Wall plastering homemade - instructions for indoor / outdoor

• Material and preparation
  • Wall test in four steps
• Plaster the wall
  • Clean and spatulate
  • Mix plaster
  • Attach profiles
  • primer
  • Apply plaster
  • Smooth the plaster
• Tips for quick readers

There are various reasons, such as a new building or renovation, which make the plastering of interior and exterior walls necessary. Many do-it-yourselfers shy away from it, because the application of new plaster sounds difficult at first. But the fear is unfounded, with a simple guide you can plaster your walls and facades in no time.

With exact instructions, it is no longer a problem to plaster walls yourself so that they are ready for the further processing of decorative plaster, wallpapers and paints. The plaster is the most important base and must be applied, a little manual skill makes the work much easier. But it is not nearly as difficult as expected - every homeowner can learn to plaster in a few steps. There is no big difference between exterior and interior plaster work, only the material is different. While some plasters are suitable for inside and outside, there is special material that can only be used indoors. But with the right plaster, the walls are plastered in no time and can be processed.

Material and preparation

Your shopping list:

• suitable plaster
• Plaster and corner profiles
• spirit level
• initiation trowel
• Kartätsche
• Float and smoothing trowel
• cover
• Painter's quast (optional)
• Scrambler and water
• Primer (for concrete or old plaster)
• Electric drill with stirrer
• putty
• spatula
• broom

If you have decided to apply plaster internally or externally, you will need some preparation. It is first of all important to decide which role the plaster should play in the future. If it is intended to serve as a substrate and if wallpaper or paint should adhere to it, the surface structure need only be quite large. However, if the plaster is intended as a permanent surface, a fine structure is recommended. These can be achieved through your application technology. Whether outside or inside, the instructions for the application of plaster is almost identical, only the material is different.

Outdoor plaster is usually applied as a visible wall protection, but it does not only fulfill optical purposes. Outside, the plaster also serves as thermal insulation and protection against weather and rain. It is therefore very important that you use a suitable plaster for a wall outside. In the interior, the demands on the plaster are lower, it is not exposed to such strong weather conditions as on an exterior wall. However, there is also plaster, which is equally suitable for inside and outside. These products are great if you want to plaster a surface in both areas.

Prepare and cover the workplace

Before you begin plastering indoors, you must carefully cover furniture and flooring. Since a throwing technique is used when applying plaster, it often comes to soiling, which is difficult to remove. Careful coverage will protect you from annoying cleaning. Be sure to wear old clothes or a protective suit during work because you too will come in contact with the plaster. Light switches, sockets or outdoor shutter boxes must be protected with masking tape and cover foil.

Clean wall

Not every surface is equally suitable for receiving plaster. Both too dry and too wet walls ensure that the plaster can not stick properly. However, with a little guide, you can test for yourself what condition the walls are in. It is very important that the wall surface is free of dirt and dust. Even a layer of grease causes the plaster to adhere properly. Depending on the substrate, a previous primer with, for example, a primer may be necessary.

Wall test in four steps

1) Eye diagnosis:
Superficial defects that make an immediate application of plaster impossible are already visible to the naked eye. These include large cracks, crumbling areas or existing mold marks. Remove all loosened parts and soiling before starting the primer / stucco. Existing mold must be treated with suitable means, otherwise it can spread under the plaster.

2) Scratch test and wipe check
If the surface chalks, it is also not suitable to be plastered immediately. You can easily recognize a chalking surface. Take a sharp object, such as a utility knife, and scratch a grid into the wall. Now wipe it with your hand and look at your palm. If nothing is stuck, the plaster can be applied. On the other hand, if your hand is full of chalk, a background preparation must be performed.

3) The tape check
Whether your walls are actually free of dirt, you can easily test with a conventional tape. Please take an adhesive tape from the hardware store, no craft adhesive film, as this is too weak. Press the tape strip firmly onto the ground and then pull it off with a jerk. If residues remain on the belt, the surface is not clean enough yet.

4) The water check
Whether it is strongly absorbent walls, you can check with a simple water check. Fill a flower syringe with water and lightly spray on an area of ​​about one square meter. If the drops remain on the surface, the surface is not very absorbent. If the water is absorbed immediately, the substrate absorbs very strongly. Ideally, the water is slowly absorbed by the surface.

