I am just about to attempt to have a first go at plastering a fairly large
lath & plaster wall. I will have to divide the wall into sections and I am
wondering what is the best way to join the sections.
Should I try and feather the sections, or make a stright line break point
between sections ?
I have read one post which suggested making a straight linr break.

Any help or suggestions will be greatfully accepted as it is a daunting
enough task without having to do things the long way around.

TIA

Con.

Red Devil wrote

I am just about to attempt to have a first go at plastering a fairly large
lath & plaster wall.

Are you really going to replaster over the laths? That's OK if you have a
historic property and you want to restore it in the traditional way, but for
anything else it would be *much* less work to remove the laths and fix
plasterboard and just skim over that.

I will have to divide the wall into sections and I am
wondering what is the best way to join the sections.
Should I try and feather the sections, or make a stright line break point
between sections ?
I have read one post which suggested making a straight linr break.

Any help or suggestions will be greatfully accepted as it is a daunting
enough task without having to do things the long way around.

If you do it in sections, each section will need to have a vertical batten flush
with the plaster finish, to rule off. When the plaster has set this batten is
removed and used for the next section. Alternatively you could use galvanised
plaster stop beads on each section, but these would be permanent.

Peter

In message , Peter Taylor
writes
Red Devil wrote

I am just about to attempt to have a first go at plastering a fairly large
lath & plaster wall.

Are you really going to replaster over the laths? That's OK if you have a
historic property and you want to restore it in the traditional way, but for
anything else it would be *much* less work to remove the laths and fix
plasterboard and just skim over that.

When I had a similar situation my plasterer, I know I should have DIY'd
it, found the supporting frame work through the plaster and lath and
screwed plaster board on and skimmed it. I lost maybe 1/2" of the room
but it was much cleaner than removing the old plaster, but not as much
fun, and probably added a bit more thermal insulation too.


--
Bill

"Peter Taylor" wrote in message
...
Red Devil wrote

I am just about to attempt to have a first go at plastering a fairly
large
lath & plaster wall.

Are you really going to replaster over the laths? That's OK if you have a
historic property and you want to restore it in the traditional way, but
for
anything else it would be *much* less work to remove the laths and fix
plasterboard and just skim over that.

Peter

I have just patched the original lath & plaster wall with bonding, and now
need to skim the wall.

I am just about to attempt to have a first go at plastering a fairly large
lath & plaster wall. I will have to divide the wall into sections and I am
wondering what is the best way to join the sections.
Should I try and feather the sections, or make a stright line break point
between sections ?
I have read one post which suggested making a straight linr break.

You should plaster it in two coats. The first coat is called a
'scratch coat' and you don't try to get a good finish with that one,
all you want to achieve is a layer of plaster squeezing between the
laths to get a good key. You then scratch the surface and let it set.
The second coat makes a continuous, flat and possibly plumb surface.
If you want perfection then put on a third coat.

The first coat takes longest to do but it doesn't matter if you do it
in sections cos it will get covered and the finish is not important.
On all but the largest walls you will be able to do the second coat in
one go which will give the best finish but if you can't then make a
straight line break not a feather.

Lime plaster with plenty of hair in it is the traditional material. I
don't know if gypsum plaster will work cos I've never tried, but the
hair is a vital ingredient to give it tensile strength

Anna

~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England
|""""| ~ Plaster conservation and lime plaster repair
/ ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc
|____| www.kettlenet.co.uk 01359 230642

In article ,
"Red Devil" writes:
I am just about to attempt to have a first go at plastering a fairly large
lath & plaster wall. I will have to divide the wall into sections and I am
wondering what is the best way to join the sections.
Should I try and feather the sections, or make a stright line break point
between sections ?
I have read one post which suggested making a straight linr break.

The scratch (base) coat doesn't matter (or are you just skimming?)

For the finish coat, I work in vertical strips, covering as much width
as a bucket of plaster can. I feather each strip into the previous one
which works only if the previous one is still workable. If it's going
to be an hour or more between strips, you can't really feather and you'll
need to cut a clean edge. It doesn't need to be a straight line (actually,
a straight line can show more afterwards, depending on decorations and
how well you join it).

--
Andrew Gabriel

Bill wrote
When I had a similar situation my plasterer, I know I should have DIY'd
it, found the supporting frame work through the plaster and lath and
screwed plaster board on and skimmed it. I lost maybe 1/2" of the room
but it was much cleaner than removing the old plaster, but not as much
fun, and probably added a bit more thermal insulation too.

Yes, good idea - I've done the same on my upstairs ceilings. I just assumed
from his message that the OP had already removed the old plaster - dunno why I
did that now! )

Peter

"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Red Devil" writes:
I am just about to attempt to have a first go at plastering a fairly
large
lath & plaster wall. I will have to divide the wall into sections and I
am
wondering what is the best way to join the sections.
Should I try and feather the sections, or make a stright line break
point
between sections ?
I have read one post which suggested making a straight linr break.

