as a tiler, whenever someone says 'we have a plasterer coming in first to get the walls ready' i always shudder, 90% of the walls i'm given are nice and shiny and are never flat enough to even stick small tiles on, let alone these massive 900mm tiles that are popular at the moment, well done mate on highlighting the right way to straighten up wonky walls .. :) cheers bud
That’s because the tight arse customers only want you to skim it they don’t want you dubbing out as it costs more and they all ways say its just for the tiles to go over
@@ksmith7611no mate you can. You can’t tile onto bonding or hard wall. You’re just limited to 20kg/sqm weight with plastered walls which is pointless is walls are boarded well, as the plasterboard holds 32kg/sqm before the skim!
@@muhammada5178 in 25 years of removing tiles i've found that tiles on bonding is better than skim, although removing them will take the bonding off the wall with it if sealed correctly, often back to the brickwork. but i agree that plasterboard is the best for large format & porcelain tiles , unfortunately Tile shops are selling tiles to the public that are unsuitable for average housebuilds in the U.K.
@@Lemon-squeezer this is why many customers either get a massive shock when theyre told the walls are unsuitable and require levelling again, or end up with a really crap tiling job. next time a customer says that to you, explain how important it is to get a nice finish from the tiler, it will save them alot of heartache in the end.
Here in Latin America during phase 1 (prep day) and depending on how big the wall is, master plasters make 2 guiders with plaster (around 2 inches wide) and use a level on both of them, making sure is perfectly straight from top to bottom. Next day when they plaster the whole wall, the aluminum scratches perfectly using the dried plaster from previous day as base guiders. Works great
As a drywall finisher in USA, there's always something mystical about plaster to me. It's a classy trade and the bonding agents, scratch coat add a lot of steps. I have actually plastered the exterior of a house before. I was 14 though. There's tradeoffs, with joint compound I can fix a big hole in a wall, tape it, float it, and have it painted it an hour. But plaster has the durable, quality feeling. I could make a lot of money doing plaster repairs here in the USA, we don't have enough skilled drywallers, let alone plasterers
Respect there mate as a Plasterer for 40 years bathrooms are the worst jobs of all I’d say, no room to swing a cat, bathroom installers and tilers all think you can plaster them in a few hours and work you do doesn’t get seen at the end of the job as it’s all behind the tiles, well done good vid 👍🏻
i know, us Tilers get most of the praise on completion, but i always appreciate the chaps who prep the room , it's the most important of the process, except maube the Plumber, LOL
Plasterers prepping walls for Tile. Never heard of it in California. Old tilers took care of prepping their own walls. The Building Code allows up to a 1/4 variation in 4-5 ft. Straight edge for exterior plastered walls. No good for tilers. However in UK or other countries it’s interesting that plasterers would do that prep and understand what’s necessary for tile work.
Agree wholeheartedly. I can attest from experience as a tiler, plasterer responsible for everything from design, to demolition, making good and true through to tiling, grouting and siliconing, whilst traversing every error made by plumbers and electricians along the way.
A vital aspect of plastering that is all but forgotten or ignored. Dot and dab generation have never been taught this skill. My 1mtr and 2mtr feather edge's are 2 of my most important pieces of equipment. Well done mate keep up the good work.
👍Sometimes i'd dab/level up 3" wide strips of plasterboard floor to ceiling in 1mtr bays, float up bays in no time using the strips as guide for straight edge then pop them out and fill in.
I appreciate its a tutorial but if walls where flat why not dab backer board direct onto walls ...much better sub base for tiling in this particular bathroom ? Love the vids BTW
Well I won’t be devil floating and having to scrape down anymore cheers mate 👍🏻 been plastering 15 yrs 38 now 😅 always put a key in to be honest in the past
As a retired wall and floor tiler great to see this. My apprenticeship was old school using sand and cement, knock off and render making sure of level and plumb. Sand and cement still great but also modern products too. Well done.😊
Nice one kirk always a pleasure to watch your videos been in the building trade nearly 40 years and you still teach me new tricks keep up the good work mate 😊
Most of the plastering I’ve seen in England would result in nonpayment in places like Poland or Germany. After plastering is done they come with massive 2m+ level, push it against the wall and shine bright light on one side. Building standard demands the wall to be flat across that distance. We use rough plaster under coat that goes on the brickwork, only then actual plasterer comes in and does the final coat using finishing white plaster that’s NOT cement based. It’s softer allowing for the wall to be sanded down, then primed giving you the above mentioned flatness.
Great vid, you mention you have to put bonding on painted walls before plastering. Can you not prime with PVA to create the adhesion? Im getting differing answers.
Hello Kirk, Is the second coat at 7:00 Bonding as well & how thick can it be put on without sagging? Also is checking for Level and Plumb done during or at the end of laying on the Bonding? Great videos 👍
Question, I've taken on a job today, what consists of dry rot , bad dry rot aswell..I've taken the plaster off back to brick , and have found the bricks are soaked and corroded.what sealer would you suggest to use in the bricks before I float it out? I'd usually use PVA but I'm not sure that suck into the brick work..cheers .
good work, you are right about modern plasterers for example l rendered my mate's house on the outside he could not do it on his own he is a PLASTERER, but still he helped me and learnt a lot, keep up the good vids
This guy is young and strong as an Ox most of us couldn't pull this off, I would like to see him get these walls ready for painting, that would be next level.
