[easyrider]

I have cut out a channel in my wall for the AV wires and have fitted plastic trunking in the recess.

The plasterer is coming on Thursday.

Can he plaster straight over the plastic trunking?

or do I need to prepare it with filler or something?

Thanks

[albriscoe]

Hi mate

just plaster straight over it

[ldoodle]

I filler'd over my chases as when taking off the wallpaper 98% of the plaster came with it so was down to sand/cement!

But, any decent plasterer will do that for you if needed.

[Sanders79]

Yep indeed, just plaster over (use a bonding coat first before the finish coat if there is enough space).

[wese007]

Wickes *–*Building Materials*–*Plaster*–*Bagged*–*T histle Bonding Plaster

this is what he wants to be using,its ideal for plastic, give the trunking a rub down with a rough grade sandpaper if you like,will help it key better as well,but like Sanders79 said,if you have enough space to use a bonding coat prior to a finish coat,if not i would defo give the tunking a rub down,

your plasterer may have a different way of doing it, in saying that,im a plasterer and have just done my trunking,i had no bonding in the house so i used board adesive,this stuff really sticks to the wall,rubbed down the tunking like i said,and will key to the surrounding area no problem,

your plasterer will advice you im sure,unless hes one of these plasterers who became one on a one week course

[Sanders79]

Agree with all of the above!

I think there are two really important points to consider to avoid cracking of the finish coat:

Make sure the trunking is properly secured in the wall (I have used 8 screws and plugs for a 1 m section). This ensures it doesn't try to wobble around and flex in the wall when you're pulling cables through etc.

Mak sure there is enough space for a sufficiently thick coat of plaster on the top.

Wese007, might it be an alternative to use scrim tape if there isn't space for a bonding coat? Just to give a good key...

[wese007]

good old scrim tape,good stuff,and will do as you say mate,lets hope he comes back here and the plasterer has done him a good job,will only really know once hes painted it though,as this is when he will see any imperfections,hollows etc,

we given him some help,the rest is up to his plasterer now,

hope its all good easy-rider,unlike another member who had to sand his walls down after the plasterer did his trunking,

another little tip for you mate,when it comes to painting it,no need to use these special primers for new plaster,just use watered down matt paint,whatever you do,dont use vinyl silk straight on top as it will just sit on top of the plaster,and will just peel of,

and dont do it pink

[easyrider]

Thanks for the tips guys

He's been and gone and things look ok to me.


what do you think?

[easyrider]

[wese007]

looking good batman didn.t know you was getting it boarded out,looks like he put the boards upside down just kidding

on your first coat of paint,paint ceiling first then walls,as any drips,splatters on the walls you will see then wipe of,instead of drying as runs on the walls,if you get me,

[deckingman]

Sorry to jump in but how long should you leave fresh plaster before painting?

[wese007]

about 5 inches is ok, some say it takes months to dry, others days,you know how it is

me personally,as soon as it all goes a light pink in colour,i will paint it, its only mm in thickness and soon drys out,
couple of days it should dry out,unless the room is cold and loads is done like in the pics,as the whole room will be full of damp air,

just dont be temted to whack your heating on full to dry it out quicker or it may crack

[GlynG60]

If you get trade paint for new plaster you can paint it sooner. This paint breathes and lets the plaster continue to dry and also adheres itself to the freshly plastered surface better than other paint. Regular emulsion tends to seal the wall a bit more so as you have better wipe clean properties. If you wipe paint for new plaster with a damp cloth it will start to remove the paint.

Having said all of that I would hire a dehumidifier and put it in there for a day or so - it makes a big difference.

[wese007]

GlynG60 im not going to argue over your point,but no way would i use a dehumidifier ,just let it dry at its own natural pace,you could run the risk of taking the moisture out to quick and cracking it,just open a window, at this time of year anyway,,im no expert on paint so cant comment, but again disagree with your method of using trade paint on wet plaster,

another tip i hear some is to pva the plaster before painting it,i disagree with this one as well,When you use PVA you stop the emulsion primer being able to soak in


easy-rider this may be confusing you now, you could always get on a building forumn and ask for advice or just ring some pro painters out yellow pages,hear what they have to say,you may still get mixed opions,but im sure you will be able to make your own mind up whats best,and if unsure,just dont take any chances with some ideas that dont sound right

[deckingman]

Did a bit more research and there are no hard and fast rules - depends on too many things like plaster thickness, room temperature etc. Seems the best approach is to let the plaster dry slowly to avoid cracking, so keep the humidity up and the temperature low and leave as long as possible.

[Sanders79]

We had to wait about 3-4 weeks to paint the plaster in our house, but that was with backing coats etc. The ceilings where I had boarded over with plasterboard before the finish skim were ready to paint after a few days. We didn't have any heating at the time and it was freezing cold!! We did hire a couple of heaters and a dehumidifier - I agree with wese007 - they can make it crack if you use them for too long, so we only had it going for a couple of hours a day to help things along when the heaters were going too.

