Hi All,
I am new here, so forgive me if I hit a topic already discussed. I recently ripped down the old lath and palster ceiling in my diningroom. I'm putting up blueboard and I'm going to plaster it. How hard will this be to do right?I'm not worrked about the board as I've put up drywall before and think i'll be ok, but not so sure about the veneer over the blueboard If it's a little lumpy, can I always just sand it a little?
Thanks
Are you going to make the plaster flat, or textured? If flat, why not use drywall instead? I've done a lot of plastering on walls, and from what I remember, it's not something I'd want to do on a ceiling.
Everything I've heard and read says that the plaster will be nicer and my construction buddy says it is better, too. It's a 100 year old house, so I'd really like the look of plaster ad that is what everythign else is. yes, it is a pain and lots of work, but it's what I think i want, just curious if i'd be able to do it well, which I think i will once I get the hhang of it.
Nope. If you're technique isn't good you'll botch the ceiling. Drywall is forgiving, plaster isn't.
Why do you want to plaster the ceiling? Since you're putting up blueboard, or thinking about it, it's not a traditional restoration, so what's the point? The ceiling is least likely to sustain damage so the additional hardness and strength of the plaster is unnecessary.
R
Are you planning on painting after the plaster's dry?
Yes, but the flip side is i've never had luck with drywall, getting the feathering in smooth, and I figured i'd do better if I didn't do spots as opposed to doing the whole ceiling.
Doesn't work that way. With plaster essentially everything is feathered in.
Do a test on some scrap drywall. If you can't get an area a few feet square dead flat, you'll have no chance of getting a ceiling right.
Maybe it's more that your spackling technique needs improvement rather than switching to a less forgiving material. What exactly goes wrong with your spackling?
Rwhen I spackle it seems there are little holes, or you can see lumps and ridges along the seams.
when I spackle it seems there are little holes, or you can see lumps and ridges along the seams.
Well, if you find that you can't get any of the plaster as flat as you like, you can just relax, make it somewhat irregular, and call it "character", which is what people used to say about the walls in my dining room before I skim-coated them. :-)
I find that a large wet sponge can be used to smooth out the lumps and bumps. The effect depends on how much you let the plaster set up before using the sponge. If you use the sponge early after application you can push around the plaster a little and knock down big lumps here and there. However, this can also leave tracks in the plaster. If the plaster is given a chance to really start setting up, the sponge will just smooth thing out and will mostly just blend the edges together.
None of this is a replacement for good plastering technique. Make sure you practice a little (or a lot) on your left over blue board.
If you can't finish drywall smoothly, your odds of plastering a ceiling and having it look even half-way decent when you're done are pretty close to zero. Plastering is a skilled trade that takes more than just "getting the hang of it" to have it look right. And I'm just talking about walls. Ceilings are much, much more difficult.
Hire a pro if you want it to look right.
Veneer plaster is a totally different material, uses totally different tools, is done in a very different way, is almost unrelated to drywall finishing. I am not saying you cannot do it, but I will tell you that you cannot do it if you start from a drywall frame of mind. It is not a technique that can be explained well on usenet. You would be much better off to attempt a wall long before a ceiling. You will be wearing much of the material. It would be difficult to maintain a good working wet edge on a ceiling and mixing the plaster for a competent tradesman. It will be extremely difficult for a DIY first timer. See if there is any way to at least go watch a plaster man do some of this before you consider taking on the finish product. ______________________________ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) snipped-for-privacy@7cox.net
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