Thanks for the video. Could you use Hardwall after priming a brick wall with SBR or would Bonding Coat be more suitable because SBR kills the sunction?
Kirk, can you do some solid wall plastering. Particularly internal exterior walls like window walls and how to combat them. Im facing an issue where i cant baton and foil back the board due to the style of window and unsure on rendering and skimming without stopping damp etc. Quite new to the game. It would be great to see. Your content is great. Elliot
Regarding the Devil-Float? .... Your Dad is Right! ... Most! Plasterers think it's all about KEY! ... It's NOT! .... Thistle/Siraphite/Statite would ALWAYS stick to Sand & Cement Render whether 'keyed' or not! ... The purpose of the Devil-Float is primarily to get the surface 'Flat & Closed' ... Rather like using a 'Cross-Grain' as the No2 Float in a 3 x coat finish .... When you can lay a render wall on pretty flat anyway, you don't need a rule - Just a GOOD Devil-Float and it'll come out Perfect!! 👍🤠
Good one kirk . Is scratch coat cement ? If that was leveled can the tiles go straigh onto that , as i know tile cement is a really adhesive. If the wall is flat , could you not put tile cement on first ? As i was working with another experienced plasterer using tile cement on a painted block wall , then plastered over the tile cement . What do you recon about that Kirk
Kirk how far do you travel for a customer. Like your work and will need u in future for full house replaster. L40 postcode ( ormskirk/aughton ways is that to far?
Nice video thanks, but what next? If you cant skim it for a few days, presumably you're into sealing it (with SBR?). Then will multifinish key to it ok?
I'm off to Denmark to do a friends bathroom for him (plumber) and he has breeze block walls which i know ill have to sort out so this video is very helpful. cheers Mate for the guide how to not have a tiling nightmare. I will of course be tanking sealing everything...
I have a question for you. I'm renovating an extremely old house that was built with brick and clay mortar. The joints were completely gone, it looked like the bricks where held up by air and sheer refusal to fall over alone. I've covered the walls with a metal mesh, then primed them with a watery sand-cement mix. I then put a vertical line of sand-cement on every meter or so which I leveled. (the was were significantly out of plum) Then filled up the space between with more sand-cement. In the first room I did I then wen't over with gypsum finishing plaster, and that turned out to be a major mistake. I put on 2 coats with a fibreglass mesh stuck in between but the result is shit. It looks absolutely terrible. What can I do to fix this and get my walls nice and smooth and level? Also, I''m puting on the sand-cement in the next room. What can I do to make sure I get it right the first time? Thanks for your great content. I subbed immediately!
I feel your pain. Did a job in an old terrace house years back the walls knocked off to brick. The supporting wall between the front and back room was double brick no cavity. On one side it was 4 inch out at the top to nothing at the bottom vice verser on other side. It was solid even though 100 years old. We screwed roof lattes to it each side and middle packing them out so as plumb to use as rails for our feather edges left to dry remove lattes and fill. Then plaster. Sometimes you're faced with a pile of shite which cannot be polished, but you can sprinkle glitter on it mate. Keep going always a way.
Whever ive used bonding its not grey?! Is this a different brand? Im a kitchen fitter so i always fill chases etc before my plasterer comes to save him time
Fun mathematical fact: if you darby a surface horizontally and darby it vertically over and over again, until straight both ways, it doesn't mean it is flat. Rather it can be a "bilinear surface" - look that up. So checking at odd angles may be important.
I believe both you and @NiktheEnglishGreekCypriot are wrong. If your straight edge is long enough to go wall to wall, ceiling to floor, then your surface might not be plumb but will be straight and possibly flat.
@@DMark-c3r I really do mean it as a mathematical fact. A bilinear surface has the horizontals and verticals as all perfectly straight lines, yet the diagonals are curved. So if you darby a surface to perfection both horizontally and vertically, you can still end up with a curved surface. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing! If the four edges of the wall are not coplanar then the wall cannot be a plane. The curving may be imperceptible and practically necessary.
@@marklundeberg7006 I know you do. But just for a second try imagining a straight edge moving from the floor up to the ceiling without you ever seeing any gap between the edge and the plaster surface, and then do the same thing while moving it from left to right....and tell me what you see? Flat surface or you still see some curvature in the corners? If you have problem imagining it, just put a piece of paper on the table and move a ruler across the paper, up and down, left to right...no gap, right? Now move the paper to the table edge and let it hang in one corner (to simulate your "curve") and move the ruler. When you pass over that "hanging" corner you will see a gap between paper and the ruler. That gap is not there when a whole piece of paper is flat on the table.
Some years ago, I began learning three coat plaster in the wake of a disaster involving joint compound on old plaster walls. Entire first floor of a house and an orbital sander with a serious grit to reverse the mistake. It hurt. Finding no one in the NY metro area to at least give me pointers, I embarked on my own trial and error program-do I really have to say mostly error?! Recently, I decided to attempt a screeding concept using metal corner beads. Yeah, kinda pathetic. But how to achieve those elusive flat walls that I just could never get? Well, I own a feather board and a Darby, but I was uncertain just how to use either? This video has provided the next steps of my learning process that would have taken a lot more time without it. I really appreciate your instruction. Thank you so very much for your time and your effort.
