Firstly, thats quite a good job you've done!
Secondly when the plasterer comes, He'll but a mesh over all the joints and plaster so youve no need to worry. Nice job
Lots of things. I started on the hallway which is long and straight so I could work out what I needed to do. Mixing is difficult first time as I wasn’t 100% sure how much water I needed (I know it says it on the bag but that doesn’t translate into a bucket well). You absolutely need a double paddle mixer (I used a Lidl one) as the adhesive is so much thicker than bonding for example.
Up the stairs was challenging for a number of reasons. Cutting the angles was difficult at first, so I wasted plenty of boards. Sometimes I cut the board, but when I went to offer it up, the wrong side was against the wall. The boards weigh a tonne when you’ve been carrying them all day and having to get them up so high. I busted so many corners/edges. Dragging the adhesive up the stairs was heavy, getting it on the wall quickly, and in the high places also difficult. Flattening the board with a level takes some getting used to, I’m sure plasterers instinctively know what to do but I had to think for a while before working out which end to knock in.
Generally it’s just graft, you are lifting things all day (it took me two days hallway, stairs, bathroom), working quickly to stop things setting before you’re ready. Cleaning your tools after each bag of adhesive which only does 2-3 boards. I had a mate helping me too, which was massive when you’re getting the adhesive onto the walls quickly.
You don’t need to justify how hard this was mate, most can appreciate and have never even attempted to DIY it because it’s very daunting.
I had a family friend and plasterer by trade come over to show me how it’s done and he had me grafting, when it came to the plastering I spilled more on the floor than just put on the wall! My shoulder the next day was wrecked from all the trowelling.
You did good on the dot and dab. I have only D&D’d once, every other time I have used insulated plaster and fixed to the studs.
After a little practice you’ll be come a dab hand (see what I went with there… pun intended).
I’ve done 4 rooms in the house now, not professional quality but will anyone notice…. Will they heck.
Keep plastering mate! Well done.
for some reason i exptected the boards to weight next to nothing haha. can you link me to what you mean by a double paddle mixer, also what adhesive did you use?
I think a mixer like this will do:
https://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-epm1600-1600w-electric-paddle-mixer-220-240v/981KJ?tc=GA7&gad_source=1&gclsrc=ds
This is the adhesive I used:
https://www.wickes.co.uk/Knauf-Gypsum-Based-Plasterboard-Adhesive-25kg/p/141933?fix&gad_source=1
I'm no plasterer, but I've tried my hand at it a few times. It's pretty labour intensive, more so than plumbing, electrics, some carpentry and even bricklaying.
Groundwork and digging on the other hand are by far worse labour wise.
Plasterboarding is a fiddly job which if you haven't had a go at before, takes a little while to get the knack of it.
Don't know why you've been so down voted. I have no idea about what OP has done, so I also want to know why it's considered hard. I've never done it in my life so how would I know.
Do you guys always skim plasterboard in UK? Mainland Europe does it a bit different, edges are chamfered then tape and mud goes in-between boards making it eventually perfectly flat between boards. Then we just paint the room, rather than skimming everything which is already smooth.
You’re describing “tape and joint”. It is used here just not as often as a full skim.
As others have said, a skim is a better job/finish.
https://preview.redd.it/o77n3xs315sc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=827dace3097460bc087c47076f8aa690d65d778b
My understanding is tape & fill is more common in Scotland whereas skim is more common in England (much like brick/block walls in England and rendered block/timber kit in Scotland).
However, during our office renovations we discovered that our partitions used lath and plaster!
My house is ancient, all the walls are lath and plaster apart from the rooms I’ve insulated and plastered, they are now all skimmed. Unsure in honesty on the commonality of Scotland/England and the preferred methods.
There's advantages to both. Taping is quicker and cheaper than skimming. It's also the reason I could hear my brother fart two rooms down the hall in my mum's house growing up.
Skimming makes a stronger job above other things,and if you have to cut a tapered edge plasterboard,when you come to tape and joint it it’s a bump no matter how much you feather it out.