Easy-rider, looking good!! It all looks much neater than my walls did before they were skimmed (they are all brick, lots of chopping and chasing, pus the walls were a bit of a mess under the wallpaper). If you are anything like me, you are probably disappointed all your hard work is hidden under plaster board etc... I was most satisifed when all the cables were laid and the capping/trunking in place

Keep the pictures coming, they always go down well

[easyrider]

Originally Posted by Sanders79

Easy-rider, looking good!! It all looks much neater than my walls did before they were skimmed (they are all brick, lots of chopping and chasing, pus the walls were a bit of a mess under the wallpaper). If you are anything like me, you are probably disappointed all your hard work is hidden under plaster board etc... I was most satisifed when all the cables were laid and the capping/trunking in place

Keep the pictures coming, they always go down well

Cheers,

You can see the early pics of the build and the plasterbord in my home cinema build thread

But i'll post back here too

[Sanders79]

PS, do wait for the plaster to go pale pink before you try to paint, check any corners for cracks before you paint (fill with caulk if necessary), and use watered-down matt emulsion first as a mist coat. They hadn't done that in our old house and when we came to prep the walls for decorating it came off in big sheets to reveal bare pink plaster!!!

[easyrider]

Originally Posted by Sanders79

PS, do wait for the plaster to go pale pink before you try to paint, check any corners for cracks before you paint (fill with caulk if necessary), and use watered-down matt emulsion first as a mist coat. They hadn't done that in our old house and when we came to prep the walls for decorating it came off in big sheets to reveal bare pink plaster!!!

Whats Caulk?

[GlynG60]

Caulk aka Decorators filler - see here

A flexible filler that is a little like silicon sealant, except this is designed to be painted over.

With regarding to using paint for new plaster - I would not suggest that you use this until the plaster is nice and dry. It as better opacity and adherence qualities than standard emulsion as well as allowing the new plaster to continue to breathe.

[wese007]

i find that when using Caulk,its best to use when walls are painted,

you will see cracks more easy when painted,the caulk goes on better and is easier to get smooth onto a painted surface,if you are putting it in a corner,eg between two opposing walls,or wall and ceiling,just wet your finger and run it over the caulk to get a smooth finish,

i think its sticks better to painted surface than plaster with it being a very dry,dusty surface,which again can dry caulk out quick prior to smoothing it over,

thats what i find,anyway, im loving this post,look where its gone from just plastering over trunking all good tips though


feel sorry for you Sanders79 with the paint coming of,what a bummer,at worse some could of stuck leaving you with edges to sand down,

[easyrider]

Thanks for all the Tips guys I'm after the best finish possible

[Sanders79]

Originally Posted by wese007

im loving this post,look where its gone from just plastering over trunking all good tips though

I love the DIY forum on here, it's where I feel most useful!!!

Originally Posted by wese007

feel sorry for you Sanders79 with the paint coming of,what a bummer,at worse some could of stuck leaving you with edges to sand down,

Nah, we found it quite funny! There were a few patches where you could just strip it back to sound paint and fill the hole with regular filler. Seemed to work fine anyway!! Other walls needed stripping completely, but the paint was so poorly adhered it took literally minutes to strip a whole (small) wall. It's one thing about buying houses - inheriting DIY disasters. We went into the current wreck with eyes wide open though, and still found some nasty surprises already.

Keep us posted on the progress, easy-rider. I meant to ask, is that the ceiling light coming down near that RSJ-looking area, or something for a projector? What screen and speakers are you planning? Wife-friendly satellites or something more neighbour-bashing?

[easyrider]

Originally Posted by Sanders79

I
Keep us posted on the progress, easy-rider. I meant to ask, is that the ceiling light coming down near that RSJ-looking area, or something for a projector? What screen and speakers are you planning? Wife-friendly satellites or something more neighbour-bashing?

Its for a ceiling light.

I have a 92" screen and some Tannoy F4's for the fronts and some Tannoy F1's for the rears.

Subscibe to my Home Cinema build thread there are pics of the gear in there

[easyrider]

what mix shall I use for mist coat?

50/50?

[wese007]

50/50 you will find will be right messy,and fall of your roller /brush, hard to say,as different makes of paints have different thickness to them,trail and error,just get it so it does not run everywhere,do a small mix first,and see how it goes,i dont measure it,just add water till im happy,

try a 70 paint 30 water, it takes longer but i prefer to use a brush for my first coat,to me it seems to soak better than a roller which seems to make it sit more on top,

when applying it,make sure yo work the paint so you dont end up with thick edges,as it will dry very quick


im not a pro painter,but ive painted enough newly plaster walls to know it works ok for me,as you can imagine being a plasterer,over the years ive done enough of my own walls in the house,



a fellow plasterer mate of mine got some advice of a pro painter,may seem a bit ott,but said sand the walls down slightly to help the paint key better,make sense to me,only a light sand,no need for eletric sander lol,


also if your plasterer has polished the plaster to much,it makes it harder for the paint to soak,another reason to sand walls as well, if you find any of your paint blisters,this will be down to highly polished areas, or down to wetting it down at a certain stage to rework the plaster, this leaves the wall with a like dusty surface,this to can sometimes blister


dont worry to much though,i dont want to panic you, you wont go to wrong if you water it down,

maybe if any painters on here can help you,what did we all do before the internet, we just would of painted it and not worried about it lol,sometimes knowing knowledge read on the net can confuse us even more lol