Plastering As a Career - Should You Become a Plasterer? - 0 views

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  #1 Klemen Leach on 07 Jun 12

   

  Plaster work is one of the most ancient of handicrafts employed in building today. The earliest evidence shows that the dwellings of primitive man were erected in a simple fashion with sticks and plastered with mud. Soon a more lasting and aesthetic material was found and employed to take the place of mud or slime.
  
  The pyramids in Egypt contain plasterwork executed at least four thousand years ago, probably much earlier and yet are existing, hard and durable at present. From recent discoveries it has been ascertained that the principal tools of the Plasterer of that time were practically identical in design, shape and purpose with those used to day. For their finest work the Egyptians used a plaster made from gypsum just like plaster of Paris of the present time, and their methods of plastering on reeds resemble in every way our lath, plaster, float and set work. Hair was introduced to strengthen the stuff; all was finished somewhat under an inch thick.
  
  Very early in the history of Greek architecture we find the use of a plaster. Fine white lime stucco, such has been found at Mycenae. The art had reached perfection in Greece more than five centuries before Christ, and plaster was frequently used to cover temples externally and internally. In some cases, where the building was made of marble, it formed a splendid ground for decorative painting, which at this period of Grecian history had reached a very high degree of beauty..
  
  For fine plasterer's sand-work, special sands, not hitherto referred to are used, such as silver sand or fine foundry sand, which is used when a light colour and fine texture are required. In medical centres one part Barium is added to two parts cement and five of sand where the walls need to block X-rays. When coating or rendering concrete surfaces a "splash" coat of one part cement to one of sand in liquid form is either thrown with a trowel or sprayed on the surface. This not only provides a better key for the render but prevents the porous concrete from sucking the water from it. For external work Portland cement is undoubtedly the best material on account of its strength, durability, and weather resisting External properties. If the plaster coat needs to be particularly strong and resistant to cracking, such as the walls of a squash court, Sizing is mixed with the plaster before application to increase both the surface bond strength and flexibility.
  
  The first coat of render is from 1/2 to 3/4 inches thick, and is mixed, dependent on the surface to be covered, in the proportions of from one part of cement to two of sand to one part to six of sand. A shovel of Lime is often added to make the mix more pliable. After dampening the surface to be coated, two horizontal bands of render called "screeds" are applied, one at around head height and the other just above floor level, these are then marked for vertical/horizontal alignment, finished, then allowed to partially dry. In a process similar to laying concrete, the wall is then rendered to a slightly higher level than the screeds, and using a "straight edge" (screed), the Plasterer uses the screeds as guides removing the excess render and leaving a rough flat surface. For a lower cost finish or if a rough surface is specified the screeds can be dispensed with. The render is then finished with a float (a smooth flat wooden tool with handle) to fill or remove larger imperfections. For some applications where a stronger key is required the surface is scored by later use of a float with nails protruding from the base. If the render is to be the finished surface then a float with a sponge attached to the base is then used on the wall until the surface is blemish free.
  
  For quality work, or where the wall is out of plumb requiring a large variation in render thickness, a thin "scratch" render coat is first applied then a second coat finished as described above. After around 24 hours the render has dried but before the final plaster coat is applied a trowel is used to scrape loose sand grains from the surface which would otherwise spoil the plaster finish.
  
  Bristol Plastering

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Plaster work is one of the most ancient of handicrafts employed in building today. The earliest evidence shows that the dwellings of primitive man were erected in a simple fashion with sticks and plastered with mud. Soon a more lasting and aesthetic material was found and employed to take the place of mud or slime.<br /><br />The pyramids in Egypt contain plasterwork executed at least four thousand years ago, probably much earlier and yet are existing, hard and durable at present. From recent discoveries it has been ascertained that the principal tools of the Plasterer of that time were practically identical in design, shape and purpose with those used to day. For their finest work the Egyptians used a plaster made from gypsum just like plaster of Paris of the present time, and their methods of plastering on reeds resemble in every way our lath, plaster, float and set work. Hair was introduced to strengthen the stuff; all was finished somewhat under an inch thick.<br /><br />Very early in the history of Greek architecture we find the use of a plaster. Fine white lime stucco, such has been found at Mycenae. The art had reached perfection in Greece more than five centuries before Christ, and plaster was frequently used to cover temples externally and internally. In some cases, where the building was made of marble, it formed a splendid ground for decorative painting, which at this period of Grecian history had reached a very high degree of beauty..<br /><br />For fine plasterer's sand-work, special sands, not hitherto referred to are used, such as silver sand or fine foundry sand, which is used when a light colour and fine texture are required. In medical centres one part Barium is added to two parts cement and five of sand where the walls need to block X-rays. When coating or rendering concrete surfaces a "splash" coat of one part cement to one of sand in liquid form is either thrown with a trowel or sprayed on the surface. This not only provides a better key for the render but prevents the porous concrete from sucking the water from it. For external work Portland cement is undoubtedly the best material on account of its strength, durability, and weather resisting External properties. If the plaster coat needs to be particularly strong and resistant to cracking, such as the walls of a squash court, Sizing is mixed with the plaster before application to increase both the surface bond strength and flexibility.<br /><br />The first coat of render is from 1/2 to 3/4 inches thick, and is mixed, dependent on the surface to be covered, in the proportions of from one part of cement to two of sand to one part to six of sand. A shovel of Lime is often added to make the mix more pliable. After dampening the surface to be coated, two horizontal bands of render called "screeds" are applied, one at around head height and the other just above floor level, these are then marked for vertical/horizontal alignment, finished, then allowed to partially dry. In a process similar to laying concrete, the wall is then rendered to a slightly higher level than the screeds, and using a "straight edge" (screed), the Plasterer uses the screeds as guides removing the excess render and leaving a rough flat surface. For a lower cost finish or if a rough surface is specified the screeds can be dispensed with. The render is then finished with a float (a smooth flat wooden tool with handle) to fill or remove larger imperfections. For some applications where a stronger key is required the surface is scored by later use of a float with nails protruding from the base. If the render is to be the finished surface then a float with a sponge attached to the base is then used on the wall until the surface is blemish free.<br /><br />For quality work, or where the wall is out of plumb requiring a large variation in render thickness, a thin "scratch" render coat is first applied then a second coat finished as described above. After around 24 hours the render has dried but before the final plaster coat is applied a trowel is used to scrape loose sand grains from the surface which would otherwise spoil the plaster finish.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.plasterersbristol.com/about-bristol-plasterers-ashton-southville-plastering" rel="nofollow">Bristol Plastering</a></div>

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