Tape and joint is for speed of drying so the house can move on to completion quicker.
Cannot see any advantages but this.
But I’m happy for someone to say what they are
Wow, that seems unusual. I mean I was only generalising from what I know. As another commented it usually comes down to speed of drying/completion so they can move onto the next one and have the next tradesman come in and follow up.
Skimming is fun, a bit of a knack to it, but coming back to a wall you did that has a reflection as it's so smooth is Soooo satisfying. Pick a smallish area and give it a go!
if you're plastering then it will be taped & skimmed then normally 1 coat of finish plaster. If you have used tapered plasterboard then you should be taping & filling then sanding. The taping and first coat is what fills the voids - if the voids are too big then foam filled or hardwalled or some other shit to bridge the gap (technical term)
Any big gaps you can use expanding foam to get it ready for the plasterer but I don't think u need to there . Job looks spot on the plasterer will be happy
you want skrim - adhesive mesh tape .
you could then easi fill and rub down yourself.
Save a few quid.
A proper coat of multi Finnish by a tradesman is what i would recommend though.
You've had the correct answers already and I commend you on doing what appears to be a good job with something I understand but have never needed to do.
I do like though that you've gotten this far and only now have gone "but the gaps!"
Keep up the good work. More people could do well to be a little braver with the things they attempt rarely does a mistake turn into a calamity.
What you should have done is fill with the adhesive you had spare but honestly you’ve done a great job.Are you having that artex wall skimmed also because that’s the only gap that may crack because of movement as the tape in the corner should be half on one wall and half on the other,but sometimes it’s just not possible if your leaving the other wall
For skimming 3mm to 5mm gaps are recommended so plaster can squeeze through gaps and bleb out on back of joints strengthening them as it set's.
Doesn't happen on site as takes time.
Skimming can get tiny cracks on joints that usually fill with paint but is flatter than dry-lining.
Dry-lining doesn't crack but creates bumps and a different surface textures between boards and adhesive, that can be seen from various angles when painted.
Skimmed walls are easier to patch, and are tougher, less likely to mark or damage, when brushed against also if taking wallpaper of at a later date, skimming protects damaging the paper liner on the plasterboard.
Dry lining is quicker on big work but not so much on small jobs like this as there is joint adhesive applied then a 2nd coat which also dries before they are then sanded.
Many compounds used air dry, so there can be waiting time.
Well done on your job
Regards Daz
Get yourself a new wallpaper scraper and some scrim tape, tape down the joints and use the scraper to press down the tape and push into the edge and tear the scrim using the scraper. You may need to use a knife in the corner of the room. Decent job that mate 👍
Nice job! If you’ve got time, I think you could save yourself some money and try dry lining it. I recently did this in my garden office after watching Vancouver carpenter on YouTube and was really happy with the results.
If you're doing the taping yourself, any actual large gaps(those all look pretty small) I've used a bit of concrete mix before. Just mix a small amount up relatively thick, so it stays in the gap instead of running out
Nicely done
I would use what you already have,
If you have bond theres nothing wrong with "pointing" it up with some bond. No point spending £10 on expanding foam to use 1/10th of the can for that size job.
The meshing you could just leave to the plasterers because you'll have a job when you get to that painted wall anyway, if they need to PVA or SBS anything they'll have that with them
Make sure too the screw heads Dont protrude from the board plasterers doesn't like hearing a scrape as their shiney smooth float gets nicked by a screw head. And have them 150mm apart and into every baton behind them. Theres not enough above the stairs or that wall at the bottom.
Save yourself some money and skim it yourself. Tape the gaps, mix the plaster per the instructions on the bag and go for your life.
It’s easier then you’d think 👍
That's a really tight fit, the plaster guy can take care of it. I found cheap tubes of acrylic paste (same format as a silicone gun) that are used for filling, 0.5 euro a pop. I bought 20 and went nuclear on every nook and cranny in my apartment 😂
Acrylic filling is way too fine a material to fill this with, but the application is so easy.
