How to rectify a bad plaster job

[Asvan]

Hi everyone.

I recently got one of my rooms plastered and the plasterer has not done a very good job. I naively advertised the job on Facebook and gave the job to the first person who was available to do it. After he completed the work I noticed just how bad it was and I have called him several times but he is no longer answering my calls.

The wall has bumps and splattwrs everywhere and the window area is very badly done with small holes and rough surfaces. I cant afford to get someone else to come out to do it properly and just wondered how I can rectify it? Will sand paper and polyfilla work?

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Yes just get some very fine sand paper and filler (gyproc easy fill is good).

chalky matte paint hides a lot too

Thanks. Would it be worth buying an electric sander?

Any other advice please? I'm absolutely gutted and would really appreciate any helpful tips and advice.

I had a plasterer do a job with a few suspect patches...

I spent a while going over it with a fine tooth comb, and was able to sand out any splashes and lumps with some low grit aluminium oxide paper (got a big roll of 80 grit from Wickes, and use a sanding block), and fill any low spots with some filler.

So long as it's mainly flat and plumb, you should be able to fix the problems.

Sand down the splatters and rough surfaces, poly fills the holes.

Use something like the product below to fill in any depressions until the whole wall is even, then sand it smooth. It’ll be too difficult to sand down any bigger bumps that have dried, so fill around them iyswim.

www.diy.com/departments/diall-rough-surface-ready-mixed-finishing-plaster-10kg-tub/1849582_BQ.prd?storeId=1248&ds_rl=1272379&gclid=CjwKCAiA_vKeBhAdEiwAFb_nrblDJGANqcNW-1j51fJEiSF-HMMULbcDQ4T20Tqrungntk0YBxqXMBoC7tsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Wallrock paper is very forgiving too. It's like a lining paper but it blends uneven surfaces and you can sand and fill it. Do use their adhesive though not regular wallpaper paste.

What about a few pics of the offending plastering?

We’ve had awful plastering done too and it’s so blindingly obvious when the lights are on. It looks terrible.

I’d put lining paper and wallpaper up if I were you.

If you’re in Scotland and the initials are AM it might be the same guy.

DH is currently on a mission to sort out all the cracked plaster in our new (to us) home. He seems to be using a combination of chipping away cracked stuff the filling with plaster and sanding down rough bits. You’ll be fine, it’s sufficiently non-technical that DS1 (10) is permitted to help!

Yes to electric sander, very dusty though. Love mine. We also got a radial hand sander pad with a pole for doing the walls between coats, covers large areas fast

Sand away the worst, then mist coat and the. less obvious faults will be easier to see and fix

We had dodgy walls and found a good quality thick paint (we used little Greene) is very forgiving with the bobbly plaster after sanding it down and also sanding between coats.

Thanks for that everyone. I am a complete beginner when it comes to diy so I'm really anxious about making it even worse than it currently is!

I will attach photos in the morning.

Hi

Sorry to jump on this thread but just wanted some advice.

I've had a room replastered too and the plasterer didn't do a great job. Added to that we had to get more electricity sockets fitted so we have visible repair patches on the walls. I've gone over all the walls, sanded them finely and filled any holes with polyfilla.

I've now done my first mist coat and the polyfilled holes and repair patches are still visible. Will these be covered by a second mist coat or do I need to resend the patches?

Any advice will be appreciated.

Use a rotary hand sander for biggest areas. Sanding block for out of reach areas. Use a slow drying plaster purposed for covering hard wall. ( Not in UK- so don't know the proper names). Plastering is really easy, take your time and put as little product on as possible and immediately scrape away any excess.

Yes you need to sand after every application. The better sanding job you do the better the paint / finish will look.

Plastering and sanding are so important for a smooth professional job. Take your time. But you can do it !

@Mavan1984 I'm not sure what you mean by a mist coat. I wouldn't bother with that personally. It is the sanding that is really important. Don't bother sanding between coats! One coat of builder grade hardwall plaster should usually do it . But YES , sand final coat before painting.

Be sure to brush or vacuum down the walls before the paint job.

Your walls are going to look great!

FWIW,
Always stand around watching the professional who is doing your plaster job and ask questions about technique. You can learn so much, they will be flattered you are interested and may even do a better job. In the least you will have picked up a few tricks of the trade!

Plastering is incredibly hard, it's a real skill.

I've done repairs of blown plaster of about 1sq m in my house the best I could and it looked terrible!

I fixed it with a power sander but it's incredibly dusty. You really do need one you can attach a vacuum to and uses the sandpaper with holes in, and need a decent bagged vacuum like a Henry. It would destroy a Dyson or something! And your house will still get covered in dust.

If it's really bad, then honestly I'd just get someone in to fix it. It's always hard to find people. There are various trade review websites that might give you some confidence in who you are hiring.

Alternatively you could paper over it, but that is also quite hard to get a decent finish.

I wouldn't be overly concerned if you can see the repairs that have been done with different materials, they'll absorb the mist coat at different rates. I'd only be worried if the repairs are obviously proud (or lower than) the surrounding area. Try shining a torch across the surface, that will really show up the problem areas.

^exactly what @YetAnotherUser said.

The mist coat isn’t supposed to cover stuff up; it’s for your wall to absorb moisture and essentially sort of seal itself so your proper paint will go on smoothly.

Just out of curiosity, what kind of product is a mist coat? Is it like a primer? How is it applied- with a spray gun?

A mist coat is the name given to the first coat of paint you put onto new plaster. You shouldn’t use standard paint straight off the bat as the new plaster will suck out all the moisture and make your paint eventually start peeling off.

There are special products you can buy designed to go on bare/new plaster. However, most people do their own mist coat by simply watering down regular emulsion. The idea is that the moisture is absorbed by the wall rather than drying on top of it. That effectively seals the plaster and then you can paint as usual on top. That’s why the paint has to be thinned down with water. Opinion is divided re whether you need one or two mist coats. If you do two, you make the second one less diluted than the first.

@ConfusedByThisShit Thanks for this. This is called a primer coat, where I come from . You are absolutely right! A very important step after any new plaster and before any new paint job. I think 2 coats are best of an actual professional type. It is actually cheaper than watering down the final ( and expensive) enamel coat. Would you agree ? Are you a pro?

I need to be careful giving advice in the UK because of different terminology.
I'm just an amateur with lots of experience , but actually a fine artist. I am passionate about all kind of plastic work. Thanks for your input! 😀