# Plastering - anyone give me some advice ?



## coxy1983 (Mar 10, 2008)

Hello,

Ive recently boarded out my loft and am now wanting to plaster the walls to make it a lot neater and will be an extra storage room that we will start to use in the house.

The walls are simply breeze blocked and I am wanting to plaster them and paint the walls. Can anyone give me some advice on this ? can i just plaster them ? or do i have to use plaster board ? as you can guess I am no expert and just need a little advice.

Thanks

Coxy


----------



## 2004mark (Oct 26, 2013)

I'm no builder but plasterboarding the block is the conventional way to do it.

Stick it up with a bonding compound and fill the gaps with tape, leave an inch or two at the bottom so it wont absorb any fluids spilt on the floor. Then plaster... it's a lot harder than it looks to get a good finish.


----------



## Guest (Nov 22, 2010)

2004mark said:


> I'm no builder but plasterboarding the block is the *cheaper* way to do it.


Fixed that for you mate.

New builds are all dot and dabbed because its quick and cheap, however getting 8x4 sheets of board into a loft aint easy.

Its a store room, I'd just paint the blocks. Its done alot in interiors on the continent, i like the look TBH.


----------



## Cam93 (May 20, 2010)

you can plaster right onto it yeah, but its not easy to get a level, smooth finish, if your doing it yourself then plasterboard, if you want it done properly then get a real plaster'er in..


----------



## JB74 (Jan 6, 2008)

i used plasterboard in my old place but ran into problems when i was selling it because the buyers solictors were saying it was a extra room, (i was saying it was just a fancy storage room) and they wanted to know about the building regs n that i said i will just pull the plasterboard walls down then, they backed down then


----------



## Hera (May 6, 2011)

I'd say you need plasterboard...always the way we've done it. If you want a really tidy finish, I'd recommend hiring a plasterer...as rewarding as it is to do it yourself, they are skilled at acheiving a smooth finish.


----------



## Twilight (Aug 3, 2012)

I am a tiler by trade but have done my fair share of dodgy plastering.

Getting sheets of board up there is not really going to be an easy job. If you are dead set on plastering it and are not too bothered about the finish being absolutely top notch then I would get yourself some "One Coat" and slap it on.

You'll get a decent amount of working time and can get a fairly even finish with not a huge amount of experience. If you are going to bond it then finish it you will find it a headache if you have never done it before.

If it was my. I'd paint the blocks too cause any type of platering is a real knack.


----------



## Nidge (Jan 22, 2007)

coxy1983 said:


> Hello,
> 
> Ive recently boarded out my loft and am now wanting to plaster the walls to make it a lot neater and will be an extra storage room that we will start to use in the house.
> 
> ...


Use a PVA on the breeze block then you can plaster over the breeze block. You only need to board over the breeze if they are fooked with holes in them.


----------



## Huntingground (Jan 10, 2010)

I was a plasterer in a previous life.

You have 4 options:-

1.) - The proper way. Use bonding/browning over the block to get a level base in readiness for your multi-finish plaster.

2.) - Dot and dab it with boards and use board-finish to get a smooth finish. Only issue is how to get the boards up there.

3.) - Bodge it with one-coat plaster. This will probably end up being expensive as I imagine that you have a fair amount of metres to cover and one-coat ain't cheap (usually used by weekend DIY'ers for small repairs etc).

4.) - Paint the blocks.

If I wasn't a plasterer I would opt for 4 or pay for a plasterer to do 1 or 2.


----------



## Huntingground (Jan 10, 2010)

Also Nidge, I wouldn't use multi-finish straight over the block (even if it has been PVA'ed/Unibonded). Would be brutal trying to get a reasonable finish as the different levels of thickness would dry at different times etc.


----------



## Foamy (Jul 2, 2010)

PVA and water onto the blocks, hard wall layer then multi finish. Get a plasterer to do it. It's really not easy and takes years to get it down pat.

