Get your home plaster perfect

Plastering is one of those home improvements that many people try to tackle themselves - but for best results, it’s definitely wise to hire a professional.

What is plastering?

Plastering is a task best left to a professional

 

Plaster is one of the oldest building materials; the most primitive form was mud plaster, used to hold together structures made of branches or wood for example. Today internal plastering is used more as a way of smoothing out surfaces and preparing them for decoration, it also adds strength to the wall or ceiling and helps seal together building materials.

“Smaller home improvements, like plastering are important in maintaining your home and can be done at any time of the year,” says Kevin Westhead, from Oxford Decorators Ltd. External plastering (also known as rendering) is important to maintain your home as it is tougher and helps waterproof the walls, protecting them from the elements. Another less popular type of rendering is pebble dashing, where small stones are added to the mixture, giving a bumpy, textured look. This is not a very common practice anymore and was often used in the past to cover up shoddy brickwork.

Types of plaster

Cement based plaster is made up of three parts sand plaster and one part cement. It is used on the building’s exterior to waterproof the walls, but can also be used in areas inside the home that may be susceptible to damp.

Gypsum based plaster is used for interior work and is malleable enough to sand down and manipulate, even when dry. It will crumble if exposed to moisture, so damp can be a problem.

Browning plaster is used as a backing layer for porous materials like brick, clay or masonry to prepare and seal the material before the main coat of plaster is applied.

Bonding plaster is used as a backing coat on concrete, stone and other non-porous materials, for example a wall already coated in PVA.

One coat plaster supposedly does the job of base and finishing layer.

Top coat finishing plaster is skimmed across as a final layer to form a smooth, even surface ready for decorating onto.

Lime plaster was commonly used before gypsum based mixture became available. It is an environmentally-friendly plastering substance which absorbs water and is used in old buildings. Lime plaster can be more expensive and time-consuming to apply.

Why hire a professional plasterer?

Plastering is a very specialised skill that can take years to perfect. So unless you have some experience, it’s a task best left to a professional plasterer who is trained and qualified. “If you don’t hire a professional, you could be putting on the completely wrong type of plaster so that the building can’t breathe and this will cause problems,” explains Kevin.

A plasterer will know which type of plaster you need to use in your home and will be able to complete the job quickly, efficiently and to a high standard.

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