plasterer, I am a retired business consultant who likes to try his hand at DIY when needs be.. I wouldn't expect a pro plasterer to know how to double his income by taking on some good advice on business for the going rate .. But I give it away free these days, just for the sense of satisfaction it gives me to help my fellow man.. :)

If you get my drift.. :)
 
Hey chaps, I will tell you about the time I got a few quotes for a wall I wanted building.. Well, some self employed brickies wanted a grand to build the wall.. But I wasn't keen on their plans for the job, I wanted proper victorian brick to fit in with the area and previous wall which had fallen down.. Not ugly blockwork, not even on the inside only.. And I quite fancied a few "features" in the wall..
Well, I did the job myself with the help of my nephew on the mixing and pointing and although I ended up taking several weeks, paying him over a grand in labour and spending half a g on materials and tools but it was very nice and for sure better looking and more aesthetic than what I could have had knocked up in a couple of days by a pro and the same labourer I used who would have done it the easiest way to do it as fast as possible at a time that suited him etc..
Now I can look at that wall and get a sense of satisfaction from a job well done! I don't regret doing it myself even though it cost more and took my ages.. It's a man thing aint it boys?
 
I like the cut of your jib @drex ........manstuff......costly, often useless, but oh so satisfying. It’s primeaval.
4. Wet is best. Lightly mind.
5. Pva will kill the suction, anytime after 1st is set will do fine. Just dampen the wall and render away.
6. Devil float. Too long to explain, just trust me.
7. The longer you wait the more you’ll have to manage the suction.
Good luck.
 
Your going to need those walls flat and true so you don’t have to scribe work tops in. Don’t understand why you didn’t tell brick layers what you want and not what they want seems to be a lot of people accept stuff they don’t want.
Good luck
 
Vincey said:
sorry it doesn’t look the best in there tbh I’d get plasterer in
Click to expand...
I might test this theory out with a bigger room I need doing but I have no doubt it would be costly and a pain in the rear experience in terms of hassle and stress. Or less money and a quality I could rival! So, what is the going rate for a 6 x 6 square room and the ceiling? And how much work would I have to do myself first/after/during the pro's time?
 
Stevieo said:
Indians. It's INDIANS.... it looks like an I****n did it, you illiterate f!"£$%^g f!"£$r!

INDIANS.
Click to expand...
drex said:
I might test this theory out with a bigger room I need doing but I have no doubt it would be costly and a pain in the rear experience in terms of hassle and stress. Or less money and a quality I could rival! So, what is the going rate for a 6 x 6 square room and the ceiling? And how much work would I have to do myself first/after/during the pro's time?
Click to expand...
you board it.you bead it. you tape it.then say to plasterer it just wants skimming and i say f**k off
 
Mouldyoldspudgun said:
Your going to need those walls flat and true so you don’t have to scribe work tops in. Don’t understand why you didn’t tell brick layers what you want and not what they want seems to be a lot of people accept stuff they don’t want.
Good luck
Click to expand...
Aye. They don't like having to use their tools too much or spend much time on jobs.. rather rush it and be on to the next one.. That's my theory anyway! I didn't accept what i didn't want.. That's why I did it myself.. ;)
 
drex said:
Aye. They don't like having to use their tools too much or spend much time on jobs.. rather rush it and be on to the next one.. That's my theory anyway! I didn't accept what i didn't want.. That's why I did it myself.. ;)
Click to expand...
I think you got the wrong brick layers in, I don’t blame you for doing it yourself I just don’t understand why you didn’t try a couple of real bricklayers whose work you had seen instead of chancers
 
Andy g said:
you board it.you bead it. you tape it.then say to plasterer it just wants skimming and i say f**k off
Click to expand...
Surely first of all I would have to get all the old crap off? I take it you have many satisfied customers with your approach to business.. :)
 
Mouldyoldspudgun said:
I think you got the wrong brick layers in, I don’t blame you for doing it yourself I just don’t understand why you didn’t try a couple of real bricklayers whose work you had seen instead of chancers
Click to expand...
My nephews father in law did a great job for me "mates rates" but the sad fact of life is.. proper tradesmen who do a good job don't have a lot of free time because they are fully booked and probably prefer working for the big money. It's hard enough getting folks to come and quote let alone actually turn up.. For the wall job I asked about 3 brickies and none of them turned up.. Same with a garage roof job I wanted doing.. Then one day I actually got a lad to quote me on the garage roof but when I realised he was just going to slap it on and not do the necessary prelimaries to the job I decided he was the classic chancer type just wanting a quick £800 for a days work rather than a bit more for a proper job..
 
Dropsalot said:
I like the cut of your jib @drex ........manstuff......costly, often useless, but oh so satisfying. It’s primeaval.
4. Wet is best. Lightly mind.
5. Pva will kill the suction, anytime after 1st is set will do fine. Just dampen the wall and render away.
6. Devil float. Too long to explain, just trust me.
7. The longer you wait the more you’ll have to manage the suction.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I knew someone would give me the good advice I was looking for.. Devil float.. ok I'll get my screws in!
 
drex said:
My nephews father in law did a great job for me "mates rates" but the sad fact of life is.. proper tradesmen who do a good job don't have a lot of free time because they are fully booked and probably prefer working for the big money. It's hard enough getting folks to come and quote let alone actually turn up.. For the wall job I asked about 3 brickies and none of them turned up.. Same with a garage roof job I wanted doing.. Then one day I actually got a lad to quote me on the garage roof but when I realised he was just going to slap it on and not do the necessary prelimaries to the job I decided he was the classic chancer type just wanting a quick £800 for a days work rather than a bit more for a proper job..
Click to expand...
You don’t seem to have much luck, I know there is a lot of s**t out there that passes itself off as tradesmen
 
