Home & Garden Improvements

Plastering a wall requires patience and practice. Plastering a wall in your home can be a complete weekend job. It is not advisable to plaster in a hurry or without proper preparation.

Before beginning plastering, remove any furniture and furnishings or cover everything with plastic sheets. Also use further plastic sheets to cover your floor.

Mix up your plaster by following the instructions found on the packaging. Always add your plaster to the water. Refrain from using an old mixing bucket with residue plaster – always use a completely clean bucket. Your plaster should have a thick, creamy consistency and should contain no lumps.

Plaster can set quickly, particularly in hot weather. This means that you should only mix a small amount at any one time. Do not add new plaster to previously mixed plaster and do not be tempted to add water to partly set plaster.

Use your plastering trowel to scrape the ready plaster off the mixing board and onto the hawk. Next, transfer around half of the plaster onto the trowel. Keep your wrist straight when holding your trowel. Make flicking movements with the hand holding the hawk when transferring the plaster from your hawk to your trowel.

Begin at the bottom of the wall. Use swift, smooth strokes to press the plaster onto your wall.  Gradually constrict the amount of space between the top edge of the trowel and the wall as you work your way towards the top. Refrain from flattening the trowel against the wall as it may pull your new plaster away.

Work over the entire wall until it is evenly covered. Your base coat of plaster should measure approximately two millimetres thick.

When the plaster has hardened yet remains pliable, level the surface. Hold your trowel at a shallow angle against the wall and work to smooth the surface.

Leave your plaster to dry before polishing your plaster. Wet your trowel, flick water onto the surface of the wall with a paintbrush and glide the trowel over the wall to smooth out any imperfections.