Alton Plasterers: Plastering jobs come in all sizes and shapes and no matter how big or small, you'll want to locate a skilled and professional plasterer to work on your home in Alton. Plastering is not really a job you can do yourself, it takes years of practise to perfect.
Even modest home improvement jobs could require some plastering work to be carried out. It might be stuff like installing cornices or coving before decorating, plastering over artex, skimming a dry lined partition or applying some screeding. Having said that, any one of numerous plastering related jobs might be required.
Now there are plenty of Alton plasterers from which to pick, and you have to identify one that knows their stuff. If they've got their own website you'll be able to study pictures that they've posted, or you could ask to see a portfolio. You want to avoid hiring "cowboys" for this kind of work, no matter what. Even substandard plastering can occasionally look passable at first, but later on, the problems begin.
Any defects in your freshly plastered ceilings and walls will soon become apparent when a splash of emulsion is applied. Your freshly plastered surfaces will probably look even worse with the sun shining on them. There are enough good plasterers in Alton, so be sure to pick a competent one.
The most crucial attribute of plastered surfaces is that they are level and smooth. Minor blemishes and cracking can be easily repaired afterwards with few issues, but uneven surfaces are difficult to disguise. A badly plastered area may cause serious complications with the painting and wallpapering of the surfaces, any area of wall tiling, the accurate fitting of architraves and the installation of kitchen units.
The aim of the most experienced Alton plasterers is to get the perfect finish right from the trowel, and you should expect nothing less. A plastered ceiling or wall should never have to be sanded down to get a good finish, it ought to only require a brief rub with fine sandpaper prior to decorating. You would be right in thinking that the plastering has not been done to an acceptable level if extensive sanding is necessary. The alarm bells should certainly start ringing if orbital sanders are being used with any frequency.
One common reason for calling in a plasterer in recent times, is to plaster over an artex ceiling. Hundreds of homes in Alton had ceilings which were coated with artex during the 70's and 80's, when it was at its height of popularity. Most plasterers in Alton will be happy to plaster over that artexed ceiling, to make it look more fresh and contemporary. If however, you would like to bring a bit of that old style back into your home, most plasterers will be just as glad to coat your ceiling with artex as they are to plaster over it.
Do-it-Yourself Plastering Alton: While it's always better to use a competent plasterer in Alton when you have plastering work that needs to be carried out in your home or business premises, it is quite possible to have a crack at plastering yourself if you are really good at do-it-yourself, and have the self-confidence to try. Doing a test run on an out-of-sight area or a spare bedroom is certainly advisable when you are beginning your initial plastering adventure. If possible try to choose an area that already has a poor quality plastered finish, so your amateurish efforts can't make it much worse. This will enable you to try out your newly found skills and is going to be less stressful than taking on a wall that everybody in the house can see. You will very likely make rather a mess on the first attempt, but you don't have to worry because it's quite possible to re-skim a wall surface as many times as you like.
You may be able to get some good plastering tips and hints by watching and studying YouTube tutorials online if you do not wish to go to the extreme of signing up for a plastering course. The problem is that some of those videos can sometimes make it look simple, and plastering is a long way from that. Like the majority of "hands on" activities, the more that you practice the more accomplished you get at plastering. You might even develop some of your own strategies for achieving a flawless plastered finish, however the time-tested ways are normally the best. Because plastering is all about self-confidence, the more you do it, the more confident you will get. You can attempt some more complex plastering tasks as soon as you have perfected this art to a good standard. If you do bodge it up, you've still got the option of contacting an experienced Alton plasterer to put things right.
Decorative Plastering
Types of plastering have been practiced for both practical and decorative objectives since the times of the ancient Romans. Blends of clay and mud were applied in those long forgotten days. To restrict the spread of fires in 13th century London, plaster was applied to the internal walls of houses and buildings. Throughout the Georgian and Victorian eras big advances were made to produce elaborate features and mouldings from plaster of paris or gypsum, as you'll witness if you go to visit buildings of this period. Stunning decorative effects by means of age-old techniques and modern materials can be created by professional plasterers today. This can take countless shapes and can involve the use of cornices, coving, corbels, niches, dentils, ceiling roses and brackets.
