A GUIDE TO FLOATING WALLS

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kirk johnstone

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A GUIDE TO DOT SCREED AND FLOATING

THIS IS JUST A GUIDE FORE ROSSCO & ANY OTHER NEWBIES.
THIS IS NOT FOR TIME SERVED SPREADS.
THIS IS ONLY THE WAY I WOULD RECOMMEND TO A NEW STARTER
AND YES, THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO DO THIS THAT WILL BE FASTER

Right first things first, you can either use dots (small pieces of plasterboard or ply wood that sits on a dab of plaster) or you can use long clout nails (these should be galvanised or sherodised so that they dont rust as this will show through the plaster) and once you have chosen, the next thing to consider is 'do you have a door casing on the wall you are going to plaster because if you do then you will need to set your dots to the same level so that your wall is not too far back or forward.

now go to one side of the wall and set a dot in the bottom corner, then go to the other side of the wall and set a dot in the other bottom corner, now with the help of someone else you can pull a string from one dot to the other, you can now adjust the dots so that they are in line with the door casing. let them set.

now with the help of a long spirit level (or a piece of straight wood cut to the right hight with your smaller spirit level held to it) set dots in the top corners and adjust them with the level until they are plumb with the bottom dots. let them set.

now take your string line again and pull it across the bottom dots and set intermediate dots at about five foot intervals ( you will use the dots to set the screeds so you need to set them where your straight edge will reach from one screed to the other) then do the same for the top dots. let these set.

you are now ready to form the screeds, you need to put a band of plaster vertically between the dots (do one screed at a time). the band needs to protrude slightly more than the dots, now use your rule to push the band of plaster back to the dots, and cut of any surplus plaster either side of the rule with your trowel then gently slide your rule off the freshly formed screed as not to disturb it. continue this process for all the dots. now let all the screeds set.

now is time for floating, damp down the wall and screeds (this will control the suction and give you a bit more time to get it right) now start filling in the bays (sections between the screeds). do one bay at a time, fill it in and run your rule up the screeds cutting of the plaster, then fill in the hollows and rule of again. keep doing this until there is no more hollows and then move on to the next bay and repeat the process.

if you have a door casing on the wall you can use this as a screed.

let this all set.

now your wall should be full, flat and plumb. all you need now is a key for the finishing coat. tou create this key you will need to screw some screws through a polly plastering float (the sharp end of the screws should come out on the face of the float by about 2/3mm.

4 or 5 screws will be fine, now you need to rub this all over the wall in a circular motion with the screws scratching the wall (creating key).

and thats it you are now ready to skim the wall.

before skimming you should damp the wall down to control the suction.

NOW I WILL SAY IT ONCE MORE, THIS IS A EASY GUIDE FOR NEWBIES AND THERE ARE FASTER WAYS OF DOING IT FOR TIME SERVED SPREADS.

hope this helps Wink
 
Love the site and all the info in it, when you talk about floating is your method relating to a sand/cement float coat and if so do you use the same method for hard wall and bonding? Cheers Simon
 
good guide kirk , good to see plumb dot screed explained on tinternet it's a forgotten art, i think its more accurate less messy and a lot of instances quicker, been using it on a posh job in victoria london , other spread on site was laughing at me - he thinks its a 'diy' thing when its not its the old school of thought when things were done properly
 
What a load of ****, get all the the wall laid up and rule it off, I've have gone by the time you have done all that old school crap and still done a good job. X
 
A GUIDE TO DOT SCREED AND FLOATING

THIS IS JUST A GUIDE FORE ROSSCO & ANY OTHER NEWBIES.
THIS IS NOT FOR TIME SERVED SPREADS.
THIS IS ONLY THE WAY I WOULD RECOMMEND TO A NEW STARTER
AND YES, THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO DO THIS THAT WILL BE FASTER

Right first things first, you can either use dots (small pieces of plasterboard or ply wood that sits on a dab of plaster) or you can use long clout nails (these should be galvanised or sherodised so that they dont rust as this will show through the plaster) and once you have chosen, the next thing to consider is 'do you have a door casing on the wall you are going to plaster because if you do then you will need to set your dots to the same level so that your wall is not too far back or forward.