Kirk l am a 77 year old retired plasterer 30 odd years ago l was working on the construction of new swimming baths li was my job to float the block work to take mosaic tiles The blockwork was not good On day one the clerk of works said to me what is the general tolerance in the plastering trade so l said 3 mil on a 2 metre rule He said not on this site on here it is 2 mil So l had to do plumb and dot work to the sand and cement on all the walls All my work was checked with laser levels The good news was that the tilers were so pleased with my work that they kept giving me boxes of mosaic tiles
Hi kirk You said sand and cement. On block brick. What would be your ideal ratio first second coat. If you where on the sand and cement route. What would you do pva or the tride and trusted. Cheers kirk. 🏴👍
The whole point of keying a wall was to provide a mechanical key for skim coat, if you look closely at bonding you will see tiny pockets and holes for skimming to grab onto . This is what the old timers fail to understand, it has its own key
Just as well ya left the loo there... those pot noodles'll go right through ya !! 🙄😂 Whilst I really appreciate you demonstrating the process here, as a 66y.o. DIYer myself, restoring a 100y.o. farmers cottage, I prefer to do other work and leave this stuff to those who have the years of experience, playing to your strengths is important. I simply don't have time to build experience but I DO like to understand the process...been subbed a good while now too ! 😎👍 One job I did do here was to rout out the old lime mortar between the stone using a cordless drill & a 1/2" masonry bit to almost 6" depth ( doing sections at a time so it didn't collapse in on me !! 😮) and re-pointing every single sq. inch of the inside of the exterior wall surfaces... the old stuff was virtually just sand, spilling out... 🙄 No DPC in the floors so I put a layer of 25mm rigid insulation down followed by poly followed by 22mm flooring ply and laminate flooring on top (vinyl laminate in the kitchen /bathroom) I would have liked more floor insulation but was limited by the internal doorway heights... Speaking of doorways, when re-pointing the walls over the doors, I found old tree branches used as lintels !! 😂 they crumbled when I just looked at them ! 😮... new concrete lintels were installed, heavy work on yer own .. 😤 I lowered every ceiling by a foot, dry-lined, plumbed and re-wired ... and filled it with rigid foil-backed insulation , 8" in the ceilings, 3" in the studded walls ( I built 3 x 2 studded internal walls stepped an inch away from the old stone external walls to allow for breathing up into the vented loft area) and 38mm insulated drywall over that for a 100% thermal break... Thank you for your channel, its hard work, I'm sure... but it is appreciated !! From the West of Ireland 😎👍☘️🍺
As a bathroom fitter (not tiler!) if the whole wall is uneven I simply fix plaster board to the wall for tiling or a skim coat of plaster. Could this have been done in the bathroom in the video?
Kirk you better have put a rip of plywood over that lintel where you dot & dabbed above that window? Because us Carpenters get asked to put some curtain poles/rails up & you blimming plasterers have just dot & dabbed & there is nothing there to get a decent fixing to. Now we got that bollocking out of the way, keep up the vids you do some great videos & very informative 😊
Good luck hanging curtain pole brackets on whirlie fixings into plaster board & there is no brickwork where the steel/lintel is. I been a Carpenter & Joiner for 37yrs so more than the familiar with the nothing to fix to above the window nonsense. We always do some solid blocking in steels where we think brackets might go but a solid rip of plywood/OSB just solves the problem completely & isn't hard to do at the time.
Great info for a avid DIY-er like myself thanks matey she’s gonna think I’m a legend when I mess the bathroom walls up 😂😂 but talk like I know what I’m doing 👍👊
on the trowel - please can you tell me whats the best thing to put internaly on a pebble dashed solid wall in a lean to outhouse being made in to a kitchen, i was thinking a waterproof cement scratch coat ? thank you
So bonding coat is light, sand and cement is fairly heavy. I'm not saying it wouldn't stay on if it was thin but I wouldn't like to guarantee it. Probably not worth taking the chance. It's the same with hardwall, it would probably be OK but we have a product that is specifically for it. Don't fancy taking any chances when my tiles have cost a small fortune 😂😂
@@Onthetrowel I think I understand by what you mean with low suction background. I've DIY my render on bare brick and blocks and applied SBR but did not let in fully go dry. I applied S&C on the fairly wet SBR so I could get a better adhesion. I've also done my render mix with water and 3 parts SBR. Hopefully nothing wrong with that and the render won't start falling. I also thought about the whole thing falling which is why I'm going to stick XPS boards on top of the render with adhesive in the bathroom and mechanically fix each board with multiple concrete screws. I just wish I knew some tips when I first started but the internet is so big that I don't know where to go for information. Wish I had someone like you I could ask haha. Thanks for replying
More quality work very well explained. Obvious to see your pride in your profession. Nice to see your daughters car getting sorted too 🤣All pays the bills. 👍. Thanks for taking the time to film and edit. All the best Pete
Doesn't need to be anything fancy, just look down it and make sure its straight. The negative reviews will likely be from people that struggle to use them. I'm sure mine is a "benson hand tools"
Funny I was thinking why bother with the skim coats if you are tiling it anyway, reading the comments some say that they won’t stick to bonding coat, can’t understand why as that tile adhesive sticks to most things 🤷♂️🤷♂️
Sure, not much to them really mate, you just cut it to the right size and nail them in. Try a d push them ontthe outside skin when nailing them to the inside skin as you can only fix one side so by pushing it you basically wedge it so it can't flap around
@@Onthetrowel Fantastic. As soon as you mentioned them on the video my ears pointed north. I didn't know these existed and still figuring out how to close the gap. Thank you so much for replying so quickly. Bacon sarny on me!
