Plastering is used to give the walls and other surfaces a complete and fine finish. Most buildings make use of cement plastering for that perfect, ideal and fine coating for internal and external wall surfaces. You can have your domestic plasterers perform a double or single-coat cement plastering for your property. This article will provide the four basic steps that your domestic plasterers follow to give your structure that ideal coating leaving it completely finished for painting and other wall surface refinements.

Step 1: Preparation of your Wall Surface

Your domestic or commercial plasterers will make sure that the mortar joints on your wall are rough enough so that the cement will be able to bond and hold perfectly. They will also make sure that your wall is cleaned of any such substances as oils or grease that may prevent proper cement bonding and holding. If your plasterers notice that your wall surfaces are too smooth or too old, they will take out some mortar from the joints to create bonding ease. Additionally, they will knock off any visible projections that are on the wall surface so that it remains smooth to avoid unnecessary cement loss.

Step 2: Preparing the Ground for Your Plastering

Experienced and qualified domestic and commercial plasterers usually lay down the ground work before plastering. This is done by fixing dots on the surface of the walls. Dots are small plaster patches of a particular thickness that is desired for the overall plaster. This ensures that the plaster is uniform in terms of thickness thoughout the plastered area. These are supposed to be fixed horizontally first and then vertically all over the wall surface at an interval of two metres. By use of plumb, the vertical dots should be checked for accuracy and verticality. When this is done, your plasterer will apply vertical plaster strips between the dots that will serve as a uniform gauge for the overall plastering work.

Step 3: Application of First Coat of Plaster

Your plasterers will then start applying the first plaster coat on the walls on the spaces left by the plaster strips earlier on applied. This can be done using tools such as trowels. Straight edges and wooden floats are used to level the plaster surfaces to the desired smoothness. When leveling is done with, the plaster should be left to settle but not to dry. Afterwards, a scratching tool should be used to scratch the plaster such that keys are formed for the final coat.

Step 4: Application of second and Final Coat

Before your plasterers start applying the second coat, the first coat is usually dampened. Wooden floats are used here to give the surface the final and finest plaster finish. This is done starting from above downwards and using one operation to avoid joining marks.

For more information, talk to a company like JDP Interior Linings.