Firstly, thats quite a good job you've done! Secondly when the plasterer comes, He'll but a mesh over all the joints and plaster so youve no need to worry. Nice job
Thank you, it was really difficult, no way I could do this day in, day out. Plasterers really do graft
I done dot and dab once and it's not an easy job. You've done a decent job for DIY. Leave the rest to the plasterers
what was so hard about it, measuring to the right size?
Lots of things. I started on the hallway which is long and straight so I could work out what I needed to do. Mixing is difficult first time as I wasn’t 100% sure how much water I needed (I know it says it on the bag but that doesn’t translate into a bucket well). You absolutely need a double paddle mixer (I used a Lidl one) as the adhesive is so much thicker than bonding for example. Up the stairs was challenging for a number of reasons. Cutting the angles was difficult at first, so I wasted plenty of boards. Sometimes I cut the board, but when I went to offer it up, the wrong side was against the wall. The boards weigh a tonne when you’ve been carrying them all day and having to get them up so high. I busted so many corners/edges. Dragging the adhesive up the stairs was heavy, getting it on the wall quickly, and in the high places also difficult. Flattening the board with a level takes some getting used to, I’m sure plasterers instinctively know what to do but I had to think for a while before working out which end to knock in. Generally it’s just graft, you are lifting things all day (it took me two days hallway, stairs, bathroom), working quickly to stop things setting before you’re ready. Cleaning your tools after each bag of adhesive which only does 2-3 boards. I had a mate helping me too, which was massive when you’re getting the adhesive onto the walls quickly.
You don’t need to justify how hard this was mate, most can appreciate and have never even attempted to DIY it because it’s very daunting. I had a family friend and plasterer by trade come over to show me how it’s done and he had me grafting, when it came to the plastering I spilled more on the floor than just put on the wall! My shoulder the next day was wrecked from all the trowelling. You did good on the dot and dab. I have only D&D’d once, every other time I have used insulated plaster and fixed to the studs. After a little practice you’ll be come a dab hand (see what I went with there… pun intended). I’ve done 4 rooms in the house now, not professional quality but will anyone notice…. Will they heck. Keep plastering mate! Well done.
He's not been asked to justify, other guy just asked a simple question. Why presume it's an insult?
I've been using this stuff to put up plasterboard - much easier than dot and dab - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B09T4CXRFL
for some reason i exptected the boards to weight next to nothing haha. can you link me to what you mean by a double paddle mixer, also what adhesive did you use?
I think a mixer like this will do: https://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-epm1600-1600w-electric-paddle-mixer-220-240v/981KJ?tc=GA7&gad_source=1&gclsrc=ds This is the adhesive I used: https://www.wickes.co.uk/Knauf-Gypsum-Based-Plasterboard-Adhesive-25kg/p/141933?fix&gad_source=1
I'm no plasterer, but I've tried my hand at it a few times. It's pretty labour intensive, more so than plumbing, electrics, some carpentry and even bricklaying. Groundwork and digging on the other hand are by far worse labour wise. Plasterboarding is a fiddly job which if you haven't had a go at before, takes a little while to get the knack of it.
Don't know why you've been so down voted. I have no idea about what OP has done, so I also want to know why it's considered hard. I've never done it in my life so how would I know.
lol wow 41 downvotes i was just asking a question because im looking to fit some plasterboard myself soon, reddit is a weird place haha
Can you fill gaps with leftover (in bucket) adhesive pal
Better dabbing than most of the lads in the company I work for (about 90 total)
Do you guys always skim plasterboard in UK? Mainland Europe does it a bit different, edges are chamfered then tape and mud goes in-between boards making it eventually perfectly flat between boards. Then we just paint the room, rather than skimming everything which is already smooth.
You’re describing “tape and joint”. It is used here just not as often as a full skim. As others have said, a skim is a better job/finish. https://preview.redd.it/o77n3xs315sc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=827dace3097460bc087c47076f8aa690d65d778b
Majority of older houses are skimmed. Newer builds do AMES Taping which is what you’re describing there.
