I need some advice on plastering a long wall?

Question

I've recently done a plastering course, and now feel reasonably confidentt to tackle some jobs in my home. I have fairly long walll to plaster, and am a little worried that I might not work fast enough to get the second coat on before the first coat goes off. Does anyone have any tips? I thought about using plaster flatness guides to section off the walls, but will I be able to "key" in a new section into a dried section?
Thanks in advance for any advice!

Answer 1

how long is a long wall ?..if more than 20 feet and you are new to the game .then by all means do it in two halves ..but modern plaster is very stable and will hold on a wall (trowable) for the best part of an hour if you keep the windows and doors shut ..if you do cut it in half then wet the edge of the new bit and start at that edge and the two edges will blend in easily don't take any notice of what Micheil says ..he is not a plasterer ..don't need pva ..use board finish ..and to get a good finish you do need two coats ..as your coursework will have shown ..if you do it as he says then the wall will bubble badly ..just be confident in yourself and it will be easy .stay calm .you don't get good luck you make it ps ..i am assuming it is a plasterboard wall ..if its a wall with a browning coat ..then apply the top coat the same day if possible

Answer 2

I don't exactly know what you mean but I do know what plasterers did years ago before the advent of sheet rock. First the would lath the walls wood or wire lath. A scratch coat was apllied to the lath usually a brown rough mixture at the time it came in premixed bags. Finally the smooth white plaster was applied for the finish coat. I dont know if this helps but that was the process. Its best to finish a section at a time if your doing a wall finish it.

Answer 3

how long is the wall ? you should be fine with 20 feet in one go.

PVA the wall.

Get the first coat on, leave it 10 mins ( or probably start straightaway from the other end which will be going off )

Skim - you just need one coat anyway.

Work it flat, spraying with a garden spray to keep it workable - you know, one of those 1 litre sprays you use to feed plants in the greenhouse

I wouldn't partition it off, you will likely get crack lines in the future.

Use a proper mixer or drill paddle, mixing by hand is a waste of time and too inconsistant.

Use some decent & loud music - that helps

And remember, if it goes wrong its not the end of the world, you can re-skim if you need to. relax & have patience, plastering is a bit of a learning curve and you need to learn when to leave it alone.