Mouldyoldspudgun said:
You don’t seem to have much luck, I know there is a lot of s**t out there that passes itself off as tradesmen
Click to expand...
Yup. Often they work for those bloody insurance companies that you pay good cash annually for to come out and do nothing. You can complain but the tossers on the phone just turn round and tell you black is white because "they are the expert"..
Sad thing is, they are probably properly qualified and all, but just can't be arsed using their tools..
I had a dodgy ring a few years ago.. Spark came out and said it was "damp in the socket".. complete crap and I knew it.. But he did nowt.. I got another bloke in private, he got his testing kit out and messed around in the board area.. Well I have a level 3 in electrical installation myself so after he was "stumped" I decided to do what was obviously required.. I spent a hour taking every socket front off until, LAST ONE I checked had a nicked wire, probably from when it was installed 20 years ago, shorting it out... tools required, one screwdriver and the will to use it and a bit of common sense..
 
drex said:
I might test this theory out with a bigger room I need doing but I have no doubt it would be costly and a pain in the rear experience in terms of hassle and stress. Or less money and a quality I could rival! So, what is the going rate for a 6 x 6 square room and the ceiling? And how much work would I have to do myself first/after/during the pro's time?
Click to expand...
Tbh I wouldn’t want you to do anything, feel like I’m possibly gonna seem rude if I said just get the electrics clipped to the bricks and get everything stripped out the room and leave me to it, I got feeling you actually making the room worse, I always tell customers straight if that’s what I think so hope you don’t take that the wrong way
Good luck though
Not all trades are bad guys
And they are out there
 
You put that very politely Vince!I gave up when he said he already paid his nephew £50.That means tight as f**k or can't and afford.just pisses me off hearing this s**t tbh but had to comment lol
 
drex said:
Hi. I have had a bash at plastering and rendering as a diy chap and did a brief course at college a few years ago and now I am in the middle of big indoor project putting some render on the walls in my stripped out kitchen prior to fitting the rest of it.. (first fix electrical back boxes already done)..

So far I have done the ceiling using plasterboard and skimmed over. That was a tricky one because it's hot now and it set far too quickly for my slow pace and I had to rush to an appointment and didn't get my last trowel pass over so it ended up a bit lacking in the smoothness department.. I made the mistake of trying to skim and finish another coat over this several hours later when it had dried in the 30 degree heat, which took even longer than the 3 hours it took to put the previous two coats of skim! And I don't think it even made an improvement. I am guessing because I didn't have enough thickness on that last additional 3rd coat to work it properly over the now hardened two initial coats?

Anyway, on to the wall rendering.. I looked at a few utubes and advice places and it seemed there is a bit of variety in how folks do the job, but basically I gathered this..


1. prepare the wall (brick). pva..

2. first coat 4/1 plasterers sand/cement.. waterproofer/plasticiser in the water at 30/1 (after wetting the wall down).

3. Darby the first coat,

4. Then scratch it with the scarifier.. (It seems to not dig in very well if the render has set too much, and dig in too much if its still too wet! when is the best time to do this?)

5. Second coat.. 5/1 (Not done this yet.. I am wondering how long to wait before putting the second coat on? It seems some folks put it on straight after the first, yet others wait "at least 2 days" before second coat.. I also wonder if I need to pva the first coat before applying the second?)..

6. Float the second coat.. Now I have a few questions.. What should I do after leveling the second coat? Should I just float it with the trowel and rough up the surface or use one of those "devil floats" which seems to be just a plastic float with some screws added to one end..? I am wondering what is the point of this? Is it so the final skim coat can get key? But if that is the purpose, why not use the scarifier on this coat too?

7. Skim coat. finishing plaster. Again, how long to wait before I put the finish coat on?

I have already figured out that rendering walls isn't, despite what I have heard to the contrary, easier than boarding and skimming ceilings. It also seems to use a massive amount of material..

Another thing is, you need to cover up all the pipes, electrical stuff and anything within range of falling plaster, because a bucket full will end up anywhere other than on the wall... (Before being scraped up and used to fill the tricky bits between the electrical boxes etc.. :) )

Also, cats like to sit on the spot board under the work lamps, because even in a heat wave they prefer the direct heat from the halogen bulbs and don't seem to mind getting messed up and spending half an hour licking themselves clean after and spitting..

Render mix will splash into your eyes every time you pour it out of the mixer.. Goggles are useful unless you want to actually see what is going on in there.. :)

Rendering round multiple electrical back boxes is time consuming and fiddly!

One thing I worked out for myself.. It's a good idea to batten the walls up with the correct thickness of wood to break the job down into more manageable chunks when you are starting out/not too good or speedy at it and because it makes the darbywork easier.. I had the smart idea of screwing the wood in, and I am hoping that I can "raise" the battens higher for the second coat just by putting some folded newspaper or whatever behind, prior to taking the battens out and filling the gaps later?

Well, long intro I know but that's where I am at and I hope you chaps can tell me where I am going wrong and give me a few tips.. ;)

drex

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One or two constructive replies and a few not so constructive.. Don't worry guys I ain't competing with yous, I'm just a DIY fan but thanks for reminding me why I'm wary of tradesmen with bad attitudes!B-)
 
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