I only plaster at home every few years just replaced some heaters watching you I realise I'm a far too harsh Critic of my work. I get frustrated at how long it takes me to get a good finish. Cheers me up when AC installers and the original fitter said I can't see any sign of the Hole I made and was there a heater here. Still hate plastering.
What is alarming me u are buring cable in the bounding/plaster. It is correct? In italy is forbidden since like 40 years ago. Btw really educational video on plastering
Hi Kirk, as my brother who has taught me a lot about plastering. Since you’ve helped me become a better plasterer, as a bathroom specialist myself. I just thought I’d mention that you should have used Sand and Cement instead of the bonding and tiled straight onto that, this would have allowed you to put any tile onto the wall.. Whilst your method is also correct you are now limited to 20kg per sqm in tiles and adhesive and grout once you skim the walls this is again if tiling the walls meaning your safest bet is to use a ceramic wall tile and not porcelain as it would be too heavy. Regards Shiv. Hopefully this comment reaches you before you get to tiling. If you would like me to do it for you for free pls give me a message id be honoured to help you.
@@Onthetrowel I've mates who.are plumbers tilers etc.tried there hand.on the trowel.and the room looks like there's been a shit fight . so advise drylineing instead . you personally are one of the cleanest plasters I've watched . I'm the same as you mate .when I've worked with other plasterers .my ocd kicks in with shite every were .served my time .always told work clean .
Get 15% off Carly with code "TROWEL " when you click - bit.ly/OnTheTrowel_Carly_Offer
I’m not even a plasterer but I’ve just sat through 3 of his videos. Nice fella, clearly knowledgeable
Thanks Dean. Appreciate you mate 🙂👍
as a tiler, whenever someone says 'we have a plasterer coming in first to get the walls ready' i always shudder, 90% of the walls i'm given are nice and shiny and are never flat enough to even stick small tiles on, let alone these massive 900mm tiles that are popular at the moment, well done mate on highlighting the right way to straighten up wonky walls .. :) cheers bud
That’s because the tight arse customers only want you to skim it they don’t want you dubbing out as it costs more and they all ways say its just for the tiles to go over
And you shouldn't tile onto skim neither
@@ksmith7611no mate you can. You can’t tile onto bonding or hard wall. You’re just limited to 20kg/sqm weight with plastered walls which is pointless is walls are boarded well, as the plasterboard holds 32kg/sqm before the skim!
@@muhammada5178 in 25 years of removing tiles i've found that tiles on bonding is better than skim, although removing them will take the bonding off the wall with it if sealed correctly, often back to the brickwork. but i agree that plasterboard is the best for large format & porcelain tiles , unfortunately Tile shops are selling tiles to the public that are unsuitable for average housebuilds in the U.K.
@@Lemon-squeezer this is why many customers either get a massive shock when theyre told the walls are unsuitable and require levelling again, or end up with a really crap tiling job. next time a customer says that to you, explain how important it is to get a nice finish from the tiler, it will save them alot of heartache in the end.
Here in Latin America during phase 1 (prep day) and depending on how big the wall is, master plasters make 2 guiders with plaster (around 2 inches wide) and use a level on both of them, making sure is perfectly straight from top to bottom. Next day when they plaster the whole wall, the aluminum scratches perfectly using the dried plaster from previous day as base guiders. Works great
As a drywall finisher in USA, there's always something mystical about plaster to me. It's a classy trade and the bonding agents, scratch coat add a lot of steps. I have actually plastered the exterior of a house before. I was 14 though. There's tradeoffs, with joint compound I can fix a big hole in a wall, tape it, float it, and have it painted it an hour. But plaster has the durable, quality feeling. I could make a lot of money doing plaster repairs here in the USA, we don't have enough skilled drywallers, let alone plasterers
Respect there mate as a Plasterer for 40 years bathrooms are the worst jobs of all I’d say, no room to swing a cat, bathroom installers and tilers all think you can plaster them in a few hours and work you do doesn’t get seen at the end of the job as it’s all behind the tiles, well done good vid 👍🏻
i know, us Tilers get most of the praise on completion, but i always appreciate the chaps who prep the room , it's the most important of the process, except maube the Plumber, LOL
Plasterers prepping walls for Tile. Never heard of it in California. Old tilers took care of prepping their own walls. The Building Code allows up to a 1/4 variation in 4-5 ft. Straight edge for exterior plastered walls. No good for tilers. However in UK or other countries it’s interesting that plasterers would do that prep and understand what’s necessary for tile work.
