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Plastering |
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#1 |
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Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 466
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Plastering
Is it easy to do. I have been quoted £100 to do a 10"x7" plastering of an old air vent in bedroom. they also said I'd be better off having the whole wall plastered as it would show when painted. so is it quite east to do thanks
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#2 |
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Join Date: Feb 2005
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It's easy to do.
It's difficult to do well. |
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#3 |
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 11,685
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There's no way I'd pay that. I'd rather cover it with a blanking plate, or if the hole has already been filled in, having a go at it myself. I once made a decent job of a slightly smaller hole that that, even though I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I carried out a rough job with some patching plaster and an old plastic ruler, then very delicately smoothed it over with a damp sponge. Once painted over it was good enough so that nobody would ever notice it.
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#4 |
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 5,004
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It might seem a lot for a small piece of work but whether its a 70sq.in panel or a whole room, the guy has still got to come out to your house, he's still got to open a bag of new plaster and mix it up and actually do the work to a professional standard, which is going to be far better than the OP, who has never done any plastering.
Think of it like the first part of your taxi fare that you'd have to pay even if you were driven 10 metres up the road. These people work for a living and need their costs covered for the tiniest of jobs. |
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#5 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 21,645
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Quote:
It's easy to do.
It's difficult to do well. |
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#6 |
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Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Devon
Posts: 47,995
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Quote:
It's easy to do.
It's difficult to do well. |
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#7 |
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 10,733
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A proper plasterers trowel certainly helps but it does seem like a skill thats either you can master or you're useless at.
For less hassle i'd just put a grill over it and be done, you do need a certain amount of ventilation in a property to stop damp and mold. |
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#8 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 21,645
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Quote:
For less hassle i'd just put a grill over it and be done, you do need a certain amount of ventilation in a property to stop damp and mold.
It does remind me that a friend has recently had the box room in her house redecorated. She had always complained that it seemed cold and damp in there, and attributed it to there being two outside walls and it not being heated much. When the grill just below the ceiling was removed prior to plastering, it turned out that at some time in the distant past a previous occupier had put a piece of cardboard behind it (IIRC it was part of the packaging from some ancient toy), and then poked holes through it with a knitting needle or similar implement. Over the years, these had all become completely clogged up, leaving no ventilation at all. |
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#9 |
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: South Yorkshire
Posts: 556
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When I moved into my house there was a small alcove off the bathroom where the ceiling had been wallpapered over. When I removed the wallpaper it turned out that part of this ceiling had lost its plaster and you could see all the laths.
I plastered that myself, it isn't a perfect job that I've done but it works after I'd painted it. I wasn't going to pay a tradesman for that. |
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#10 |
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Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 8,138
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Quote:
Is it easy to do. I have been quoted £100 to do a 10"x7" plastering of an old air vent in bedroom. they also said I'd be better off having the whole wall plastered as it would show when painted. so is it quite east to do thanks
10"x7" is about the size of a large paperback. I'm sure you can have a go at doing that yourself, and save £100. But what are you plastering over? It needs to be reasonably solid underneath. |
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#11 |
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: It's Grim
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The hole will need to be filled first.
10x7 inch is just a bit less than A4 size. I imagine the back of an old picture frame will have a piece of hardboard that big. Hardboard can be cut with a craft knife, but it's dangerous because quite a lot of pressure is needed. Using a piece of corrugated cardboard instead would not be a good idea because it will flex. Even if the hardboard could be cut to size there is then the problem of fixing it inside the hole... ----------------------- So I assume the plasterer is going to do all of this, probably using a piece of plasterboard and some kind of support in the hole. Then he will plaster over the whole thing. It's not a trivial job because it's a hole in a wall rather than just a bit of damage that anyone could fix. |
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#12 |
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Join Date: Nov 2015
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Firstly what are you plastering onto? Has the hole been filled and if so with what?
