The Brew Cabin

Posted: **Fri May 25, 2012 9:41 pm**

I've just bought my first house and have started to think about doing a bit of work to it.

We bought the place knowing it needs a bit of work. The interior walls and ceilings are ok but if you look down them you can see that they are rough. We want to skim the walls and ceilings but are not sure how to go about it.

1. Do we need to remove the old paint or can we just skim straight on top?

2. What is the thinnest amount of skim you can apply? We want it to be strong?

cheers

Steve

Posted: **Fri May 25, 2012 10:05 pm**

first of all im not a plaster but any diy plastering i do i always make sure i have a good key for the new plaster to stick too and i also always unibond the walls be for appling any plaster..

Posted: **Fri May 25, 2012 11:25 pm**

steve from a developer perspective you alsway unibond the walls before skimming
assuming they are not live
if they are live (lime mortar hollow sound)
then it needs to be hacked off and re floated with hardwall or sand/cement
skim isnt really the strength of the wall about 2-3 mm thick per coat
the strength is in the base coat but that will treble the cost
ball park figure 2 grand to skim a 3 bed semi
4-5 k for refloat
might get cheaper but thats roughly what i would pay
LLL

Posted: **Fri May 25, 2012 11:27 pm**

Scrape loose, uni bond and use AMES filler for fine filling. Its basically polyfiller in bulk. Skim doesnt take too well to thin layers.

Posted: **Sat May 26, 2012 12:03 am**

henpecked wrote:Skim doesnt take too well to thin layers.

really,i will have to tell that to every plasterer i have known for 25 years??
easifill is good for Small stuff
most pros use hardwall /bonding for big holes now
my fave for super big holes is cement/bonding 1/1
cheers LLL
imho

Posted: **Sat May 26, 2012 10:25 am**

lutonlagerlout wrote:
henpecked wrote:Skim doesnt take too well to thin layers.

really,i will have to tell that to every plasterer i have known for 25 years??
easifill is good for Small stuff
most pros use hardwall /bonding for big holes now
my fave for super big holes is cement/bonding 1/1
cheers LLL
imho

Haha! yes see what you mean.
Bond is great for big filling as it doesn't shrink and takes a plug/screw.
Not sure how well it goes on in thin layers, not tried that one yet.
Personally, it wont be a 'great' job till you just skim the lot properly. :;):

Posted: **Sat May 26, 2012 2:37 pm**

To overskim matt type paint pva is fine but a more glossy paint where there is zero suction i would use this stuff http://www.randjbuildershardware.co.uk/febond-....hopping

Lay the skim down with one coat then flatten off, then over with a second thinner coat....trowell once to take the lines out, then again to fill then over again to polish.

but as LLL says if the old is hollow it is a pointless effort, hack of the old and back on with (my preference) sand and cement

Did a few years plastering untill i decided it was a crap job

Posted: **Sun May 27, 2012 7:05 pm**

Thanks for alll the replies. So am I right in thinking:

1. Check the walls for hollw sounding areas which if discovered will need to be removed and filled with hardwall / bonding.

2. Areas where there is no hollow sound can be primed with the stuff reccomended by DN

3. Then apply a couple of coats of skim

I'm not planning on doing the job myself but I would like to know what I'm talking about

Steve

Posted: **Sun May 27, 2012 7:26 pm**

if its gloss paint I would scratch the walls to make a key and polybond or SBR the full wall prior to skimming, also check if there is any existing wall paper on the walls because when this gets wet with the new plaster it can bubble off and make it hard for the guy plastering, but seeing as your getting someone in to do the work he should spot this anyway and advise you accordingly

Posted: **Sun May 27, 2012 7:32 pm**

Ive developed a few of my own places over the years, i like to use la farge dry wall joint filler, trowel it on good over all of the wall, big sandpaper on a big float and rub down the wall, paint then fill imperfections the 3 more coats. Do a room in a day and diy it too.

Or pay a plasterer 150 a day..

Posted: **Mon May 28, 2012 12:09 am**

mickg wrote:if its gloss paint I would scratch the walls to make a key and polybond or SBR the full wall prior to skimming, also check if there is any existing wall paper on the walls because when this gets wet with the new plaster it can bubble off and make it hard for the guy plastering, but seeing as your getting someone in to do the work he should spot this anyway and advise you accordingly

Assuming the best way to scratch the wall is to use a grinder and just cut a grid shape into the wall?

Posted: **Mon May 28, 2012 6:29 am**

a grinder would be over kill unless you can hire a specialist type tool what may be available these days for doing the same job, if the house is not being rewired be careful of any plug sockets or light switches as the wire's may only just be below the surface of the existing plaster

another way is to scratch the paint using a wooden float with nails, paint the walls with polybond or SBR then to apply a tight coat of bonding as bonding sticks like sh*t to a blanket and to finish with skimming

Posted: **Mon May 28, 2012 6:30 am**

Have you got the room to dry line it the dry lining adhesive is like sbr for sticking

Ps give me a call have another project to chat about

Posted: **Wed May 30, 2012 12:03 am**

Cheers for that mick, I dread to think what could have happened there. Got the plasterer booked in for a week on Thursday. I've got the spark coming down Friday to move a few plugs.

I've started clearing the garden. Pulled out 3 bulk bags of vegetation. I need to get ready for the spark tomorrow, going to remove laminate floor, fireplace, radiator and skirts.

Then Thursday night back to the garden. I'm going to be laying a small patio, so will get ready to be ripped by the bc

Posted: **Wed May 30, 2012 6:57 am**

we look forward to see your excellent patio

just remember no crosses :;):

The Brew Cabin

Advice needed - Plastering