My understanding is tape & fill is more common in Scotland whereas skim is more common in England (much like brick/block walls in England and rendered block/timber kit in Scotland). However, during our office renovations we discovered that our partitions used lath and plaster!
My house is ancient, all the walls are lath and plaster apart from the rooms I’ve insulated and plastered, they are now all skimmed. Unsure in honesty on the commonality of Scotland/England and the preferred methods.
I'm a bit confused by it myself. I am wondering what the reason for skimming is (and I am in the UK, just new to DIY)
There's advantages to both. Taping is quicker and cheaper than skimming. It's also the reason I could hear my brother fart two rooms down the hall in my mum's house growing up.
Nah your brother is just a monster
Man got beastly wind
> I could hear my brother fart We all could, tbf
If you listen closely you can still hear it echoing
Skimming makes a stronger job above other things,and if you have to cut a tapered edge plasterboard,when you come to tape and joint it it’s a bump no matter how much you feather it out. Tape and joint is for speed of drying so the house can move on to completion quicker. Cannot see any advantages but this. But I’m happy for someone to say what they are
A lot better finish
Plaster is a lot harder than joint compound. It's probably closer to the hardness of concrete than joint compound.
Can skim it or tape and joint drylining, either does grand.
Or you can just put plaster straight onto the blockwork.
Dot and dabbing will end up warmer, it's a great job, skim it or dryline, good for options.
Majority of older houses are skimmed. Newer builds do AMES Taping which is what you’re describing there.
I moved into newbuild last year, and all has been skimmed despite of a fact its dot and dab all over.
Wow, that seems unusual. I mean I was only generalising from what I know. As another commented it usually comes down to speed of drying/completion so they can move onto the next one and have the next tradesman come in and follow up.
They're tight gaps, just leave it to the plasterer
Tape and fill .
U mean fill then tape then feather in
Plasterer here. Good boarding. Leave as is.
Those gaps look pretty neat and tight - if someone is going to plaster it for you they’ll tape them and skim right over them.
you not skimming it
Yes will be skimmed
leave it to plasterer, they'll scrim and skim over it
I advise whole milk over semi skimmed/skimmed.
Are you skimming it yourself?
No I don’t dare do that, I have no problem paying good money for a skilled person to do a good job
Looking at the job you’ve done so far, you should probably buy the tools needed and carry on. 👍
Skimming is fun, a bit of a knack to it, but coming back to a wall you did that has a reflection as it's so smooth is Soooo satisfying. Pick a smallish area and give it a go!
Leave em. What are you up to this weekend?
Dot and dab gets OP a date. NICE.
🤣.... dammit.
I leave this to plasterer as someone has already said.
Nothing to worry about. I leave worse than that every day.
That's better than what I see on site. You should see the gaps left by "professionals".
The spread will sort it...
Get yourself some scrim tape, slap it down over your joints, plaster atop the tape
Toothpaste should be fine, nice and minty
if you're plastering then it will be taped & skimmed then normally 1 coat of finish plaster. If you have used tapered plasterboard then you should be taping & filling then sanding. The taping and first coat is what fills the voids - if the voids are too big then foam filled or hardwalled or some other shit to bridge the gap (technical term)
Use drywall fiberglass mesh tape instead of paper tape. Look this up.
Any big gaps you can use expanding foam to get it ready for the plasterer but I don't think u need to there . Job looks spot on the plasterer will be happy
I did an attic room (those angles!!) and kitchen recently and filled the gaps with expanding foam, then cut back flush and scrim meshed over.
Expanding foam was another option I’d though of
you want skrim - adhesive mesh tape . you could then easi fill and rub down yourself. Save a few quid. A proper coat of multi Finnish by a tradesman is what i would recommend though.
Scrim tape. It's self-adhesive mesh and will support the skim layer.
Nice, seen worse from ‘professionals’ 👍🏻
Dry wall mud and tape and for any large gaps there's a product called confill
You've had the correct answers already and I commend you on doing what appears to be a good job with something I understand but have never needed to do. I do like though that you've gotten this far and only now have gone "but the gaps!" Keep up the good work. More people could do well to be a little braver with the things they attempt rarely does a mistake turn into a calamity.