Plaster needs a firm surface or else any movement (things expand and contract with changes in temperature) will end up with the plaster cracking over time. Also the plaster has to stick to whatever the surface is. Also if the surface sucks out the water in the plaster too fast, cracking will appear. That is why when plastering onto a brick surface, you usually apply PVA first as it acts as a barrier to stop the brickwork sucking the moisture out of the plaster too fast and as an adhesive to help stick the plaster to the brickwork. It is a job that many could do themselves. Just remember if it's a thick layer you need then do it in layers making sure that you make scratches in the first coat before it dries to provide a key for the top coat to grip onto. Get it as level with the exiting plaster as you can as any dips you will have to re-fill and any plaster standing proud of the surface will have to be sanded down. Sanding can create load of dust, so the flatter you can get the plaster before it dries the less you have to do later. If the patch does dry differently when you paint it apply a special paint call stain sealer which when dry and painted over will make the patch invisible. |
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#13 |
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 780
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I think plastering a small area isn't that hard. You can fill most of the depth of the hole with a piece of wood, or foam filler. Then mix your plaster ( I bought a 25kg bag for next to nothing, and it's fantastic) and wet the area you'll be filling with a wet sponge, then push in the plaster, preferably using a trowel, but an ordinary knife could be used too. Smooth it over as far as possible (you get a smoother finish by going over it with a wet sponge. Once it's dry, you might want to apply another thinner layer of plaster to finish the job off.
I like the suggestion of fitting another grill . That would be easy enough, and you could block the air from entering from behind with some newspaper, woollens, cloth or similar. |
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#14 |
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Join Date: Jun 2009
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Quote:
I like the suggestion of fitting another grill . That would be easy enough, and you could block the air from entering from behind with some newspaper, woollens, cloth or similar. |
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#15 |
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 780
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Quote:
Or just a pretend grill over the plaster if the OP makes a mess of it.
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#16 |
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Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 650
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Quote:
Is it easy to do. I have been quoted £100 to do a 10"x7" plastering of an old air vent in bedroom. they also said I'd be better off having the whole wall plastered as it would show when painted. so is it quite east to do thanks
to be honest give it a go yourself. its not that difficult, and cost you around £10 at most for a big bag of plaster (and maybe a piece of plasterboard and scrim tape £15 tops including plaster). just be patient and do it slowly and sand when dry and fill any dips if necessary. |
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#17 |
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: South
Posts: 10,847
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far too expensive. thats the daily rate for a plasterer. its actually around 30-45 minutes work at most from entering, preparing and plastering by an expert.
to be honest give it a go yourself. its not that difficult, and cost you around £10 at most for a big bag of plaster (and maybe a piece of plasterboard and scrim tape £15 tops including plaster). just be patient and do it slowly and sand when dry and fill any dips if necessary. If you don't know what you're doing then really just pay the £100, it's so much easier in the long run. |
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#18 |
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 2,694
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Quote:
far too expensive. thats the daily rate for a plasterer. its actually around 30-45 minutes work at most from entering, preparing and plastering by an expert.
to be honest give it a go yourself. its not that difficult, and cost you around £10 at most for a big bag of plaster (and maybe a piece of plasterboard and scrim tape £15 tops including plaster). just be patient and do it slowly and sand when dry and fill any dips if necessary.
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#19 |
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Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: London
Posts: 16,527
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just stuff the hole with old newspaper then skim over the top, piece of piss, love a bit of bodging
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#20 |
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Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 8,138
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Quote:
Some junior plasters may only get £100 a day wages but don't confuse that with how much a job should costs. First of all they have to charge 20% VAT
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second they have to pay for the materials, third it take time to travel to your place.
With materials they benefit from buying in bulk, at trade prices, and, if they are VAT-registered, they get that back. They can also use left-over materials from another job. (BTW how much would the materials cost for half a square foot of plastering?)Quote:
If you don't know what you're doing then really just pay the £100, it's so much easier in the long run.
It's not electrics, gas or roofing. It can be worth having a go. (I used to be ripped off badly by plumbers until I started doing small jobs myself. Eventually I could install bathrooms etc and saved a fortune. Then I was only ripped off by CH and gas engineers.)
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#21 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 8,138
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Quote:
Utter nonsense. The setting time of plaster is longer than 45 minutes. So how can it take 45 minutes from entering to leaving
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#22 |
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Join Date: Jan 2012
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Quote:
Do they have to hang about for hours until it's set? If so, why?
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#23 |
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Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 650
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Quote:
Utter nonsense. The setting time of plaster is longer than 45 minutes. So how can it take 45 minutes from entering to leaving
![]() the thing is to be patient, dont try to look for perfection in the first instance because any imperfection can be easily corrected later with fills etc. for probably £15 its worth it as a diy job considering the size of the hole. most plasterers will have this job done and dusted within the hour - its certainly not worth £100 for this tiny job is the point. |
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#24 |
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Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 650
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Quote:
The plaster needs to start going off so they can get a smooth finish. It takes longer than 45 minutes for plaster to go off enough to get a smooth finish.
what is it - a couple of swipes with a trowel? |
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#25 |
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 2,694
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Quote:
a decent plasterer will have got it right on a small job like this without too much effort.
what is it - a couple of swipes with a trowel? |
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