PLASTERING

The renovation of your house is almost finished, the doors and windows have been latched, and furniture is now installed at its rightful places. But husband has assigned you to do the plastering of the walls and you have zero ideas on what plastering is. Fret no more because this article will discuss the basics in wall plastering.

Plastering itself is not a tiresome task. With the right materials and knowledge, you’re on your way to polishing that plaster wall.

Plastering Tools
1. A large flexible mixing bucket is essential for mixing plaster or dry wall adhesive.
2. A featheredge to be used in the direct bond method of plaster boarding. This is also used to achieve straight plasterboard application.
3. Plasterers Darby to be used in applying a backing coat of plaster such as bonding or browning.
4. A plasterer’s trowel to be used in applying all types of plaster and Dry wall adhesive.
5. A hawk to be used alongside the float.
6. A plasterer’s float made of polycarbonate to be used in rendering.


Now that you have the tools, let’s move on to the plastering process itself.
1. Mixing the plaster can be done by hand using a suitable bucket and a piece of wood. A mixing machine with a suitable drill with matching paddle can do the job easier, though. Put the water in the bucket before adding the plaster, doing it in reverse could make the mixture lumpy and unusable. Mix the plaster until the right consistency is met and it’s completely lump-free.
2. Ensure that the room is kept cool or else the plaster will dry off too quickly making it difficult to apply and may crack upon application. Load the hawk with plaster and use the float to load the hawk. Spread the plaster onto the wall using the float ensuring that it is on a correct angle otherwise it will not work. The smaller the angle between the hawk and the wall, the better. Allow the plaster to dry a little but not too much, 20 minutes on a bright day will do. Now use your float to fix problems on the wall. Give it another 30 minutes to completely dry off then you can now polish the wall. Polishing is done by wetting the wall using a brush and water. After that you can now polish the wall by trowelling the surface.
3. Leave the wall to dry in a day or so for it to dry out fully.

There, now you can tell your husband that you can do the job!