Plaster the wall

Clean and spatulate

Before you begin to apply the plaster on the walls, you must perform a cleaning. First, check the surface for damaged areas, such as dowel holes or cracks. These must be repaired. For this purpose, commercially available putty according to the package instructions should be used. These must be carefully applied to the damaged areas and smoothed. Allow the putty to dry well (read the package leaflet). Only when all cracks and holes have been repaired, you can start plastering.

To clean, take a broom with a long handle and sweep the walls off thoroughly. In the corners is the use of a Handfegers or a vacuum cleaner. Grease stains should be removed before treatment with a detergent solution. Dishwashing liquid is ideally suited to remove grease residues, which would make adhesion of the plaster more difficult.

Mix plaster

The plaster must be mixed exactly as directed by the manufacturer. Small amounts of plaster can be mixed with a wooden spoon, with larger quantities a whisk is absolutely necessary. Put this on your drill and stir the plaster evenly at moderate speed. Only when no more rough pieces are available, the material can be applied to the walls. For mixing, a 10-liter building material bucket or a large tub, depending on the required amount of plaster.

Attach profiles

Corner and wall profiles must be set in order to create the smoothest possible level of plaster. These serve as guidelines for the thickness of the plaster layer and ensure that the result is smooth and even. First, attach the corner profiles. For this you wear the prepared plaster at a distance of 50 cm. along the edge along in small pieces on. Use a spirit level and a leveler to carefully press the corner profile. Dipping plaster must be smoothed immediately with the trowel so that there are no bumps. First set all corner profiles before you start laying the wall profiles.

With the plaster profiles, you must make sure that they are exactly vertical, so the spirit level is indispensable. Attach the plaster profiles to the walls at a distance of approx. 1.5 meters. The profiles remain on the wall, they do not need to be removed. As with the corner profiles, the plaster slats are attached to the wall with a little plaster and pressed firmly. You can now see from the depth of the batten, how deep your plaster layer may be on the walls.

primer

Whether you need a primer depends on the wall texture. However, it is better to apply a primer instead of having problems with the distribution of the plaster afterwards. If the previous wall test has shown that you want to treat very absorbent walls, you must wet them well with water before applying the plaster. This prevents that the liquid of the plaster is absorbed by the wall too fast. A painter's quast is a good tool to distribute water on the walls.

If the walls to be treated are drywall, old plaster or concrete, a primer is generally recommended. Prepare the primer according to the instructions on the packaging and spread it generously and evenly with a roller on the walls. It is important that the primer is completely dry before you start plastering.

Apply plaster

Plaster is applied in two layers on the walls inside and outside. It starts with the flush layer. These wear them with a throwing technique that you can teach yourself without any problems. Take a medium amount of plaster on your trowel and then throw it from the wrist to the wall. Whenever you have plastered an area of ​​two square meters, smooth the surface with a smoothing trowel. The first layer of plaster should be about one centimeter thick. Continue with this technique until the entire surface is plastered and then let the plaster dry well according to the package instructions.

Before you start applying the second coat, moisten the first layer of plaster with the painter's puff. Please check again beforehand if the first coat has really dried out. Moist ambient air may cause the specified time on the pack to increase. When plastering walls outside, it should be noted that the ambient temperature should not be below five and above 30 degrees.

The second layer of plaster is now no longer thrown on the walls, but applied directly with the trowel. Take a medium amount of plaster with the trowel and paint it on the surface. Always work with sweeping movements from one side to the other, never criss-crossing. How thick the second layer of plaster is to be depends on the profile of the plaster slats, but it should not be more than ten millimeters.

Smooth the plaster

Whether you plaster walls inside or outside, the steps are identical. Bring the second layer of plaster completely to the walls before you start smoothing. To do this, take the grape box and smooth the plaster. Begin the work on the left side of the wall and work your way up and down from left to right, step by step. Work quickly and without breaks, so that the plaster does not dry in the meantime and settling grooves remain visible.

Tip: If you have opted for structure plaster, the last step is not carried out with the grape box, but with a float. This is suitable to bring structures into the plaster on the walls.

Tips for quick readers

• Select plaster according to the place of application
• Examine wall for texture
• repair existing defects and cracks
• Check the absorbency of the wall
• Clean wall inside and outside
• Check the cleanliness of the wall
• Mix plaster exactly as instructed
• If necessary moisten or prime the wall
• Allow the primer to dry thoroughly
• Install corner and plaster profiles exactly
• Apply the first layer of plaster with a throwing technique
• Smooth and allow to dry well
• Apply a second layer of plaster with a smoothing trowel
• Smooth with structure plaster with float
• in normal plaster smooth with a grape box