2 coat,,0r 1 coat work..plaster????

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dicky2coat

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am i old fashioned and still 2 coat when skimming over plasterboard,walls and ceilings??
or is my bricklayer workmate(who has also done loads of skimming!!)correct in saying that everyone now does just 1 coat?have i wasted the last 22 years putting on 2 coats?this is a heated topic and would appreciate some opinions.and he s not on about sponge floating either
 
i always 2 coat..better finish, simple as...
maybe 1 coat patches...
 
2 coats everytime unless its a small box room ceiling or alike where i'll 2 coat it but out the same bucket which is basically one thick coat.I only use sponge float on thistle one coat.
 
tottally agree with bigsegs , site skimmers one coat and thats fair enough cause site work is all about the coin
 
evn on site i two coat,this fela rekons everyone does it on skim overs 2,he only two coats render?
does the afformentioned bricky 1 coat external render too?
can we post a bit of theory on her so i can show him its not just me!!!
 
just point him in the direction of the forum, no doubt theres enough info within the boards to quell any doubts...
easiest way is do a couple of walls each your own way, then get a neutral party (maybe a nice fat site agent, or better still the company chairman on a site visit) to come and tell u which one they prefer 2 days later...
Think gillette mach 3 turbo with batteries versus a scratchy old bic from 1979...which ones gonna get the better finish?
 
all surfaces being plastered should have 2 coats, the first coat will shrink slightly into any deviations in the background,,don,t pay any attention too bricklayers their just plumbers with teir brains smashed in ;D
 
Ah good, Question answered. Have been spreading for 20 yrs & I was also wondering this. No doubt 2 coat is best. I guess its what you were taught as an apprentice or if your teacher has any morrials about him & we have all heard this before " Your only as good as your last job "
 
one of the best spreads i know used to one coat with multi in his apprenticeship days that was 25 years ago and even he admits that he got away with murder, this is only my opinion but i'd imagine that nowadys especially with more board orientated work and tape jointing evryone expects a decent job, and with the way things are at the mo i'm not so sure if it's about coining it in or just be happy we can keep ourselves in work
 
when you say you do 2 coats do you also mix up twice for the area you are plasterering??as i do only one large mix for the area i am doing but i do lay the walls on twice..
 
sometimes mate youre better off laying on slightly more than you can handle so the first coat will pick up like guscarling said if yiure putting two coats on in the same batch it can shrink back together and you can end up with tiger stripes
 
yeh i agree, if youre toppin with the same mix a) your toppin it too quick, thereby cancelling out the benefit of two coating and b) might as well just put one thick coat on..
see if you let the first pull in before you flatten it, when you top it with a new mix youll see the difference straight away..
not sayin you cant top with the same mix, but its like tryin to trowel stiff butter over a semi firm wall, pointless if u ask me... it just ends up draggin the base coat with it...
i might do it over a patch, or maybe i forget a reveal, then just throw one thick one on...gotta be on top of it though...
 
two coat usually but have been known to one bomb on the odd occasion eg 1.00 on friday everyweek but only on board and small areas
 
there y'go y'see...possible, but its three times the work trying to get a decent finish on a one coated surface, specially on an overskim if it aint pretty flat to start off with...sounds daft but its actually EASIER to put 2 coats on...
 
as long as youre confident laying on flatten in the first coat and remember the second coat should (90%) hang around slightly longer than the first (unless someone opens all the windows while youre out of the room ;D) so just keep laying on the first coat till it feels spongey then drop back cut youre angles out flatten in and lay on youre second coat, and concentrate on the bit youre on forget about the rest of the wall most of the work is done on the first trowel
if i lay on a 5 bucket set it'll come out better than a one bucket set because i'll probably two coat with the same gear and be arsing around forgetting about it or or flattening it in constantly to rush it on ...........
 
Im a 2 coater all the way, but was working in cardiff a few years ago and this welsh spread 1 coated everything, and his work was absolutley quality, it wasnt just passable but better than any other work i have ever come across, so thought i would give it a go well tried it once that was enough for me, went straight back to 2 coat next set, he might have been 1 coating but his gang wasnt as fast as us we were doing 2 flats to his 1 and when painted ours looked just as good as his ;)
 
it always get's me mate when do you get on it with the sponge and the trowel after the sponge?
 
The welsh spread didnt use a sponge just trowled up like normal they had a gang there who were spongers and they were ruff as f**K
 
all of what has been posted makes perfect sense,prehaps these postings will show that because you can make a wall pink,doesent mean u r a plasterer,for good work you have to understand the characteristics of the materials we work with.i shall show the bricklaying tutor these comments tommorow.can anyone recomend a good quality sponge???not for fining down...for wiping egg of a face!!!!!!
 
NOOOOO dont tell him!!! if he's a tutor...i take it he's teachin bricklayers to plaster??
well, more work for us then innit...
go tell him no one uses bricks anymore, theyre all timber frame cos the brickies cant be trusted to get em straight!
 
na m8 im the plastering tutor,c+g advanced craft,subby,self employed and employed.got my d32 d33 and cert ed in 2000,spent 5 years then working in a fibrous company,making casting and fixing.took this job and new kid on the block is telling me im teaching wrong!!!just gotta get honest oppinions to show him tommorow
 
good for you mate but remember we all talk shite and lies on site ;) how's the fibrous work is there much call for it?
 
company i worked for(fibrofix)are always busy not many specialists in s wales,cardiff got a lot of victorian properties and people r mad for keeping features and restoration,only a small company 5 people full time,big niche in market
 
A bloke i was working with used to work for hayles and howe in bristol and gave that up to do just regular plastering cause he said the money wasnt very good, but last i heard he has gone back on for them ;D
 
average cost for a room =350(6 lengths)
charge a length for every 4 mitres(9 per ave room)
two men fit on ave 3-4 rooms per day
cost of materials per length
(inc adhesive)
£5
man can cas 20-25 lengths a day....u doo the maths
 
Bloody hell thats some good money to be earnt there :eek: does that include comissioned work to try and match old or is that a whole different ball game used to know this bloke who did work for english herritage and he basically classed himself as an artist.
 
its a craft,charge craftsmen rates,if repairs by the hour(not a excuse to drag day work out)restoration work can be unpredictable,be carefull on pricing
 
sounds good at least youre getting paid to do work and not to get a job finished!
 
i like the 'its a craft, charge craftsman rates..'
im gonna use that next time some to**er gives me the 'o my gosh, how unbelievably expensive' look when ive just told him a oner to overskim his rough artex ceiling...
 
problem is joe bloggs public will never know the effort and skill involved in a good job ............or the sensible ones will go for a recommendation and not too cheap
 
plaster to a bead with 1 coat and your gonna have terrible trouble trying to get it nice ,unless uve got loads of trowel wipe on yer spot ,best thing you can do is slash his throat with your marsheltown,that'll teach the fecker.
 
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