I need to plaster up a section of wall approx 6 foot high by 6 inch wide. The previous occupiers had a cupboard standing in front of it. !! The wall is a 'dot & dab construction'. This section was obviously knocked out to put in a 10mm2 cable for a shower. What is the best type of (DIY) plaster to use and can I just 'clag it on' over the T&E cable? I am not too bothered about having a perfect finish as the wall is going to be wallpapered after.
TIA
John
One-coat is great for this kind of thing - you can fill pretty much as deep as you want. To get a nice finish, unless you are a well practiced plasterer I suggest you use a fine skim of polyfiller, sanded smooth when set. So fill most of the gap with one shot of one coat, leaving it
2-3mm below the finished level, then finish off with polyfiller.
That's a lot polyfiller in it. :o(
Multi finish is the most widely used plaster.
Grouch
Erm, yes, but can only be applied in very thin layers!
A 2-3mm layer? Not really, a couple of boxes will be plenty.
How eloquent!
Eh!!
Grouch
One coat best bet, slap it on, leave for about 30-40 min give it a wet brush and smooth off.
Dave
Sounds a reasonable suggestion, this is more like a large filing job than replastering. by the time you've fussed about getting a smooth finish with plaster you could have it sanded down smooth.
Re the cable. where exactly is it in the room. If it is running to/from an electrical fitting then fine, though you could cover with plastic capping if you want.
if it just say running up from the under the floor to upstairs then it really should be within 150mm of the corner of the room. If not then it should be put in metal conduit. (or moved)
I've not tried that - how well does it sand?
I've tried all sorts as a Polyfilla substitute, Gyproc gap filler, Artex, and various special plasters. Nothing quite matches it for fineness and adhesion.
Even so I'd splash out £10 on a bag of Easyfill (the green bag/white powder, not the gypsum-based stuff). Then you'll have a good supply of filler left over for all those other jobs. The other stuff I've found good was B&Q own-brand coving adhesive (dry, in bags). I had a few bags left over from coving and found it as good as aby polyfiller/tetrion-type stuff. However they seem to have discontinued it.
Makes a lot of very fine dust, but with a bit of luck you don't need to :-)
I'm sure it's the same stuff as polyfilla/tetrion etc in a more economical pack!
The idea of finishing plaster is to give a finer finish than sand and cement. It also works out the blemishes. However it does shrink on drying. This is OK on a whole wall but you will notice it if you just fill a patch. You can put it on quite thick but if you want to do more than 1/4 inch layer at a time you should use bonding or put something in the skim to stop it overheating. Sand or sawdust will do.
You have to cover the wires with some shiedling so use a lot of layers with the skim. Don't decorate until you are satisfied it will not she#rink further.
The sand leaves an interesting effect if you are not careful with washing out the bucket etc.
Anyone want to try a finish that is rustic and interesting? Put an handful of brick sand in each bucket they mix.
In message , Michael Mcneil writes
Mores sensible is to use something designed for filling deeper holes - mortar, basecoat plaster, onecoat plaster etc.
You don't have to, you can if you want.
If you fill the hole properly then shrinking will not be a problem.
Grunf's suggestion seems the best so far. Though if I was to do the job I'd probably use sand and cement for dilling the whole co's I have plenty.
I would think brick dust would accelerate the drying somewhat by chemical reaction.
"stuart noble" and various special plasters. Nothing quite matches it for fineness and
There is one thing thats better than poly: rice powder. Yes, rice powder. It works 2 ways.
Mix it stiff and it fills big holes in one go, its stiff enough to hold its shape unlike poly. When mixed stiff it gives a rough finish.
Mix it wet and you get a fine finish, but it can only be used a few mm deep in wet mode, else it shrinks and cracks.
Regards, NT
Very well. But we're getting a lot better at not needing too.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.