now go to one side of the wall and set a dot in the bottom corner, then go to the other side of the wall and set a dot in the other bottom corner, now with the help of someone else you can pull a string from one dot to the other, you can now adjust the dots so that they are in line with the door casing. let them set.

now with the help of a long spirit level (or a piece of straight wood cut to the right hight with your smaller spirit level held to it) set dots in the top corners and adjust them with the level until they are plumb with the bottom dots. let them set.

now take your string line again and pull it across the bottom dots and set intermediate dots at about five foot intervals ( you will use the dots to set the screeds so you need to set them where your straight edge will reach from one screed to the other) then do the same for the top dots. let these set.

you are now ready to form the screeds, you need to put a band of plaster vertically between the dots (do one screed at a time). the band needs to protrude slightly more than the dots, now use your rule to push the band of plaster back to the dots, and cut of any surplus plaster either side of the rule with your trowel then gently slide your rule off the freshly formed screed as not to disturb it. continue this process for all the dots. now let all the screeds set.

now is time for floating, damp down the wall and screeds (this will control the suction and give you a bit more time to get it right) now start filling in the bays (sections between the screeds). do one bay at a time, fill it in and run your rule up the screeds cutting of the plaster, then fill in the hollows and rule of again. keep doing this until there is no more hollows and then move on to the next bay and repeat the process.

if you have a door casing on the wall you can use this as a screed.

let this all set.

now your wall should be full, flat and plumb. all you need now is a key for the finishing coat. tou create this key you will need to screw some screws through a polly plastering float (the sharp end of the screws should come out on the face of the float by about 2/3mm.

4 or 5 screws will be fine, now you need to rub this all over the wall in a circular motion with the screws scratching the wall (creating key).

and thats it you are now ready to skim the wall.

before skimming you should damp the wall down to control the suction.

NOW I WILL SAY IT ONCE MORE, THIS IS A EASY GUIDE FOR NEWBIES AND THERE ARE FASTER WAYS OF DOING IT FOR TIME SERVED SPREADS.

hope this helps Wink

Nice guide. Might not be the quickest way but its quality of work that counts and that sure is the best way to get things straight!!!!!
 
Good guide and very interesting not the way I was taught when serving my time but can see why it would be a true and correct way to do things. Was always told that the secret to good plastering is good perpetration, this is evident here in the guide.
 
Can you explain the faster ways of doing floating coat you explained the plumb dot screed method really well, and would much very appreciate it if you go in to detail on how to free rule bonding plaster on walls , window walls etc thanks
 
Plumb & dot work I learnt in college in the seventies, I've only ever used twice in nearly 40 years, once in mile end station & the guild halls in the city of London, it's a very good way to learn how to float while building confidence & getting a feel for the material.
 
Yeah that's a fine SbS, I also learned this on block release circa 1986ish, made good money twenty years later on a big heritage site in Hereford using a similar technique.

Sent from my HUAWEI G6-L11 using Tapatalk
 
Can you explain the faster ways of doing floating coat you explained the plumb dot screed method really well, and would much very appreciate it if you go in to detail on how to free rule bonding plaster on walls , window walls etc thanks

free rule floating. several different methods. find out what is going to be fitted to the wall if all fittings are horizontal then final rule horizontally and visa versa.

housing low suction blocks, lay the whole room on, push angle beads into the course stuff as you come round the room. the most important lines are skirting, ceiling and internal and external angles angles. pull the rule over the centre of the wall.
another method is to make a box section of floating and keep ruling off the box section as you continue along the wall.

before angle beads we would put rules up for floating and skim freehand, or float freehand and put rules up to set. skimming was done with sirapite which packed out easy.
 
