Hi there,

I've just started to skim coat my bathroom. I've completed one whole
wall and it took me quite a while to complete. As I've got another two
walls to complete and very little time to do it in (a 5 year old and a
10 month old keeping me busy!) I was wondering whether I wold be
better off splitting the remaining walls into sections, using 3 mm
strips of wood as a guide? I could skim up to the wood, remove when
the plaster has hardened, then the next night complete another
section, merging the existing layer of platster into the new bi as I
go..... any comments / suggestions?

Thanks in advance!!

Simon

On Apr 4, 5:19 pm, "Simon" wrote:
Hi there,

I've just started to skim coat my bathroom. I've completed one whole
wall and it took me quite a while to complete. As I've got another two
walls to complete and very little time to do it in (a 5 year old and a
10 month old keeping me busy!) I was wondering whether I wold be
better off splitting the remaining walls into sections, using 3 mm
strips of wood as a guide? I could skim up to the wood, remove when
the plaster has hardened, then the next night complete another
section, merging the existing layer of platster into the new bi as I
go..... any comments / suggestions?

Thanks in advance!!

Simon

I'm not a plasterer, but like you have tried it and I don't see why
not. One thing I've learned is that you really have to seal the walls
first otherwise they just suck out all the moisture.

....or just tile it all instead :-)

On Apr 4, 5:19 pm, "Simon" wrote:
Hi there,

I've just started to skim coat my bathroom. I've completed one whole
wall and it took me quite a while to complete. As I've got another two
walls to complete and very little time to do it in (a 5 year old and a
10 month old keeping me busy!) I was wondering whether I wold be
better off splitting the remaining walls into sections, using 3 mm
strips of wood as a guide? I could skim up to the wood, remove when
the plaster has hardened, then the next night complete another
section, merging the existing layer of platster into the new bi as I
go..... any comments / suggestions?

Thanks in advance!!

Simon

Hmmm... 1 bucket of plaster as a base coat and half a bucket for the
laying down does about 10 mtr square and sets in around 2-2½ hours
from starting. I suspect you're playing about with it and using too
much water as a lubricant, leave the plaster to dry a bit more before
troweling it, ie: when the water sheen has gone away, you should aim
for 5 visits to the wall in total.

On 4 Apr, 18:16, wrote:
On Apr 4, 5:19 pm, "Simon" wrote:

Hi there,

I've just started to skim coat my bathroom. I've completed one whole
wall and it took me quite a while to complete. As I've got another two
walls to complete and very little time to do it in (a 5 year old and a
10 month old keeping me busy!) I was wondering whether I wold be
better off splitting the remaining walls into sections, using 3 mm
strips of wood as a guide? I could skim up to the wood, remove when
the plaster has hardened, then the next night complete another
section, merging the existing layer of platster into the new bi as I
go..... any comments / suggestions?

Thanks in advance!!

Simon

Hmmm... 1 bucket of plaster as a base coat and half a bucket for the
laying down does about 10 mtr square and sets in around 2-2½ hours
from starting. I suspect you're playing about with it and using too
much water as a lubricant, leave the plaster to dry a bit more before
troweling it, ie: when the water sheen has gone away, you should aim
for 5 visits to the wall in total.

Hi there.. thanks for the responses so far.

As for your estimate, it took me about 2 hours to do a small wall, but
the remaining walls are bigger and there's a window to contend with -
that's why I favoured the section by section approach, I could do a
flat section, then the next dat tackle the window section etc. Any
tips on this approach?

Cheers

Simon wrote:
On 4 Apr, 18:16, wrote:
On Apr 4, 5:19 pm, "Simon" wrote:

Hi there,

I've just started to skim coat my bathroom. I've completed one whole
wall and it took me quite a while to complete. As I've got another two
walls to complete and very little time to do it in (a 5 year old and a
10 month old keeping me busy!) I was wondering whether I wold be
better off splitting the remaining walls into sections, using 3 mm
strips of wood as a guide? I could skim up to the wood, remove when
the plaster has hardened, then the next night complete another
section, merging the existing layer of platster into the new bi as I
go..... any comments / suggestions?

Thanks in advance!!

Simon

Hmmm... 1 bucket of plaster as a base coat and half a bucket for the
laying down does about 10 mtr square and sets in around 2-2½ hours
from starting. I suspect you're playing about with it and using too
much water as a lubricant, leave the plaster to dry a bit more before
troweling it, ie: when the water sheen has gone away, you should aim
for 5 visits to the wall in total.

