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Can You Plaster Over Tiles?

Yes, it’s absolutely possible to plaster over tiles but just because is possible doesn’t mean you should. Plastering over tiles is an option but it’s not recommended by experts due to several reasons. A good example is the fact that a tiled environment is in no way a suitable environment that can serve as a good bonding surface for a plaster. For the success of a plastering project, there’s the need for the surface to be able to bond to the PVA base coat. Due to fact that most tiles are slippery in nature and also lack of the ability to be able to absorb moisture, the PVA base coat layer will not be able to bond to the tiled surface, which will ultimately make for a weak surface upon the application of the plaster. Consequently, the plaster will easily flake and fall from the wall.

The inability to drill into the tiled wall surface after plastering is one of the major disadvantages that also arises when you decide to plaster over tiled surfaces. Most tiled surfaces are found in kitchens and bathrooms which are going to need appliances such as sinks, lavatories, kitchen counters and lots more. These appliances are designed to be installed on solid surfaces which would not be an easy task to carry out on tiles knowing there would definitely be great cracks or damages.

The best tip you’ll get if you’re considering to plaster on a tiled surface, is that detaching tiles from a surface can easily be done with a hammer and chisel, and that would save you a host of problems later in the future. However, if you still wish to plaster on your tiled walls, then you best bet would be to get a Blue Grit bonding agent. It works better than PVA and only needs one coat.

What Is Plaster Made Of?

Plaster is one of the most commonly used materials when it comes to building construction. It’s a crucial component that’s incorporated in coating walls, ceilings as well as partitions and it hardens on drying. Plastering is one of the most ancient building materials which has taken over mud to plaster reed or sapling huts so as to serve as a protection against the elements. Here, we’re going to take a look at the multiple compositions of plaster. These components are very important due to the fact that they form a protective coating on whatever they are used on. They work to protect surfaces such as ceiling and underlying walls from scratches or any form of damage.

Plaster comprises a few materials which includes gypsum, lime or cement and all operates in a similar way. Gypsum is made of calcium sulfate dihydrate and it’s the main component of main forms of plaster, sidewalk chalk, blackboard, drywall and more. Meanwhile, lime plaster is made up of sand, water and lime ( mostly non hydraulic hydrated lime). And lastly, cement which is a mix of suitable plaster, portland cement, sand as well as water.

The plaster is usually produced as a dry powder which is mixed thoroughly with water to create a stiff but also a paste that’s workable immediately before it’s applied to the wall or ceiling.

It’s quite easy to confuse a drywall with a plaster but there are some differences. Not only is plaster a much older style of wall construction than dry wall, but it’s also a lot more expensive than installing a drywall. Plaster walls are also able to provide you with a more durable finish when compared to a drywall and it makes for a better quality finish.

How Much Do Plasterer’s Charge?

If you’re look to plaster your walls, one of the first things that’ll come to mind is the cost to complete the project so you can set a budget and start planning as soon as possible. However, the amount charged by plasterer, just like other tradesmen, is based on a number of factors. These factors include how urgent the project is, how long it’ll take as well as what materials are needed. Some of the other influencing factors of plastering jobs include the accessibility of the location, the size of the wall to be plastered and also the current condition of the old plaster. Therefore, you can expect a plaster work of multiple rooms with deteriorating old plaster to be more expensive than a simple refresh of a single wall in a relatively good condition.

It’s likely you’d also get the average cost per room reduce when you require the plastering of several rooms. As a result, to get a final price for your plastering work, you’ll have to call in a qualified and experienced tradesman who’ll consider all the unique requirements of your project and provide a suitable quote.

✓ Medium sized room plastering. A medium sized room would be a room that’s roughly between 3.5m by 5m or one that can comfortable accommodate up to 8 individuals. This will cost within the range of £520 to £870.

✓ Small sized room plastering. Small room such as small kitchens, box bedrooms, utility rooms and the likes will require less plaster but more intricacy with the plasterer having to work in tight spaces. This will cost within the range of £215 to £370.