Agree wholeheartedly. I can attest from experience as a tiler, plasterer responsible for everything from design, to demolition, making good and true through to tiling, grouting and siliconing, whilst traversing every error made by plumbers and electricians along the way.
😄 give us two min. i'll be there in a min, i love that, spoken like a true dad
A vital aspect of plastering that is all but forgotten or ignored. Dot and dab generation have never been taught this skill. My 1mtr and 2mtr feather edge's are 2 of my most important pieces of equipment. Well done mate keep up the good work.
Tips after tips after tips and you can tell he really enjoys passing on his knowledge.
👍Sometimes i'd dab/level up 3" wide strips of plasterboard floor to ceiling in 1mtr bays, float up bays in no time using the strips as guide for straight edge then pop them out and fill in.
I appreciate its a tutorial but if walls where flat why not dab backer board direct onto walls ...much better sub base for tiling in this particular bathroom ? Love the vids BTW
"Not fooling anyone but yourself."
True that.
Got that whole room set and true in a day. Thats awesome.
Well I won’t be devil floating and having to scrape down anymore cheers mate 👍🏻 been plastering 15 yrs 38 now 😅 always put a key in to be honest in the past
I can’t thank you enough for your tutorials. Trying to find the right kinds of plaster mix in the states is a challenge though
Am a plumber , I like watching them , very informative 😊 I do a little plastering , but you have educated me so much.
Keep up the posts 😁👍
i think you are the best plaster in the uk with the care you take .thanks for the video
So nice of you
Love to see your cheerful advice to all who are interested.
As a retired wall and floor tiler great to see this. My apprenticeship was old school using sand and cement, knock off and render making sure of level and plumb. Sand and cement still great but also modern products too. Well done.😊
So few plasterers in the game these days can do a proper job like this. Keep up the good work dude. Save us from dot and dab hell.
Nice one kirk always a pleasure to watch your videos been in the building trade nearly 40 years and you still teach me new tricks keep up the good work mate 😊
Most of the plastering I’ve seen in England would result in nonpayment in places like Poland or Germany. After plastering is done they come with massive 2m+ level, push it against the wall and shine bright light on one side. Building standard demands the wall to be flat across that distance.
We use rough plaster under coat that goes on the brickwork, only then actual plasterer comes in and does the final coat using finishing white plaster that’s NOT cement based. It’s softer allowing for the wall to be sanded down, then primed giving you the above mentioned flatness.
Worth the watch for the Carly advert alone 😅 some top acting, you sure you weren’t on Brookside back in the day?
Great work kirk your a legend to the plastering game and such a nice down to earth genuine guy .😊
Back in the day we used to soft brush inside the shower cubicles instead off doing a flat out trowl up on it so tiler had a good key
Bonding absolute brilliant for patching and levelling up walls ,the only drawback be careful where you use it ,great for drawing damp
Great vid, you mention you have to put bonding on painted walls before plastering. Can you not prime with PVA to create the adhesion? Im getting differing answers.
Did this in college back in 2013....pain in the arse to get flat .but well worth it ...
Nice work pal, I also prefer sand & cement
Hello Kirk, Is the second coat at 7:00 Bonding as well & how thick can it be put on without sagging? Also is checking for Level and Plumb done during or at the end of laying on the Bonding? Great videos 👍
Really liked this one Kirk. When is the vid with screeds coming out? Can't wait!
Ive learnt loads from your videos and advice. Thank you. You have saved me a fortune. Thanks again.
Best plasterer on UA-cam
Thankyou
Great video, thanks for making something so useful. I'm literally doing the same job on a bathroom that looks exactly the same!
Brilliant fella.
Cheers Kirk
You're the "Plaster Master" ❤
I love you're videos
Look forward to your next one
Take it easy
Question, I've taken on a job today, what consists of dry rot , bad dry rot aswell..I've taken the plaster off back to brick , and have found the bricks are soaked and corroded.what sealer would you suggest to use in the bricks before I float it out? I'd usually use PVA but I'm not sure that suck into the brick work..cheers .
good work, you are right about modern plasterers for example l rendered my mate's house on the outside he could not do it on his own he is a PLASTERER, but still he helped me and learnt a lot, keep up the good vids
This guy is young and strong as an Ox most of us couldn't pull this off, I would like to see him get these walls ready for painting, that would be next level.
Thanks for the video. Could you use Hardwall after priming a brick wall with SBR or would Bonding Coat be more suitable because SBR kills the sunction?
Hardwall high suction
Bonding low suction
Your spot on with your reasoning 🙂
Great demonstration Kirk. You are a true skilled tradesman. However as its a bathroom I would have lined it out with insulated tile backer boards.
Kirk, can you do some solid wall plastering. Particularly internal exterior walls like window walls and how to combat them.
Im facing an issue where i cant baton and foil back the board due to the style of window and unsure on rendering and skimming without stopping damp etc. Quite new to the game. It would be great to see.
Your content is great.