Hi there.. thanks for the responses so far.

As for your estimate, it took me about 2 hours to do a small wall, but
the remaining walls are bigger and there's a window to contend with -
that's why I favoured the section by section approach, I could do a
flat section, then the next dat tackle the window section etc. Any
tips on this approach?

Cheers

Sure, do the wall first then the window reveals after, but soak the
newly plastered wall around the window opening before doing the window
reveals as any mix touching the wall will dry quickly and you run the
risk of dragging these "lumps" across the bit your doing and ruining
the finish. You may struggle doing all four sides of the reveal where
the faces meet in the corners, so leave in inch bare in each corner
until the plaster is nearly hard and then fill them in with some
plaster you left for this purpose and your corners should be sharp.

I wouldn't worry about doing a large wall of about 10+ sq mtrs in one
hit, you may be a bit achey afterwards if you decide to do it in
sections, just do up to where you can manage as normal, when you've
done the final polish, cut a line in the plaster with your trowel edge
or a scraper in a line and scrape off the messy edge. When you come to
do the next bit, soak the edge about six-ten inches back and keep it
wet, scraping any new plaster off it asap.

Unless you are good and experienced, you will notice the join... even
through paintwork, so expect to do some sanding and filling as part of
the decorating. You are best doing it in one go, use a plant water
spray for wetting the plaster when troweling up and NEVER use the
"fat" as filler.

Good luck

In article .com,
"Simon" writes:
Hi there,

I've just started to skim coat my bathroom. I've completed one whole
wall and it took me quite a while to complete. As I've got another two
walls to complete and very little time to do it in (a 5 year old and a
10 month old keeping me busy!) I was wondering whether I wold be
better off splitting the remaining walls into sections, using 3 mm
strips of wood as a guide? I could skim up to the wood, remove when
the plaster has hardened, then the next night complete another
section, merging the existing layer of platster into the new bi as I
go..... any comments / suggestions?

You can do this. Most houses have a wall which starts in the
downstairs hall runs up the stairs to the upstairs ceiling.
This is sometimes plastered in two pieces -- if you look
carefully, you will be able to see the boundary as it's
almost impossible to hide it completely. However, if you
never noticed it before explicitly looking, then it was
hidden well enough.

To make a join like this, don't use a batten, as the plaster
thickness always ends up increasing as you plaster up against
a batten (or into a corner). This will end up as ridges
running down the middle of the finished wall. Also, don't
make the join a straight line. Your eyes will easily pick out
a straight line mark or imperfection in the finished job,
which would not be noticable if it were a ragged join.

So simply don't lay the plaster on past a certain point. When
reworking and finishing, don't bother going right to the edge
of the plaster you layed. When you've finished polishing but
before the plaster is set hard, run a scraper or the end of
the trowel up the wall to remove the plaster edge which
isn't polished, remembering not to make this edge a
straight line. This should leave a clean step to run the
next area of plaster up against. If you are doing two skim
coats, cut the second back at least 6" from the edge of the
first so you have two separate steps to run the two coats
in the next area up to.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On 4 Apr 2007 09:19:27 -0700, "Simon" wrote:

Hi there,

I've just started to skim coat my bathroom. I've completed one whole
wall and it took me quite a while to complete. As I've got another two
walls to complete and very little time to do it in (a 5 year old and a
10 month old keeping me busy!) I was wondering whether I wold be
better off splitting the remaining walls into sections, using 3 mm
strips of wood as a guide? I could skim up to the wood, remove when
the plaster has hardened, then the next night complete another
section, merging the existing layer of platster into the new bi as I
go..... any comments / suggestions?

Thanks in advance!!

Simon

Try this stuff. The "flatness guide"


http://www.wickes.co.uk/icat/plastaccang

I have used it in the past with a Derby and got very nice results.

Set it about a meter apart and chuck the plaster in between them and
simply level it off.

"Simon" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi there,

I've just started to skim coat my bathroom. I've completed one whole
wall and it took me quite a while to complete. As I've got another two
walls to complete and very little time to do it in (a 5 year old and a
10 month old keeping me busy!) I was wondering whether I wold be
better off splitting the remaining walls into sections, using 3 mm
strips of wood as a guide? I could skim up to the wood, remove when
the plaster has hardened, then the next night complete another
section, merging the existing layer of platster into the new bi as I
go..... any comments / suggestions?

