Sure, it’s that time of the year especially if you happen to reside in the southern hemisphere and you may be planning to plaster your interiors and even apply a new coat of paint for the whole house. Sounds fantastic but if you are the sort who happens to be dead set on trimming costs by opting to handle this as a DIY project, then you need to read this.
Check out some of the common mistakes that most homeowners often make, when plastering for the first time.
Too thick
One of the mistakes that most homeowners often make is plastering the surface with a thick layer. That’s why, when it comes to plastering in Auckland, most homeowners opt to call in a professional to handle it. But if you are still determined to handle it on your own, then you need to take care that the plaster you apply to the wall is not too thick. You need to remove all the dust, grime, and old traces of plaster by sanding it first before you apply the plaster.
This will prevent the new layer from bonding with the wall properly and may even drop to the ground. And that’s why you need to take care when you need to take care to ensure that you do not plaster the wall too thick. And to ensure that the plaster sticks firmly to the surface, make sure that you sand the surface properly and remove all the dust as well as oil and grease stains completely.
The composition matters
When it comes to plaster, you need to be careful when you get the mixture ready. Just make sure that you use the right composition and that you do not add too much water. If you end up adding too much water or the wall is damp for some reason, applying fresh plaster would only cause cracks to develop as it evaporates. Or worse, it won’t even set properly and all of this can cause the wet plaster to fall apart as it dries up.
Cracks in the plaster
There can be several reasons as to why your newly applied plaster has started to develop. Usually, these are termed shrinkage cracks which can be caused due to various reasons as the excess moisture is absorbed by the underlying wall.
And if you happen to leave these cracks unattended, they would become larger and the cracks, wider. This is why you need to get this sorted out at the earliest so that the various cracks can be repaired at the earliest.
Blistering
As you prepare your plaster mix, you need to take care that you prepare it as per instructions provided and follow the same diligently. Even a late slaking of lime in the plaster can cause your plaster to blister and appear as a blemish. The only option to get this sorted out is to remove all traces of the old plaster and to get the wall plastered professionally.
These are some of the common mistakes that you need to avoid when plastering a wall.
