Plastering - how to?

[AlpinePony]

We've just had a bit of wiring done in the baby's bedroom - OH wouldn't let me do it even though it seems quite simple. Anyway, as a result of some of the brickwork being removed to lay the cables we now need some plastering done.

Yes, of course we can hire a plasterer - but I think it might be fun* to try myself. I've been up to the DIY shop today to price up my kit and if it all goes wrong then I won't be 100s out of pocket when I need to call in the professional.

Any tips & tricks? :)

1. Call a plasterer
2. Breathe sigh of relief that you didn't waste a load of money ballsing it up yourself.

Seriously. Call a plasterer.

Was going to come on and say

1. Get yellow pages out of bin.
2. Call plasterer.

I see someone's already beaten me to it.

Came on to say what they said.

haha come on, it can't be that hard or that messy? It's only filling in over a pipe.

We're supposed to be capable women - there must be someone here who's done this. It's only like re-grouting the bath but on a slightly bigger scale.

If it's just over a gap where a wire was then it sounds like a job for filler rather than plaster, which you can definitely do. If you mean plastering a whole wall, then yes it is very messy and needs a lot of skill.

I'd like to know the same thing! I'm ripping off some 'dado rail' things, which have been superglued to the walls, leaving plasterless chunks in the wall. I was wondering how hard can it be to plaster such a small space....?!

You can get "patching plaster" for small repairs from Wickes or somewhere. Or larger amounts of Polyfilla - you build it up in layers for a deep hole.

We did up a whole house ourselves, we are pretty good at most DIY but plastering was the one thing we couldn't master. Even small patches stood out as lumps under the wallpaper. Really do get someone in.

My dad used to do his own plastering, but I think he is from the genius generation.

polycell have do it yourself videos

though they haven't got one for filling a hole in a ceiling which is what i want

Plastering is a real skill. It won't cost a fortune to pay someone to do it, and a proper plasterer will box it off in five minutes. If you do it yourself it with either look crap or shrink away from the original plaster and crack ((bitter experience)) or both.

Just pay up and look happy (as me granny would say).

It's really not about money, it's just something I want to do. It's my house and I want to be able to say "see that wonky wall? that's my wonky wall". :)

You can buy ready-made cakes, but you like baking your own right?

I'm the first to try things myself. I consider my painting and decorating skills to be as good as any pro.

Call a plasterer. Seriously.

If you want to do it, then have a go but, I have to side with the others and say it is a real art.

Depending on the size of the gap you will need some scrim which is a type of gauze/mesh that goes over the hole and you skim plaster onto it. If the gap is quite wide, you will need to nail some plasterboard into place and then place scrim round the edges.

My local college does adult education courses that include plastering.... How about an evening class? They exist here, worth checking it out in your area perhaps.

I love DIY too but wouldn't touch plastering with a bargepole. It is one of those things, apparently, that just need to be done properly.

Love the sentiment though!