Even if you are the handiest of handymen, if DIY is your passion, you will probably steer clear of plastering. It is a real skill to get the perfect finish, and only a professional plasterer is able to get that smooth fine paint ready finish that we all need.
Unlike before, a house nowadays isn’t just a place you create to live, eat and sleep. It’s much more than that. It’s a valuable asset. Your personality, specifically your taste and level of affluence can clearly be reflected in how your house looks.
Poorly done or unattractive walls are some of the areas that could stand to show your poor and tasteless personality. That goes further to show how bad we all need a perfect finish for our houses. And this calls for quality plastering.
Plastering techniques
Although a very old art, plastering is still widely in use today. Plaster itself is a natural product, hydrated gypsum actually, that dries into fine white powder. It’s mixed with water then shaped.
Long ago, it was mainly used for interior decoration and in creating ornate trims. Fresco, a painting technique actually emerged from plastering. The exterior walls are mostly plastered with powdered limestone (stucco).
Today, the majority of interior walls are done using pre-formed plaster board also known as sheet rock or drywall. Unlike the old techniques, this is installed by nailing to joists/studs then hiding the joints and nail heads by plastered tape. Veneering is also another modern alternative where the entire surface is covered with a thin coat of plaster.
Full plastered walls are done by using a skimming float which applies initial coats of plaster. It’s a large flat surfaced tool typically held at a slight angle to drag the plaster across the walls. From there, subsequent coats are applied using a technique known as float and set. This is then followed by a series of other tasks all aimed at achieving an excellent quality plastering job.
You can clearly see that this sounds so artful and professional which means that plastering is a task that remains to be done only a professional plaster.
The need for a professional plasterer
It’s our top wish to see our houses glittering and aesthetically appealing. It’s quite easy to achieve that when you have perfect finish done creatively and with ingenious skill.
Being a specialized skill, it’s clear that a professional plaster is the best person for the job. Many contractors and homeowners with a thirst for finer homes always hire professional plaster to do the plastering for them.
To bring out a smooth surface, it needs experience. Also, one needs to be in a constant race with the rate of chemical reaction as the plaster dries up. In order to achieve a perfect finish, it’s mostly a race against time. Once the process is on, there’s not much an average person can do.
Some of the services, both common and special, you should expect to receive from a professional plaster include:
• Internal plastering
• External plastering
• Metal studding
• Spray plastering
• Plaster slabbing
• Floating
• Dry lining
• Skimming
• Pebble dashing
• Coving
• Tyrolean
• Damp course installation
Nonetheless, smaller tasks such as blown plaster, wall repair, ceiling cracks, small holes and general home repairs can be done quite fast and easily. A serious handyman can as well do it.
So, unless you are an expert yourself, then it’s best to call in a professional plaster to do the plastering for you. Your investment will definitely be worth their services when you finally see the end product.
Watch the video below with an interview of a professional plasterer.