Thanks in advance!!

Simon


I see so why cant you do it when they're in bed asleep?

If you seen the size of the walls I've done you'd crap in your trousers and
I'm no master plasterer and done each wall in 1hour 10 minutes,minus the
time to mix and clean up.

On Apr 4, 11:21 pm, "George" wrote:

I'm no master plasterer and done each wall in 1hour 10 minutes,minus the
time to mix and clean up.

Wow!, you finish before the plaster has set?

wrote in message
oups.com...
On Apr 4, 11:21 pm, "George" wrote:

I'm no master plasterer and done each wall in 1hour 10 minutes,minus the
time to mix and clean up.

Wow!, you finish before the plaster has set?


Heh! 10 mins to slap it on 20mins to even it out 40mins for a fag&cuppa. :-)
did I mention the time for polishing?

On Apr 4, 9:19 am, "Simon" wrote:
Hi there,

I've just started to skim coat my bathroom. I've completed one whole
wall and it took me quite a while to complete. As I've got another two
walls to complete and very little time to do it in (a 5 year old and a
10 month old keeping me busy!) I was wondering whether I wold be
better off splitting the remaining walls into sections, using 3 mm
strips of wood as a guide? I could skim up to the wood, remove when
the plaster has hardened, then the next night complete another
section, merging the existing layer of platster into the new bi as I
go..... any comments / suggestions?

Thanks in advance!!

Simon


Forget the strips of wood, I think you're making it all too
complicated. You need to get the first coat on as soon as possible and
not play with it too much, that's the most important part.

How bad were the walls? Considering the time it's taking to skim could
you not have filled and sanded them?

On Wed, 04 Apr 2007 22:10:53 GMT, in uk.d-i-y EricP
wrote:

On 4 Apr 2007 09:19:27 -0700, "Simon" wrote:


Try this stuff. The "flatness guide"


http://www.wickes.co.uk/icat/plastaccang

I have used it in the past with a Derby and got very nice results.

Set it about a meter apart and chuck the plaster in between them and
simply level it off.

How do you use these - or are they just metal lathes?

Phil

Phil Addison wrote:
On Wed, 04 Apr 2007 22:10:53 GMT, in uk.d-i-y EricP
wrote:

On 4 Apr 2007 09:19:27 -0700, "Simon" wrote:


Try this stuff. The "flatness guide"


http://www.wickes.co.uk/icat/plastaccang

I have used it in the past with a Derby and got very nice results.

Set it about a meter apart and chuck the plaster in between them and
simply level it off.

How do you use these - or are they just metal lathes?

Phil

Excellent because you can take your time packing the guides and then
slam the plaster up quickly. It's trying to be quick and getting it
roughly level at the same time that undoes us amateurs.

On Mon, 09 Apr 2007 15:07:44 GMT, in uk.d-i-y Stuart Noble
wrote:

Phil Addison wrote:
On Wed, 04 Apr 2007 22:10:53 GMT, in uk.d-i-y EricP
wrote:

On 4 Apr 2007 09:19:27 -0700, "Simon" wrote:

Try this stuff. The "flatness guide"

http://www.wickes.co.uk/icat/plastaccang

I have used it in the past with a Derby and got very nice results.

Set it about a meter apart and chuck the plaster in between them and
simply level it off.

How do you use these - or are they just metal lathes?

Excellent because you can take your time packing the guides and then
slam the plaster up quickly. It's trying to be quick and getting it
roughly level at the same time that undoes us amateurs.

I've found a PDF file of "Wickes Unique Plastering System"
http://www.wickes.co.uk/content/ebiz...ges/gil/20.pdf
leaflet. It seems to a useful guide to plastering, including using these
"flatness guides". They are like metal corner beads, but flat with the
bead in the centre of the flat mesh.

The leaflet explains them being used with 'one coat' plaster, so it
appears that Wickes intend the final skim surface to be flush with the
tops of these guides.

Are there any problems with that? Or would it be better to use them only
for getting the scratch level?

The guide is generally very detailed but decidedly vague about a skim
coat - it just says apply the plaster in two coats, but goes into detail
on polishing it using a sponge.

Phil