How To Plaster A Wall

How To Plaster A Wall

Plastering is a highly skilled job, so if you’re not sure how to plaster a wall, call in the experts. You’ll find a list of local plasterers in our online directory.

If you’ve decided to tackle the job yourself, you should follow our steps for plastering a wall. It’s always a good idea to have a practice run before you try out your plastering skills on a large area. Before you start, why not have a go at plastering some hardboard, following the steps below?

Step by Step Plastering Guide

Firstly, prepare the room by brushing down the wall’s surface to remove any dust. Apply a good plaster bonding agent, especially if the wall’s made of smooth cement. This will ensure that your plaster sticks and will help prevent cracking.

Mixing the Plaster

Next, mix the plaster. It should come with full instructions on the bag, so make sure you follow these carefully. Take time to mix the plaster thoroughly, making sure there are no lumps. You should have a thick, creamy consistency when you’ve finished. Only mix as much as you’re going to use as plaster sets in no time at all, and you don’t want to be left with hardened plaster that you can’t use. Never try to add more water to hardened plaster - it simply won’t work!

Now you’re ready to start plastering. Apply the base coat using smooth strokes, working up from the bottom of the wall. There’s a knack to applying plaster to a wall - remember to keep your trowel at an angle so you don’t pull the fresh plaster back off the wall as you work! The coat you’ve applied should be around 2mm thick.

When you’ve finished, you can start to smooth the surface. You can do this when the plaster is beginning to harden. This is easier to do in summer, when plaster remains pliable for longer. If you have any holes or unevenness, use a thin skim of plaster to level things out.

Finishing Off The Plastering

When the last coat of plaster has dried - this should take around 40 minutes - you can start work on polishing the plaster. Flick water across your plasterwork with a paintbrush and using a wet trowel, gently smooth back over the surface of the wall. Use sweeping strokes to fill in any holes or imperfections. Now you should have a perfectly plastered wall!

A professional plasterer will be able to do this job for you, ensuring a quality finish to your walls. Use an online tradesmen directory to look up local plasterers in your local area.

Tools Needed for Plastering

Prepping for Plaster is the most important step to have the plaster project turn out level and smooth. The tools needed for prep work include Plumb Level and Wood. In order to cut the wood to height you will need a Saw which can either be manual or electric. It will be helpful to also have on hand a few standard building tools before starting the project. You may need a Ladder, Claw Hammer and Buckets. Once the wooden guides are leveled and secured, the plaster can be mixed.

Plaster comes in two bases, cement base and gypsum based. Gypsum based plaster should only be used indoors as it will absorb moisture and is prone to mold. Cement based plaster is for exterior use. Plaster comes in powder form with all additives already in the bag so all that is needed is to add water and mix.

When mixing plaster the least expensive mixing tool is a wooden stick but if mixing a large amount, an electric mixer is a better option. A Mixer Paddle can be attached to a drill and will allow for a thorough mix with much less effort. It is important to mix only a small batch at a time since the plaster has a relatively short working time and cannot be used once it is too dry.

Transporting the plaster from the bucket to the project site is usually done a small batch at a time on a Hawk; a square metal plate with a handle centered underneath. Since plaster is heavy, be sure not to load the Hawk with more than you can comfortably balance and carry. The Hawk is used in conjunction with the Plasterers Trowel but since the Plasterers Trowel is metal and is prone to rusting, an alternative is a polycarbonate Float. The Float or Trowel is used to scoop plaster from the Hawk and apply the plaster to the project surface. A Plasterers Darby is used to smooth the plaster to the correct depth. A Darby is a long metal straight edge with handles which spans the plaster surface and rests on the wooden guides, as it is pulled along the guides it levels the plaster to the finished depth. An alternative to the Darby is a Featheredge which is a long aluminum straight edge also useful for plasterboard applications.

Another tool that is helpful is a Splash Brush. A Splash Brush can be an old paint brush or a wall paper brush. The splash brush is used to keep the plaster from drying out but if left too long, the plaster will become hard and unstable and should not be used. One last tip is to keep all plaster tools clean and free of plaster bits, chips or chunks; any old plaster bits on tools will ruin a smooth finish.