A GUIDE TO DOT SCREED AND FLOATING

THIS IS JUST A GUIDE FORE ROSSCO & ANY OTHER NEWBIES.
THIS IS NOT FOR TIME SERVED SPREADS.
THIS IS ONLY THE WAY I WOULD RECOMMEND TO A NEW STARTER
AND YES, THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO DO THIS THAT WILL BE FASTER

Right first things first, you can either use dots (small pieces of plasterboard or ply wood that sits on a dab of plaster) or you can use long clout nails (these should be galvanised or sherodised so that they dont rust as this will show through the plaster) and once you have chosen, the next thing to consider is 'do you have a door casing on the wall you are going to plaster because if you do then you will need to set your dots to the same level so that your wall is not too far back or forward.

now go to one side of the wall and set a dot in the bottom corner, then go to the other side of the wall and set a dot in the other bottom corner, now with the help of someone else you can pull a string from one dot to the other, you can now adjust the dots so that they are in line with the door casing. let them set.

now with the help of a long spirit level (or a piece of straight wood cut to the right hight with your smaller spirit level held to it) set dots in the top corners and adjust them with the level until they are plumb with the bottom dots. let them set.

now take your string line again and pull it across the bottom dots and set intermediate dots at about five foot intervals ( you will use the dots to set the screeds so you need to set them where your straight edge will reach from one screed to the other) then do the same for the top dots. let these set.

you are now ready to form the screeds, you need to put a band of plaster vertically between the dots (do one screed at a time). the band needs to protrude slightly more than the dots, now use your rule to push the band of plaster back to the dots, and cut of any surplus plaster either side of the rule with your trowel then gently slide your rule off the freshly formed screed as not to disturb it. continue this process for all the dots. now let all the screeds set.

now is time for floating, damp down the wall and screeds (this will control the suction and give you a bit more time to get it right) now start filling in the bays (sections between the screeds). do one bay at a time, fill it in and run your rule up the screeds cutting of the plaster, then fill in the hollows and rule of again. keep doing this until there is no more hollows and then move on to the next bay and repeat the process.

if you have a door casing on the wall you can use this as a screed.

let this all set.

now your wall should be full, flat and plumb. all you need now is a key for the finishing coat. tou create this key you will need to screw some screws through a polly plastering float (the sharp end of the screws should come out on the face of the float by about 2/3mm.

4 or 5 screws will be fine, now you need to rub this all over the wall in a circular motion with the screws scratching the wall (creating key).

and thats it you are now ready to skim the wall.

before skimming you should damp the wall down to control the suction.

NOW I WILL SAY IT ONCE MORE, THIS IS A EASY GUIDE FOR NEWBIES AND THERE ARE FASTER WAYS OF DOING IT FOR TIME SERVED SPREADS.

hope this helps Wink
 
any one can slap it on but thats an art
site work on the meter i was on 6pm float and skim 3 years ago so you slap it on Graft
day rate for a firm plum and dot all day
 
Got a wall to float in the next week or so over old stonework all over the place it is 3 coats I reckon, doubt I'll dot and screed but I'm intending on approaching it properly. Most likely a screed through the middle and fill top and bottom ruled off screed. I've got no hope if I just try and bang it on and rule it.
 
Got a wall to float in the next week or so over old stonework all over the place it is 3 coats I reckon, doubt I'll dot and screed but I'm intending on approaching it properly. Most likely a screed through the middle and fill top and bottom ruled off screed. I've got no hope if I just try and bang it on and rule it.

i have never floated a wall with a screed through the middle. how can you rule off a screed through the middle ?
i would apply a coat all over the wall then either picture frame type screed or a block screed.
 
Your right I'm basically just free ruling the middle! And then going off that. I've done the vertical screeds before which was ok. Normally I just put it all on and rule it off.
 
Hardwall is hard to get straight I find it's not nice to rule like sand and cement. Am doing a job at the moment with hardwall and am going to use vertical screeds. I've dabed on strips of 9.5mm plasterboard with hardwall. After I rule it am going to pull off the 9.5mm strips and fill them in. Should make ruling a lot easier.
 
Hardwall is hard to get straight I find it's not nice to rule like sand and cement. Am doing a job at the moment with hardwall and am going to use vertical screeds. I've dabed on strips of 9.5mm plasterboard with hardwall. After I rule it am going to pull off the 9.5mm strips and fill them in. Should make ruling a lot easier.
I find I have to rule off hardwall again after it pulls in a bit.
 
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