Probably why many beamed ceilings use roughcast plaster between the beams - that way all the imperfections are just "rustic"!
Spose you could ebay it once done...
Bit cheaper here:
If the hole is very wide, rolled up damp newspaper can be used behind the filler.
Jonathan
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If you're doing any sanding at all after filling you're doing the filling w rong. It's totally practical to fill perfectly with zero sanding, I do it p lenty. As I said most people fail to follow the basic rule. It doesn't matt er if the thing isn't 100% filled yet, but it does have to have absolutely zero protrusion. Not a speck. It normally takes 3 layers to get perfect, bu t as the technique is new to you it'll take more than 3. Accept that, it's still far less work than filling and practice will make perfect. Once you'v e got the hang of it it should become practical to imitate the surface fini sh around the filled patch to make it invisible.
Bonding plaster sure is cheaper than filler or caulk cartridges.
NT
Actually that gives me an idea for a poor man's festool style linear action sander....
Take one reciprocating saw, and a medium length old blade, plus a block of wood say 6" x 3" x 1/2".
Use the saw to cut a kerf into the middle of the wide surface of the block, and then epoxy the *back* of the blade into that kerf to that it is held at a slight angle to the blade. Pop the blade in the saw, and you now have a linear{1] reciprocating sanding block. A bit like:
For hand sanding near an edge I find the wet/dry paper bonded to a fairly firm sponge works well. Being wet/dry if it clogs with plaster dust it can be rinsed out for reuse.
one wide side plus one narrow side is one grade of paper while the other two side are a different grade of paper.
Actually that gives me an idea for a poor man's festool style linear
Nice. But I think I'd also want to put something over the saw's _cutting_ edge - eg a plastic slide binder.
you won't get a bit of vibration from that picture you'll get failure to co ntact 90% of the time. That can be greatly improved by the block being at 9
0 degrees to the blade so the blade bends sideways every stroke. Even bette r, mount it properly so no bending is required.NT
We have *decorative* beams. When it came to decorating the rest of the ceiling we used pre-cut newspaper and masking tape to protect the beams.
Much easier attaching the tape to the paper at ground level and the paper stops the tape curling into an annoying mares nest.
1) Recip saws are more of a grunt tool, than a finesse tool 2) They're not especially light
What is the British obsession with brown wood on the inside of the house ?.
Just overboard with fireproof plaster and have it skimmed. Use the void between the beams to hide downlighters and wiring.
If you must keep them on show, just dont bother with masking. fill the cracks with Wickes white and fine surface filler and then have the beams sandblasted back to bare wood, which will remove any plaster overspill.
And filling long cracks like that without getting any on the beam is easy if you use a plasters trowel instead of one of those silly 'filling' knifes.
Just use the filling knife to build a line of filler along the long edge of a plasters trowel and then wipe it into the gap, away from the beam.
+1
And if 'she' has gone then the heating will no longer be set to
28 C so those gaps will close up on their own :-)
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cough
Having not tried, I don't know if it will be an issue. You could also round the face of the sanding block slightly to ensure that there is always a (moving) point of contact.
For sawing certainly...
in this case all you require is a linea oscilating action. How rough it is will depend on the paper you use etc, and how hard you push.
Having said that, I did say this would be a "poor man's" solution. If you want refined then buy the festool or do it all by hand!
The smaller 10.8V cordless recip saws are not bad. My one like this:
is a tad under 1kg.
When the bottom of your ceiling joists is around 1900mm (and I've seen lower than ours) you need the space between a few inches higher.
Mind you, ours are painted off-white, to get a bit of light in.
If you're going to bang your head on any of the beams then you bought the wrong house.
Trouble is that is going to be pretty heavy to use above your head. Makes more sense to avoid the need for any sanding at all.
I just use a plastering trowel, I think the taping knife would be too flexible to scrape hard enough (the way I do it anyway).
No need for a knife, you just move the plaster around on its board or hawk until you can pick up an even line along the edge of the trowel.
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