The scratch (base) coat doesn't matter (or are you just skimming?)
I am just skimming using MultiFinish, but I find that it goes off very
quickly,hence restricting me to small areas.
I am applying 2 coats of skim, as I have read posts that suggest it is not
possible to get a good finish with just 1 coat.
I am putting on the second coat after the first one has gone off.

I am hoping to paint the walls afterwards, so I need a reasonable finish.
There is more to this plastering lark than meets the eye !!
Looks easy, but reality is different.
I suppose the only way to get better is by actually doing the job.

For the finish coat, I work in vertical strips, covering as much width
as a bucket of plaster can. I feather each strip into the previous one
which works only if the previous one is still workable. If it's going
to be an hour or more between strips, you can't really feather and you'll
need to cut a clean edge. It doesn't need to be a straight line (actually,
a straight line can show more afterwards, depending on decorations and
how well you join it).

--
Andrew Gabriel

In article ,
"Red Devil" writes:
I am just skimming using MultiFinish, but I find that it goes off very
quickly,hence restricting me to small areas.

Yes -- it's exactly the wrong time of year to be learning
plastering ;-) At least make sure your plaster is new -- the
longer it's been sitting around, the faster it goes off.

You might want to practice in the cupboard under the stairs, or
the garage wall, or similar first. I and others have posted a
few long articles about how to do it over last couple of years.

I am applying 2 coats of skim, as I have read posts that suggest it is not
possible to get a good finish with just 1 coat.
I am putting on the second coat after the first one has gone off.

First coat does not have to have completely gone off -- normally
you recoat as soon at you've finished the first coat.
However if it has set and dried (i.e. next day), then
you will need to PVA the first coat before applying the
second.

I am hoping to paint the walls afterwards, so I need a reasonable finish.
There is more to this plastering lark than meets the eye !!
Looks easy, but reality is different.
I suppose the only way to get better is by actually doing the job.

Yes, and don't start with the most important wall in the house!

--
Andrew Gabriel

Red Devil wrote:
I am just skimming [ a lath and plaster wall ] using MultiFinish,
but I find that it goes off very quickly,hence restricting me to
small areas. I am applying 2 coats of skim, as I have read posts
that suggest it is not possible to get a good finish with just 1
coat. I am putting on the second coat after the first one has
gone off.

One coat of finish is fine. I expect the problem you have is that
the lime plaster is sucking the multi finish dry very quickly. Is
the plaster you've got in your pail or on your spot board "off"
as quickly as the stuff you've put up? If so, the plaster's *old*.
Try applying a coat or two of diluted PVA (1:5 PVA:water). Let
the first coat dry, skim before the second coat has dried. You
will do best to skim the whole lot in one go, you will get a
better finish.


J.B.

(Anna Kettle) wrote in message ...
Lime plaster with plenty of hair in it is the traditional material. I
don't know if gypsum plaster will work cos I've never tried, but the
hair is a vital ingredient to give it tensile strength

Anna,
So do you (or anybody else?!) use hair nowadays?
Just curious!
David

On 21 Jun 2004 12:05:25 GMT, Andrew Gabriel wrote:

At least make sure your plaster is new -- the longer it's been
sitting around, the faster it goes off.

he he, but it stops you messing around titty vating it in an attempt
to get it "perfect". Forces you into the way plasterers do it, whack
it on, smooth it out, leave.

Mind you the last lot of old plaster I used which, had also been open
to the air, set in 5 mins, half of what I made up ended up on the
rubble dump. B-)

Thistle Multifinish is nice stuff, behaves in a nice controlled manner
with a long "plastic" stage.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

"Lobster" wrote
| Anna Kettle wrote
| Lime plaster with plenty of hair in it is the traditional material.
| So do you (or anybody else?!) use hair nowadays?
| Just curious!

I use hair to cover the top of my head.

I was wondering if one could ask at the hairdresser's for a sack of (human)
hair clippings and add that to the mix, or whether it had to be horse hair.

And at what point does hair become fur?

Owain

Anna,
So do you (or anybody else?!) use hair nowadays?
Just curious!
David

I do indeed. I do quite a lot of repair lime plasterwork work onto
laths and as they are slightly flexible the hair is an important
feature.

I know some plasterers who use hemp instead of hair and I have heard
of fibreglass being used too though I can't imagine it is pleasant to
use but it has the advantage that it doesn't rot if it is left in the
tubs of wet lime mortar so tons of the haired mortar can be made up at
a go. Using hair, I have to add it to the mortar on a daily basis

Anna

Anna
~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England
|""""| ~ Plaster conservation and lime plaster repair
/ ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc
|____| www.kettlenet.co.uk 01359 230642

I was wondering if one could ask at the hairdresser's for a sack of (human)
hair clippings and add that to the mix, or whether it had to be horse hair.

Human hair isn't very good partly cos it is weak to begin with but
also cos a bag of hair from the hairdresser will contain dyed and
bleached and very weak hair

And at what point does hair become fur?

No idea. Anyone else know?

Anna
~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England
|""""| ~ Plaster conservation and lime plaster repair
/ ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc
|____| www.kettlenet.co.uk 01359 230642