This will look better and be a much stronger finish than any other way.


----------



## coxy1983 (Mar 10, 2008)

Thanks alot for the help guys - really much appreciated - As the blocks are really neat im going to go for the easy way out and paint them !

Thanks again guys

Coxy


----------



## Nidge (Jan 22, 2007)

Huntingground said:


> Also Nidge, I wouldn't use multi-finish straight over the block (even if it has been PVA'ed/Unibonded). Would be brutal trying to get a reasonable finish as the different levels of thickness would dry at different times etc.


That's how I did it when I built an outbuilding last year and the plaster is still on and still looks good.

Dot and dab is expensive and time consuming.

When they built old houses they plastered straight on to the breeze block.


----------



## cult (Nov 7, 2009)

Im a plasterer by trade man . theres a few ways to do this

1. sand/cement/plastaciser and float on to wall and light scratch and let set then skim coat with gypsum plaster

2. coat with bonding and light scratch let this set for a day then skim coat

3. batten and board then skim coat , you can buy 4x2 ft plaster boards so youll have no problem with getting these up into the attic

Ifs it in the attic then do it yourself man, just make sure to take your time . when your skiming out put a light coat on then after a while put a 2nd coat on but dont let the 1st coat dry out before you put the 2nd on, youll be fine as long as you dont put to much on. Anything else you want to know about plastering then ask away man.


----------



## vetran (Oct 17, 2009)

can you not just dry line it caulk or tape the joints and then paint,how simple is that,is that not what the other side off the plasterboard is for ?


----------



## adlewar (Oct 14, 2008)

cultivator said:


> Im a plasterer by trade man . theres a few ways to do this
> 
> 1. sand/cement/plastaciser and float on to wall and light scratch and let set then skim coat with gypsum plaster
> 
> ...


ha ha you sound like a good plasterer, there no such thing as a 4x2 board............lol


----------



## cult (Nov 7, 2009)

adlewar said:


> ha ha you sound like a good plasterer, there no such thing as a 4x2 board............lol


Is that right ,lol. dont talk sh1te man . Ive been a plasterer for years and have fitted many a 4x2 ft plaster board,LOL. Phone your builders yard in the morning and ask can you get a 4x2ft plasterboard.


----------



## adamdutton (May 13, 2008)

I even bought 4x2 plasterboards from b&q. as previously said just use a bonding coat then a finishing coat. plastering is pretty easy as long as you mix it right. I recently plastered the whole of my living room and built a fake chimney breast with the tv, virgin box and ps3 all built in and I got a better finish than when we paid someone to do our landing and it looks amazing if I do say so myself.


----------



## vetran (Oct 17, 2009)

i always thought p/b came in 8x4 6x3 4x3 never heard of 4x2 tbh and no i am not starting a war lol


----------



## recc (Apr 27, 2008)

vetran said:


> i always thought p/b came in 8x4 6x3 4x3 never heard of 4x2 tbh and no i am not starting a war lol


I know nothing about building or plastering lol but surely an 8x4 can be magically cut to 4 4x2 s?


----------



## Craig660 (Dec 8, 2005)

vetran said:


> i always thought p/b came in 8x4 6x3 4x3 never heard of 4x2 tbh and no i am not starting a war lol


These are some very very serious allegations you are making here!


----------



## Musashi (Oct 21, 2009)

Huntingground said:


> I was a plasterer in a previous life.
> 
> You have 4 options:-
> 
> ...


Listen to this fella!

I'm not a Plasterer but I sub by them in a fair bit for different projects - cheep and easy is paint the blocks. Best is board and skim.


----------



## cult (Nov 7, 2009)

OldMan said:


> Listen to this fella!
> 
> I'm not a Plasterer but I sub by them in a fair bit for different projects - cheep and easy is paint the blocks. Best is board and skim.


No its not, best is to float the wall with sand cement then skim or bond and skim.


----------