Plaster
What is Plaster? - Plaster is a common building material used for protecting or decorating walls and ceilings in Alton, and for creating decorative elements. In the UK the term "plaster" commonly pertains to a material that's used on the inside of homes, whilst the material used on outside areas is termed "render". The most common kinds of plaster primarily contain either cement, gypsum, or lime, though all basically work in the same way. Plaster is is produced in powdered form and when needed, is simply mixed with water to form a stiff, easy to work paste immediately before application. A chemical reaction is caused when the water and the plaster powder are mixed together, and hardening occurs due to the heat produced by what's known as crystallization. For purchasing plaster or plastering products you can head to Travis and Perkins, B&Q, Wickes, Screwfix or British Gypsum. (Tags: Plastering Alton, Render Alton, Plaster Alton)
Screeding
A number of plasterers in Alton can also provide a floor screeding service, by which a smooth, level floor surface is created using a cement and sand mix. Normally screeding is put on over a rougher concrete sub-floor to cover underfloor heating pipes, to receive a floor finish (such as floor boards, carpet or tiles) or to be left as a wearing floor surface. A correctly laid screed can significantly extend the lifespan of the complete floor and positively affect its finish, durability and quality. An effective screed pump needs to be employed to quickly ensure a smooth, even blend of cement and sand and to pump this perfect mix straight to where its needed. The hand mixing of screed must only be used where small areas are involved.
Polished Plastering Alton
Polished Plaster Alton: Very fashionable nowadays, polished plaster is an up-to-date variant of classic Italian plasterered finishes. The term "Polished Plaster" is generally used to cover a wide variety of premium plaster finishes, from rugged textured plasters to highly polished Lucidato, Marmorino and Venetian plasters. This technique is typically used internally, on ceilings and walls, to supply a surface finish that looks like polished travertine, limestone or marble. Polished plaster offers natural shade variations delivering an impression of depth while still being smooth when touched. By the mixing up of these different sorts of plaster compounds it is actually possible to create unique customised finishes that can be employed to great effect. Through the use of man made or natural colourants, pleasing colours or tints can be applied to the polished plaster finish. If you wish to create "marbling" effects in your Venetian plaster, or unique designs or colours that don't exist in nature, the capability to tint Venetian plaster is particularly beneficial. (Tags: Marbled Plaster Alton, Polished Plaster Alton, Venetian Plaster Alton, Polished Plastering Alton)
Plastering Courses Alton
The simplest way to either learn the basic principles of plastering or to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to begin a career in the plastering trade is to put your name down for an appropriate course at a training centre or college. For both complete beginners and tradesmen wishing to advance their plastering expertise, there are quite a lot of plastering related courses on offer. Plastering courses are available for both City & Guilds and NVQ with alternatives for either total beginners or intermediate tradesmen. Beginner plastering courses (Level One) cover such things as installing sheet materials, applying set coats, applying scratch coats (walls), preparing background surfaces, putting on floating coats and mixing plaster products. Intermediate and advanced (Level Two courses and diplomas) deal with such things as cement and sand screeding, fibrous plasterwork, plastering to exterior surfaces, reverse moulding for fibrous work and dry lining/plasterboarding. For plastering courses in Alton and across Hampshire, try searching on Google or Yahoo. You can check out City and Guilds, NVQ and Diploma courses in plastering and dry lining by clicking HERE. (Tags: Beginners Plastering Alton, Plastering Lessons Alton, Plasterers Courses Alton, Plastering Courses Alton)
Pebble Dashing Alton
Pebble Dashing Alton: A product which is frequently used to enhance and protect the outside walls of properties, pebbledash is not everybody's cup of tea in Alton. Plasterers will usually carry out this sort of work for you, however there are pebble dashing experts available.