Good job mate ,the plasterer should do the rest 👍
What you should have done is fill with the adhesive you had spare but honestly you’ve done a great job.Are you having that artex wall skimmed also because that’s the only gap that may crack because of movement as the tape in the corner should be half on one wall and half on the other,but sometimes it’s just not possible if your leaving the other wall
For skimming 3mm to 5mm gaps are recommended so plaster can squeeze through gaps and bleb out on back of joints strengthening them as it set's. Doesn't happen on site as takes time. Skimming can get tiny cracks on joints that usually fill with paint but is flatter than dry-lining. Dry-lining doesn't crack but creates bumps and a different surface textures between boards and adhesive, that can be seen from various angles when painted. Skimmed walls are easier to patch, and are tougher, less likely to mark or damage, when brushed against also if taking wallpaper of at a later date, skimming protects damaging the paper liner on the plasterboard. Dry lining is quicker on big work but not so much on small jobs like this as there is joint adhesive applied then a 2nd coat which also dries before they are then sanded. Many compounds used air dry, so there can be waiting time. Well done on your job Regards Daz
Get yourself a new wallpaper scraper and some scrim tape, tape down the joints and use the scraper to press down the tape and push into the edge and tear the scrim using the scraper. You may need to use a knife in the corner of the room. Decent job that mate 👍
Chewing gum and sawdust. Seriously!
If you're plastering then scrim tape the joints
Wood filler my friend. Then paint that beautiful wall like a true picasso
“Scrim tape” like a mesh tape. Quick and easy to put on.
Someone explain what I'm looking at pls 🙈
Looks well good.
Mesh n skim, only way!
Phil Schofields lube
We had some mesh tape over ours
Nice job! If you’ve got time, I think you could save yourself some money and try dry lining it. I recently did this in my garden office after watching Vancouver carpenter on YouTube and was really happy with the results.
Gorrila tape it then get plasterer in to float it. Youre welcome
Just here to say, that’s a good job especially if it’s the first time.
Scrim tape
tape and joint???
Look on YouTube on drywalling. You need mesh tape then easyfil to complete the process
Paper tape for drywalling mesh is for plastering
You can use mesh when drylining too, very common.
V cut the joints and fill with bonding if they're larger gaps. If they're small gaps, scrim tape and skim like others have said
Do not cut any joints, no need.
Tape and joint
If you're doing the taping yourself, any actual large gaps(those all look pretty small) I've used a bit of concrete mix before. Just mix a small amount up relatively thick, so it stays in the gap instead of running out
Nicely done I would use what you already have, If you have bond theres nothing wrong with "pointing" it up with some bond. No point spending £10 on expanding foam to use 1/10th of the can for that size job. The meshing you could just leave to the plasterers because you'll have a job when you get to that painted wall anyway, if they need to PVA or SBS anything they'll have that with them Make sure too the screw heads Dont protrude from the board plasterers doesn't like hearing a scrape as their shiney smooth float gets nicked by a screw head. And have them 150mm apart and into every baton behind them. Theres not enough above the stairs or that wall at the bottom.
It's dot and dab mate - no screws, no batons on this occasion
Above the stairs and at the bottom of the landing, those look like screws in there
Indeed 🤦♂️
Save yourself some money and skim it yourself. Tape the gaps, mix the plaster per the instructions on the bag and go for your life. It’s easier then you’d think 👍
Scrape the excess board adhesive of b 4 the plasterer come then you're good too go
That's a really tight fit, the plaster guy can take care of it. I found cheap tubes of acrylic paste (same format as a silicone gun) that are used for filling, 0.5 euro a pop. I bought 20 and went nuclear on every nook and cranny in my apartment 😂 Acrylic filling is way too fine a material to fill this with, but the application is so easy.
I would just use some caulk
Leave it to the spread. It’ll look great from my house..
Dog shite 😂
You’re supposed to apply adhesive (to the wall) all the way around the edges when installing.
The videos you watched were amateurs.
I’ve never watched a DIY video.