Artex was originally made using white asbestos to make it stronger. However, this stopped in the mid-1980s, and the use of asbestos was banned in the UK in 1999, due to its extreme health risks. So, any artex you buy today won’t contain asbestos.

If you have an artex ceiling or wall that was created before 1999, it may have asbestos in it. This won’t be a health hazard if you leave it undisturbed, so it’s not necessary to remove it. However, if you want to get rid of or alter your artex ceiling or wall, you must get it tested to check if it has asbestos in or not first. If it does, you’ll need to hire a qualified professional to work on it.

Can You Plaster Over WallPaper?

If you have wallpaper installed on your wall surface and you’re considering plastering the wall, when you put into consideration the stress involved in removing a wallpaper you may want to consider plastering directly over the wallpaper. This is quite understandable as removing a wallpaper can be quite time consuming and tedious, but plastering directly over wallpaper is a mistake that should never be made. Plastering over wallpaper is in no way a viable option due to the fact that it can only turn out disastrous after a couple of weeks or even days in some cases as the plaster will crack and crumble. As a result, you’ll have to firstly scrape off the wallpaper in order to assist the plaster get to be firmly secured to the wall behind.

When you plaster over a wallpaper, this will make the wallpaper wet and it’ll absorb the moisture. And once the plaster does not have moisture, the only result is for it to crack and start to crumble. Hence, plaster and wallpaper is never a good combination.

Asides from cracking and crumbling, anther issue is that the wallpaper will bubble. You can actually key the wallpaper with the help of a knife and it might look secured for some time, however it’ll eventually crumble and you’d have to scrape off the plaster complete to start all over again. The wallpaper will bubble as the plaster can’t be keyed into a wallpaper and the wallpaper will only work as a barrier between the plaster and the wall.

Overall, plaster always needs to slowly dry off as well as a good and proper surface to grip to. No matter the amount of PVA mix you spread on the wallpaper, it will always remain a barrier. So you’d have to remove the wallpaper completely to get a great result.

Plastering will fix small cracks in walls. Very small cracks may be fixed by simply reskimming plaster. More serious cracks will usually mean that you need to use new plasterboard or backing plaster. Larger jobs or deep cracks may need an experienced plasterer to come in.

There are several different kinds of plastering. ‘Dot and dab’ refers to a base layer of plasterboard which is attached to a wall using ‘dabs’ of adhesive. ‘Floating’ is a technique where a backing or undercoat plaster is applied to walls. ‘Skimming’ or ‘reskimming’ refers to the very thin final decorative layer of plaster.

How To Plaster A Wall

In order to plaster your wall successfully, you’ll firstly need to get the appropriate tools and materials for the job in place. The tools you’ll need to have includes a trowel and bucket trowel, plasterer’s float, corner trowel, hawk board, two buckets, mixing stick or a paddle, adequate plaster, PVA , dust sheets, clean water, sandpaper, stilts or step ladder as well as a dust mask.

✓ Prepare the wall. You’d have to make sure that you lay down a dust sheet so as to protect your floor and also gather any possible spillage or debris of plaster, before you start working on the walls. Get rid of all the dirt, dust and debris as this is very important for the success of your project if you’re going to be plastering on a worn out and old wall. Also, cover the holes and cracks in the walls with a screen tape

✓ Apply PVA to the wall. This will help ensure the layer you’re using will not dry out at the same time.

✓ Mix the paster. Mix the plaster according to the instructions given in the manufacturer’s manual.

✓ Apply the plaster onto the wall. Upon cleaning of the walls and successful mixture of the plaster, the next step is to apply the mixture to the wall using the hawk board, trowels and a floating tool.

✓ Skim and smooth. After the the first coat has dried after waiting for about 30 minutes, the next step will be to wipe out the bumps and lumps using a trowel to smooth over the surface. Once this is done you can then scrape the wall with a devilling float.

✓ Apply the second coat of plaster

✓ Apply the finishing touches. This includes polishing your work by adding some water to the surface with a spray gun and using the trowel to further smoothen out the surface.

✓ Painting and wallpapering.