Pebble dashing usually consists of two layers of a base coat made from sand and lime onto which small pebbles, gravel or shells are pressed to give both new and renovated buildings an attractive, maintenance free and strong surface finish. (Tags: Pebble Dash Removal Alton, Pebble Dashers Alton, Pebble Dash Alton, Pebble Dashing Alton)
Rendering
Rendering is a similar technique to plastering, and is the process by which a mixture of lime, sand, cement and water is applied to exterior (and occasionally internal) walls in order to achieve a textured or smooth surface. Rendering is a popular method across Europe and is particularly widespread in the Mediterranean region. A rendered surface has some fire resistant properties and is water resistant, although it is principally used for cosmetic purposes. You can get a more resilient and long lasting finish by adding colour to the render mix itself, though it is possible to paint a rendered wall. (Tags: Rendering Alton, Renderers Alton)
Artexing
Artexing Alton: Though most popular throughout the 1970's and 1980's artex is still a decent way to improve the look of ceilings, particularly shabby or cracked ones. While a few years ago you would find a number of tradespeople who did very little else but apply artex and do artex repairs, these days it's not quite so easy to obtain a plasterer that will undertake artexing. With designs and styles like broken leather, circle, bark, basket weave, swirl, pairs, hook & line, stipple, criss-cross, medusa or scroll, there was something for everyone. Artex patterns were available to fit any taste or preference. You can obviously still have ceilings done in all these designs nowadays, just identify a local Alton plasterer who continually carries out this kind of work, and not one which will simply "have a try", in this way you can make sure that you will get a good job done of it. Bear in mind, however, that artex isn't the simplest stuff to repair or patch up, which is one of the reasons why it's popularity declined to begin with. (Tags: Artex Repairs Alton, Artex Patching Alton, Artexing Alton, Artex Alton, Artex Removal Alton)
Plasterer Alton
A plasterer in Alton is a professional tradesman who works exclusively with plaster, applying a smooth, even coating of plaster over a previously rough and unglazed surface. As a trade, plastering has been around for many hundreds of years, and as a technique in construction for possibly thousands of years. Plaster in today's times, is predominantly used on the interior walls of domestic and commercial buildings, to produce a smooth and even surface on which to administer the final finish. Plaster is also sometimes used to make decorative and elaborate cornices and mouldings that can be employed for adorning the interior ceilings and walls of rooms. Playing a major role in a lot of home improvement projects in Alton, the plastering process is also used in the the finishing of porches, attic conversions, garages and extensions.
Plastering Tasks Alton
Alton plastering specialists will likely help you with ceramic tiling, chamois plastering, lime rendering, lay in grid suspended ceilings, cornices and ceiling roses, dragged plastering, skimming over plasterboard, plastering repairs Alton, professional plasterers Alton, flood and fire restorations in Alton, ceiling replacements Alton, blown plaster, artexing patterns and designs in Alton, floor levelling, dot and dab walling, pebble dashing restoration, rendering with sand and cement Alton, pitted plastering in Alton, exterior screeding and rendering, floor screeding and levelling, wet dashing, drywall edging in Alton, plastering quotes Alton, the rendering of brick Alton, polished plaster in Alton, Marmorino plastering Alton, repairing holes in walls and ceilings, coloured K Rend, asbestos testing, concrete plastering in Alton and other plastering work in Alton, Hampshire.
Alton Plastering Services
- Alton Plaster Re-Skimming
- Alton Latex Screeding
- Alton Commercial Plastering
- Alton Dry Lining
- Alton Plastering
- Alton Ceiling Replacements
- Alton Plasterboarding
- Alton Plasterers
- Alton Cornice Installation
- Alton Plastering Courses
- Alton Plaster Repairs
- Alton Artex Covering
- Alton Plasterer
- Alton Polished Plaster
Other Useful Trades in Alton Hampshire
Obviously, when you happen to be doing home repairs and improvements in Alton, Hampshire, you will likely need all kinds of different tradespeople and apart from plasterers in Alton, Hampshire, you may additionally need tiling in Alton, plaster mouldings in Alton, carpenters in Alton, plasterboard installation in Alton, domestic & commercial cleaners in Alton, builders in Alton, rendering specialists in Alton, polished plaster in Alton, screeding in Alton, pebble dashers in Alton, waste clearance in Alton, bricklaying in Alton, artexing in Alton, external wall insulation in Alton, coving fitters in Alton, dry lining services in Alton, electric socket installation in Alton or decorators in Alton.
More Hampshire plasterers: Havant Plasterers, Lymington Plasterers, Southampton Plasterers, Romsey Plasterers, Hythe Plasterers, Farnborough Plasterers, Winchester Plasterers, Eastleigh Plasterers, Whitehill Plasterers, Chandlers Ford Plasterers, New Milton Plasterers, Gosport Plasterers, Basingstoke Plasterers, Bordon Plasterers, North Baddesley Plasterers, Fareham Plasterers, Ringwood Plasterers, Alton Plasterers, Portsmouth Plasterers, Southsea Plasterers, Hedge End Plasterers, Andover Plasterers, Fawley Plasterers, Fleet Plasterers, Tadley Plasterers, Totton Plasterers, Aldershot Plasterers, Petersfield Plasterers, Yateley Plasterers and Waterlooville Plasterers.
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