Elliot
Regarding the Devil-Float? .... Your Dad is Right! ... Most! Plasterers think it's all about KEY! ... It's NOT! .... Thistle/Siraphite/Statite would ALWAYS stick to Sand & Cement Render whether 'keyed' or not! ... The purpose of the Devil-Float is primarily to get the surface 'Flat & Closed' ... Rather like using a 'Cross-Grain' as the No2 Float in a 3 x coat finish .... When you can lay a render wall on pretty flat anyway, you don't need a rule - Just a GOOD Devil-Float and it'll come out Perfect!! 👍🤠
Good one kirk . Is scratch coat cement ? If that was leveled can the tiles go straigh onto that , as i know tile cement is a really adhesive. If the wall is flat , could you not put tile cement on first ? As i was working with another experienced plasterer using tile cement on a painted block wall , then plastered over the tile cement . What do you recon about that Kirk
Kirk how far do you travel for a customer. Like your work and will need u in future for full house replaster. L40 postcode ( ormskirk/aughton ways is that to far?
Nice video thanks, but what next? If you cant skim it for a few days, presumably you're into sealing it (with SBR?). Then will multifinish key to it ok?
I'm off to Denmark to do a friends bathroom for him (plumber) and he has breeze block walls which i know ill have to sort out so this video is very helpful. cheers Mate for the guide how to not have a tiling nightmare. I will of course be tanking sealing everything...
He's bloody good
I have a question for you. I'm renovating an extremely old house that was built with brick and clay mortar. The joints were completely gone, it looked like the bricks where held up by air and sheer refusal to fall over alone. I've covered the walls with a metal mesh, then primed them with a watery sand-cement mix. I then put a vertical line of sand-cement on every meter or so which I leveled. (the was were significantly out of plum) Then filled up the space between with more sand-cement.
In the first room I did I then wen't over with gypsum finishing plaster, and that turned out to be a major mistake. I put on 2 coats with a fibreglass mesh stuck in between but the result is shit. It looks absolutely terrible. What can I do to fix this and get my walls nice and smooth and level?
Also, I''m puting on the sand-cement in the next room. What can I do to make sure I get it right the first time?
Thanks for your great content. I subbed immediately!
I feel your pain. Did a job in an old terrace house years back the walls knocked off to brick. The supporting wall between the front and back room was double brick no cavity. On one side it was 4 inch out at the top to nothing at the bottom vice verser on other side. It was solid even though 100 years old. We screwed roof lattes to it each side and middle packing them out so as plumb to use as rails for our feather edges left to dry remove lattes and fill. Then plaster. Sometimes you're faced with a pile of shite which cannot be polished, but you can sprinkle glitter on it mate. Keep going always a way.
@@162tsb7 I feel I might cause a glitter scarcity with this one.
@@WolvesValleyFarm 😆
Can you SBR internal walls that are 9 inch solid and bond over them if they are paint over Lyme. Or does that rule only apply to external solid walls?
Whever ive used bonding its not grey?! Is this a different brand? Im a kitchen fitter so i always fill chases etc before my plasterer comes to save him time
Fun mathematical fact: if you darby a surface horizontally and darby it vertically over and over again, until straight both ways, it doesn't mean it is flat. Rather it can be a "bilinear surface" - look that up. So checking at odd angles may be important.
Very true indeed. Same as an artex ceiling, flat but not remotely level
I believe both you and @NiktheEnglishGreekCypriot are wrong. If your straight edge is long enough to go wall to wall, ceiling to floor, then your surface might not be plumb but will be straight and possibly flat.
@@DMark-c3r I really do mean it as a mathematical fact. A bilinear surface has the horizontals and verticals as all perfectly straight lines, yet the diagonals are curved. So if you darby a surface to perfection both horizontally and vertically, you can still end up with a curved surface.
Not that this is necessarily a bad thing! If the four edges of the wall are not coplanar then the wall cannot be a plane. The curving may be imperceptible and practically necessary.
@@marklundeberg7006 I know you do. But just for a second try imagining a straight edge moving from the floor up to the ceiling without you ever seeing any gap between the edge and the plaster surface, and then do the same thing while moving it from left to right....and tell me what you see? Flat surface or you still see some curvature in the corners?
If you have problem imagining it, just put a piece of paper on the table and move a ruler across the paper, up and down, left to right...no gap, right? Now move the paper to the table edge and let it hang in one corner (to simulate your "curve") and move the ruler. When you pass over that "hanging" corner you will see a gap between paper and the ruler. That gap is not there when a whole piece of paper is flat on the table.
The real question though is whether it's a hyperbolic paraboloid or a parabolic hyperboloid 😂
Some years ago, I began learning three coat plaster in the wake of a disaster involving joint compound on old plaster walls. Entire first floor of a house and an orbital sander with a serious grit to reverse the mistake. It hurt. Finding no one in the NY metro area to at least give me pointers, I embarked on my own trial and error program-do I really have to say mostly error?! Recently, I decided to attempt a screeding concept using metal corner beads. Yeah, kinda pathetic. But how to achieve those elusive flat walls that I just could never get? Well, I own a feather board and a Darby, but I was uncertain just how to use either? This video has provided the next steps of my learning process that would have taken a lot more time without it. I really appreciate your instruction. Thank you so very much for your time and your effort.
