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How To Plaster A Ceiling

Generally, plastering is a very tricky and time consuming job which usually require lots of efforts and practice to get right - with that in mind it gets even a lot trickier when it comes to ceiling plastering.

However, when you’re able to acquire the right know-how as well as tools, ceiling plastering can be completed by any confident DIYer enthusiast without the need to call in a professional. However, if you lack the needed confidence to pull off this task, then we’d recommend you get in touch with a trustworthy professional who can guarantee the best results for help. In this guide, we’ll take you through the ceiling plastering process.

You’ll need the following materials to get started: plaster, mixing bucket and paddle, plasterer’s float, plasterer’s towel, bucket trowel, protective gear, bucket of clean water and wide brush.

✓ Prepare the area. When it comes to plastering a ceiling it’s almost unavoidable to leave a mess around and no matter how you do it, your plaster will drop on the floor. Therefore you have put drop sheets on the floor, cover the furniture and put thing you don’t want to get dirty out of the way.

✓ Prepare the ceiling to be plastered. Sand down the uneven patches on the ceiling. Once done, wash the ceiling with a sponge and warm soapy water while also removing all cobwebs as well. Leave the surface to dry once completed.

✓ Mix the plaster or buy a premix plaster. To mix the plaster, simply use equal parts of plaster and water for mixing the plaster,

✓ Plaster the ceiling. Apply a little quantity of plaster to the edge of your trowel and try to spread it in rows to do the job without much hassle. Ensure that the thickness of the coat is thin and even throughout the application. The rough edge of the trowel should be used for the spreading as it’ll help you create scrapes or scratches in the plaster.

✓ Sand the surface

There are several different kinds of plastering. ‘Dot and dab’ refers to a base layer of plasterboard which is attached to a wall using ‘dabs’ of adhesive. ‘Floating’ is a technique where a backing or undercoat plaster is applied to walls. ‘Skimming’ or ‘reskimming’ refers to the very thin final decorative layer of plaster.

How Much Does Plastering Cost?

If your existing interior or exterior plaster is starting to show signs of needing to be refreshed or the painting never seems to last, then it’s probably time to have your plaster renewed to breathe in a new lease of life to your decorating efforts.

So if you’re giving wall plastering a thought, there’s a need to have a rough estimate of the cost a professional is likely to charge so you can set a budget and start planning. However a direct answer can not be provided for this question as there are so many factors that a professional will put into considering before coming up with a quote that’s unique to your specific requirements.

A lot of plasterers will come up with a quote for the job using the number of square metres of wall space that’s going to be covered. This is due to the number of plasterboards as well as the other materials that the plasterer will need to purchase, how long the work will take and also the labour that’ll be involved in completing the project.

Another popular influencing factor that several plasterers use is the size of the room to be plastered. This is the main reason why you’re more likely to find the prices in small, medium as well as large rooms. Therefore, in order to have a more accurate estimate of the cost of your plastering project, you’d have to call in a qualified professional to have a look at the job at hand. Generally, to re-plaster a small room will cost within the range of £350 to £550, a medium room will cost within the range of £400 to £600 and a large room, between £550 to £700.

The short and simple answer to this question is, it depends. Artex surface coating was manufactured with white abestos ( until the mid 1980’s ) in order to strengthen as well as harden it. In other words, this implies that all the ceilings and walls coverings made by Artex Ltd and other manufactures at the time are highly likely to contain asbestos. Although Artex Ltd stopped using asbestos as early as the mid 1980’s, there were still other manufacturers who continued using it until 1999 when the laws and regulations covering the use of asbestos changed in the year 2000.

Asbestos, however, is only harmful when disturbed and releases its deadly fibres. For instance, when it’s being sanded and removed as it usually poses no risks when left undisturbed. Since it’s not possible to identify Artex containing asbestos fibres with the naked eye, it’s strongly recommended that you hire the services of a qualified person or company to help determine if you have asbestos in your ceilings or walls especially if your house was constructed before the year 2000. The professionals will be able to advise you on the best course of action as well as if it’s dangerous.

