Getting Plastered: Tips For Repairing And Renewing Your Walls

Photo by Ksenia Chernaya: https://www.pexels.com/photo/uneven-white-surface-with-grains-and-traces-5691697/

Whether you need to replaster your walls or fix plaster holes, you’ve come to the right place. In this blog, we’ll discuss how to repair specific plaster issues and when to know it’s time to have the wall replastered. Let’s go!

What Tools Will You Need?

Note: Whatever the nature of the plastering repair/renewal, if undertaking this working DIY, always follow the manufacturer’s instructions while using our steps as a guide/overview.

Depending on the type of plastering job, you’ll likely need the following tools:

• Chisel
• Sandpaper
• Scissors
• Hoover
• Stanley knife
• Filler knife
• Tray to mix joint compound (if required)

As for the supplies, the following may be required:

• Drywall tape
• Drywall joint compound

Fixing Regular Plastering Wall Cracks

Note: The below method is also generally suited to hairline plaster wall cracks.

This section will apply to most plastering wall cracks. For fixing cracks in the corner of plaster walls or recurring plaster cracks, skip to the headings below. The method we’ll focus on involves scoring the crack and replacing the sections.

Here are the steps required to fix regular plastering wall cracks:

1. Cover surfaces to protect them from being dirtied or damaged by plastering.
2. Remove furniture from the work area to avoid them suffering any damage from falling plaster.
3. Score the plaster wall crack with a Stanley knife
4. Cautiously remove loose pieces of plaster before widening the crack.
5. Use your hoover to rid the crack of small bits of plaster/dust.
6. Using scissors, cut off a section of drywall tape such that it will match the length of the wall crack. You can then put this section of tape to one side (you’ll need to return to it shortly).
7. Mix the joint compound in the mixing tray per the manufacturer’s instructions.
8. Add a small quantity of the mixture to a drywall knife before spreading a thin layer over the wall crack such that it covers each side of the crack.
9. Return to the drywall tape and place it over the crack while making sure that you smooth out any bumps with the drywall knife. It’s important to proceed carefully here as you don’t want the knife to rip any parts of the tape.
10. Use the drywall knife to smooth a second layer of joint compound.
11. Give the joint compound time to dry.
12. You can now use sandpaper to sand over the location you’ve repaired. However, don’t overdo it, as you don’t want to sand over it so much that the tape peeks through the plaster.

 

While the above solution should be a permanent fix, in some cases, plastering wall cracks can occur repeatedly. This is likely the result of your property’s foundation shifting. 

While it’s unlikely to be a significant issue, you may want to hire a professional piling contractor to inspect your home’s foundations just to be on the safe side. It’s actually advised that you have a piling contractor inspect your foundations twice a year (that way, issues can be spotted early and addressed promptly).While you could just continue to use the method discussed in the prior section, if it’s an especially serious crack or/and there’s been a recurring issue, you should hire a professional plasterer. 

Fixing Corner Plaster Wall Cracks

You’ll need to take a different approach to fix a crack that appears in the corner of a plaster wall.

While you’ll want to take a comparable approach to simply scoring the crack and replacing the sections, there are some additional steps required, namely:

1. Apply several pieces of drywall tape such that all sides of the crack are covered. 
2. Once that’s done, gently apply joint compound over the tape
3. Allow the joint compound to set
4. Sand over as you would for the steps listed in the prior section.

Hiring the Right Plasterer for You

If hiring a professional plasterer, you’ll want to find the right person for the job. While having one wall plastered is unlikely to cost more than £250, having an entire room plastered will probably cost between £300 and £900.

Plasterer costs (i.e., labour costs alone) tend to fall somewhere between £15 and £25 per hour, although it may depend on the nature of the job.

We advise obtaining quotes from three professional plasterers in your area. Instead of simply going for the contractor with the lowest price, we suggest weighing up their quote with their previous experience, any online reviews/ratings they have and even how well you get on with them.

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