Thanks very informative video, appreciate your time filming and sharing knowledge.
fantastic work as always dude.
Cheers, just ordered a Carly.
You can do all sorts with them, I've done a few little modifications to her car with it
See that bonding is that just browning? Good vlog, thanks ATB
Kirk l am a 77 year old retired plasterer 30 odd years ago l was working on the construction of new swimming baths li was my job to float the block work to take mosaic tiles The blockwork was not good On day one the clerk of works said to me what is the general tolerance in the plastering trade so l said 3 mil on a 2 metre rule He said not on this site on here it is 2 mil So l had to do plumb and dot work to the sand and cement on all the walls All my work was checked with laser levels The good news was that the tilers were so pleased with my work that they kept giving me boxes of mosaic tiles
Got to say i am not tradesmen but absolutely luv your videos great work
Watched lots of his videos class plasterer but very surprised he's using bonding in a bathroom big mistake bonding turns mushy in bathrooms
Hi kirk
You said sand and cement. On block brick. What would be your ideal ratio first second coat. If you where on the sand and cement route. What would you do pva or the tride and trusted. Cheers kirk. 🏴👍
4:1 / 5:1 and no need for any sealer also pop some waterproofer in the topcoat and it will make it nicer to skim.
Sound thanks 🏴🍻
You teach really well.
The whole point of keying a wall was to provide a mechanical key for skim coat, if you look closely at bonding you will see tiny pockets and holes for skimming to grab onto .
This is what the old timers fail to understand, it has its own key
Great tutorial pal. Cheers from Dublin.
You're an excellent teacher, thanks.
Just as well ya left the loo there... those pot noodles'll go right through ya !! 🙄😂
Whilst I really appreciate you demonstrating the process here, as a 66y.o. DIYer myself, restoring a 100y.o. farmers cottage, I prefer to do other work and leave this stuff to those who have the years of experience, playing to your strengths is important. I simply don't have time to build experience but I DO like to understand the process...been subbed a good while now too ! 😎👍
One job I did do here was to rout out the old lime mortar between the stone using a cordless drill & a 1/2" masonry bit to almost 6" depth ( doing sections at a time so it didn't collapse in on me !! 😮) and re-pointing every single sq. inch of the inside of the exterior wall surfaces... the old stuff was virtually just sand, spilling out... 🙄
No DPC in the floors so I put a layer of 25mm rigid insulation down followed by poly followed by 22mm flooring ply and laminate flooring on top (vinyl laminate in the kitchen /bathroom) I would have liked more floor insulation but was limited by the internal doorway heights...
Speaking of doorways, when re-pointing the walls over the doors, I found old tree branches used as lintels !! 😂 they crumbled when I just looked at them ! 😮... new concrete lintels were installed, heavy work on yer own .. 😤
I lowered every ceiling by a foot, dry-lined, plumbed and re-wired ... and filled it with rigid foil-backed insulation , 8" in the ceilings, 3" in the studded walls ( I built 3 x 2 studded internal walls stepped an inch away from the old stone external walls to allow for breathing up into the vented loft area) and 38mm insulated drywall over that for a 100% thermal break...
Thank you for your channel, its hard work, I'm sure... but it is appreciated !!
From the West of Ireland
😎👍☘️🍺
As a bathroom fitter (not tiler!) if the whole wall is uneven I simply fix plaster board to the wall for tiling or a skim coat of plaster. Could this have been done in the bathroom in the video?
Kirk you better have put a rip of plywood over that lintel where you dot & dabbed above that window?
Because us Carpenters get asked to put some curtain poles/rails up & you blimming plasterers have just dot & dabbed & there is nothing there to get a decent fixing to.
Now we got that bollocking out of the way, keep up the vids you do some great videos & very informative 😊
It’s really not hard to fix onto plasterboard. Wall dog screws go straight into board, or you can screw through into the brick
Good luck hanging curtain pole brackets on whirlie fixings into plaster board & there is no brickwork where the steel/lintel is.
I been a Carpenter & Joiner for 37yrs so more than the familiar with the nothing to fix to above the window nonsense.
We always do some solid blocking in steels where we think brackets might go but a solid rip of plywood/OSB just solves the problem completely & isn't hard to do at the time.
Lovely work been doing some this this week
This is the best video yet, full of great info.
Great job love watching your skills
Great info for a avid DIY-er like myself thanks matey she’s gonna think I’m a legend when I mess the bathroom walls up 😂😂 but talk like I know what I’m doing 👍👊
Yeah but it will be a good story for the pub... joking aside.
Just take your time. It's hard to get it wrong if you seal the wall and scratchcoat it
ya bois editing skills moved up another level
Hey Kirk....could you tole straight onto the bonding coat if flat? Cheers...
All the bags of adhesive say tile onto finish coat only
I have watched your video in past and u was saying don't need scratch b4 skiming😊
That's correct mate
Spot on Kirk quality work as always mate 👌🏻
Thank you mate
Excellent work
on the trowel - please can you tell me whats the best thing to put internaly on a pebble dashed solid wall in a lean to outhouse being made in to a kitchen, i was thinking a waterproof cement scratch coat ? thank you
I think your spot on mate
@@Onthetrowel ok thanks
Hi. Is there a reason why you wouldn't put sand and cement on low suction backgrounds? As in applying SBR, let it dry and then S&C. Thank you.