To be sure if your Artex contains asbestos, you’ll need to have the artex sampled by an asbestos surveyor. If you’re planning to have a construction or maintenance work done on your property, and the artex is likely to be in the way or disturbed, there’s a need for you to have a refurbishment or demolition asbestos survey done. This will ensure that all the areas that’ll be disturbed by the work is properly tested to determine the presence or otherwise of asbestos. If found, the artex will have to be addressed and either removed or protected before any work can take place.

It’s possible to paint your artex ceiling if you want to smarten it up or make it a different colour.

If it’s never been painted before, you’ll need to paint it with a PVA-based solution or water-thinned paint layer to start with. You may want to scrape or sand off any loose or peeling patches beforehand, but only do this if you’re sure that the artex doesn’t contain any asbestos.

Once you’ve done this, follow with two coats of your paint of choice – ideally an emulsion. If your artex ceiling has been painted before then you can paint directly without priming. However, if you’re painting over a particularly bold colour with a lighter one, you might want apply a layer of white paint first.

What Is Plaster Made Of?

Plaster is one of the most commonly used materials when it comes to building construction. It’s a crucial component that’s incorporated in coating walls, ceilings as well as partitions and it hardens on drying. Plastering is one of the most ancient building materials which has taken over mud to plaster reed or sapling huts so as to serve as a protection against the elements. Here, we’re going to take a look at the multiple compositions of plaster. These components are very important due to the fact that they form a protective coating on whatever they are used on. They work to protect surfaces such as ceiling and underlying walls from scratches or any form of damage.

Plaster comprises a few materials which includes gypsum, lime or cement and all operates in a similar way. Gypsum is made of calcium sulfate dihydrate and it’s the main component of main forms of plaster, sidewalk chalk, blackboard, drywall and more. Meanwhile, lime plaster is made up of sand, water and lime ( mostly non hydraulic hydrated lime). And lastly, cement which is a mix of suitable plaster, portland cement, sand as well as water.

The plaster is usually produced as a dry powder which is mixed thoroughly with water to create a stiff but also a paste that’s workable immediately before it’s applied to the wall or ceiling.

It’s quite easy to confuse a drywall with a plaster but there are some differences. Not only is plaster a much older style of wall construction than dry wall, but it’s also a lot more expensive than installing a drywall. Plaster walls are also able to provide you with a more durable finish when compared to a drywall and it makes for a better quality finish.

Artex was originally made using white asbestos to make it stronger. However, this stopped in the mid-1980s, and the use of asbestos was banned in the UK in 1999, due to its extreme health risks. So, any artex you buy today won’t contain asbestos.

If you have an artex ceiling or wall that was created before 1999, it may have asbestos in it. This won’t be a health hazard if you leave it undisturbed, so it’s not necessary to remove it. However, if you want to get rid of or alter your artex ceiling or wall, you must get it tested to check if it has asbestos in or not first. If it does, you’ll need to hire a qualified professional to work on it.

Artex simply refers to a surface coating that’s commonly incorporated for interior decorating. Although it’s usually found on ceilings but it can also be used on the walls as well. The surface coating enables the professional plasterer or decorator add both texture as well as patterns to it. Originally, the name “Artex is the trademark of a UK based company known as Artex Ltd. Over time, the Artex name has been used to refer to all textured coatings, although there are other businesses that manufacture and sell identical products.

You can find Artex on ceilings as well as walls of mainly residential properties. In the 70’s and 80’s, it was pretty much a trend to have either your wall or ceiling ( can be both ) covered with Artex. The surface coating can be incorporated to create raised, textured swirls as well as patterns on ceiling and walls. There are a number of different patterns that can be made using Artex and some of these includes the following: Broken leather, swirl, stipple, fan or shell as well as knifed plaster. It can also provide just a bobbly raised uneven patter appearance from top to bottom.

Artex is main put to use by mainly decorators ( mostly plasterers). This is a skilled job as it’s tedious to create uninformed patterns especially if you don’t know how or where to start. Although the skill of Artex is very much a trade that’s dying rapidly now, but it was pretty much in high demand especially in the 70’s and 80’s. Nowadays, homeowners now prefer smooth plastered finishes over Artex, as they can be easily painted or wallpapered.