So bonding coat is light, sand and cement is fairly heavy.
I'm not saying it wouldn't stay on if it was thin but I wouldn't like to guarantee it.
Probably not worth taking the chance.
It's the same with hardwall, it would probably be OK but we have a product that is specifically for it.
Don't fancy taking any chances when my tiles have cost a small fortune 😂😂
@@Onthetrowel I think I understand by what you mean with low suction background. I've DIY my render on bare brick and blocks and applied SBR but did not let in fully go dry. I applied S&C on the fairly wet SBR so I could get a better adhesion. I've also done my render mix with water and 3 parts SBR. Hopefully nothing wrong with that and the render won't start falling. I also thought about the whole thing falling which is why I'm going to stick XPS boards on top of the render with adhesive in the bathroom and mechanically fix each board with multiple concrete screws. I just wish I knew some tips when I first started but the internet is so big that I don't know where to go for information. Wish I had someone like you I could ask haha. Thanks for replying
More quality work very well explained. Obvious to see your pride in your profession. Nice to see your daughters car getting sorted too 🤣All pays the bills. 👍. Thanks for taking the time to film and edit. All the best Pete
You make using the feather edge and Derby look so easy! 😂.
great video
Which Darby are you using . Looking to get one but reviews in Screwfix and tool station are negative.
Doesn't need to be anything fancy, just look down it and make sure its straight.
The negative reviews will likely be from people that struggle to use them.
I'm sure mine is a "benson hand tools"
@@Onthetrowel cheers mate!
love your job mate
PVA walls then board it ..much simpler and flatter for tiling
Stunning mate love the video hope u and the family r well
All good my friend thanks for asking.
Hope you are doing OK 🙂🙏
@Onthetrowel I'm 💯 percent mate back on it and feeling good
Funny I was thinking why bother with the skim coats if you are tiling it anyway, reading the comments some say that they won’t stick to bonding coat, can’t understand why as that tile adhesive sticks to most things 🤷♂️🤷♂️
Cavety Closers? Can you talk about installing and then covering these with plasterboard.. I need to do this in my kitchen..
Sure, not much to them really mate, you just cut it to the right size and nail them in. Try a d push them ontthe outside skin when nailing them to the inside skin as you can only fix one side so by pushing it you basically wedge it so it can't flap around
@@Onthetrowel Fantastic. As soon as you mentioned them on the video my ears pointed north. I didn't know these existed and still figuring out how to close the gap. Thank you so much for replying so quickly. Bacon sarny on me!
I only plaster at home every few years just replaced some heaters watching you I realise I'm a far too harsh Critic of my work. I get frustrated at how long it takes me to get a good finish. Cheers me up when AC installers and the original fitter said I can't see any sign of the Hole I made and was there a heater here. Still hate plastering.
What about right angles between adjacent walls (room geometry)?
Bricklayer
What is alarming me u are buring cable in the bounding/plaster. It is correct? In italy is forbidden since like 40 years ago. Btw really educational video on plastering
Excellent videos, outstanding work. 👍👍👍Thank you. U earned my subscription.
Awesome, thank you!
Awesome video
great work Kirk
This is how I was taught to do it, thought that was standard tbf
Hi Kirk, as my brother who has taught me a lot about plastering. Since you’ve helped me become a better plasterer, as a bathroom specialist myself. I just thought I’d mention that you should have used Sand and Cement instead of the bonding and tiled straight onto that, this would have allowed you to put any tile onto the wall.. Whilst your method is also correct you are now limited to 20kg per sqm in tiles and adhesive and grout once you skim the walls this is again if tiling the walls meaning your safest bet is to use a ceramic wall tile and not porcelain as it would be too heavy. Regards Shiv. Hopefully this comment reaches you before you get to tiling. If you would like me to do it for you for free pls give me a message id be honoured to help you.
Also Kirk you will be ok regarding tile on plasterboard as it’s 32kg per kilo. It’s recommended to tank shower area also
Brilliant video. Cheers Kirk
U make it look easy😘😳
I don't do building, but I'm still going to use the four step system.
Back to your bathroom renovation at last Kirk. Looking good, another great video, top fella.
I've been busy with work but got to get a bit done when I can 🫡😂
I know how it is, work comes first. I always say happy wife, happier life😂😂
Ive a 6ft x6 " derby always struggled with it and used a straight edge instead how big is yours i m thinking mines to big thoughts please Craig..🤔
You will get a better job with a bigger Derby. I'm using a 4ft in the video but only because I was working in a shoe box 🤣
moisture resistance plaster boards.couple of bags of board adhesive. job done .save all the mess.
What mess?
@@Onthetrowel I've mates who.are plumbers tilers etc.tried there hand.on the trowel.and the room looks like there's been a shit fight . so advise drylineing instead . you personally are one of the cleanest plasters I've watched . I'm the same as you mate .when I've worked with other plasterers .my ocd kicks in with shite every were .served my time .always told work clean .