Plasterer Cottenham

Some plastering work is often needed, even on modest home renovation assignments. It will normally be stuff like installing coving or cornices before decorating, latex screeding, rendering a patched up wall or plaster skimming some dry lining. Actually, it may possibly be any of a host of plastering related tasks.

Before any work commences you have to check out potential Cottenham plasterers to make sure that they know their trade. Ask if you can check out some images or a portfolio of completed work. At all costs, you want to avoid hiring "cowboys" for such work. Poor quality plastering can result in significant problems down the line, and it might not even be obvious until you start decorating.

The imperfections will soon show up on the newly plastered wall once a coat of paint has been applied to it. This effect is even more accentuated when the defective surfaces are viewed in bright sunshine. When you have the choice between decent plasterers in Cottenham and bad ones, always choose a competent one.

It is always good to remember that plastering needs to be flat and smooth, as it's simply a base upon which other materials are placed. It's fairly easy to fill and repair any slight cracking and imperfections, but it's hard to disguise inherently uneven surfaces. Areas that are improperly plastered can result in issues with the decorating of ceilings and walls, the installation of kitchen units, the tiling of wall surfaces and the accurate fitting of architraves.

You can always tell the finest Cottenham plasterers because they consistently get a polished finish, straight from the trowel. It should not ever be necessary to use power sanding machines on newly plastered ceilings and walls, just a quick rub down with a fine grade of sandpaper before redecorating. If any degree of strenuous sanding is needed to flatten out the plastered areas, they weren't correctly done to begin with. Be very suspicious of re-hiring plasterers who make use of electric sanders.

Whilst you may call on the services of a plasterer for many tasks, a typical reason these days is for plastering over artex ceilings. A widely used form of ceiling finish in Cottenham during the 1970's and 1980's, artex is somewhat out of favour at present. To give your ceilings that sleek and contemporary look once again, most plasterers in Cottenham will be happy to cover them with plaster. Those of you who are more retro in taste might wish to have your artex ceilings restored and brought back to their former glory.

Do-it-Yourself Plastering Cottenham: When you have a plastering project which has to be done in Cottenham, you really have a couple of choices. You can either get in touch with a professional plasterer to do the job, or have a stab on your own. Unless you are reasonably good at do-it-yourself and have got the self-confidence to take on the job, perhaps it's best left to the pros. As a novice plasterer it is a wise idea to begin your plastering adventure by practicing on a spare bedroom or an out of sight area, especially one that already has a poor plastered finish and that can only be improved by your early efforts. This will be a lot less stressful for you, and enable you to spend a bit of time mastering your newly acquired skills. It is possible to re-plaster a wall as many times as you like to a certain extent, and you can simply re-do it if you don't do a great job at the first attempt.

If you do not want to go to the extreme length of signing up for a proper plastering course, you might be able to get some pretty good tips and advice by watching You Tube tutorials, although it is not always as easy as they make it seem in the videos. Plastering is a "hands on" activity and the more you practice the better you get. Through trial and error you may even think up you own strategies for getting a flawless plastered finish. But if you are uncertain, stick to the tried and true methods. Because plastering is mostly about confidence, the more often you do it, the more confident you'll become. As soon as you've perfected the skill to a standard you're satisfied with, you can progress to plastering the other walls of your home. You still have the option of bringing in an experienced Cottenham plasterer if you mess it up.

Plaster Cottenham

Used for protecting and decorating the walls and ceilings of buildings, plaster is a material that's been in use since the times of the Egyptians. In the UK the term "plaster" ordinarily pertains to a material which is used on the inside of houses, while the material used on outside areas is known as "render". The plaster blend itself may contain various ingredients but most frequently comprise of either cement, gypsum, or lime. All these mixtures basically work in the same way, but are used for different things. Plaster is a dry powder when manufactured and when needed, is mixed with water to form a stiff but easy to work paste just prior to application. The resulting reaction between the plaster and water generates heat by way of crystallization and the mix then becomes hard. (Tags: Plaster Cottenham, Render Cottenham, Plastering Cottenham)

A Plasterer's Tools

When you've got plastering work that needs doing in Cottenham, most craftsmen and DIY enthusiasts will find that they haven't got all of the specialist tools that are necessary to do a decent job. Which is why in the majority of cases a specialist plasterer will be essential for this type of work. Here are merely a few of the tools that a qualified Cottenham plasterer will work with:

• Feather Edge
• Plastering Rule
• Stilts
• Plasterer's Hawk
• Taping & Jointing Knives
• Edging Trowel
• Plaster Buckets & Pan
• Finishing Trowel
• Plasterer's Trowel
• Drywall Rasp
• Board & Door Lifter
• Plaster Mixing Paddle

Polished Plastering Cottenham

Fairly fashionable nowadays, polished plaster is a modern variant of classic Italian plaster finishes. Describing anything from rugged textured plasters to highly polished Venetian, Marmorino and Lucidato plasters, the name "Polished Plaster" actually covers a number of good quality plaster finishes. Used primarily on interior ceilings and walls, polished plaster is intended to give a finish that appears to be polished limestone, marble or travertine. Polished plaster gives you a feeling of depth by means of natural shade variations whilst being smooth and sleek to the touch. It's also possible to mix these types of plasters to generate quite original customized finishes. Through the use of synthetic or natural colourants, attractive colours or tints can be given to the plaster finish. Should you need to create a "marbled" effect in your polished plaster, or custom colours or designs that do not exist naturally, the capability to tint Venetian plaster is particularly valuable.

Screeding Cottenham

Screeding Cottenham: Screeding calls for the spreading of a cement and sand mix, to make a flat, smooth floor surface. Screeding is usually put on top of a concrete sub-floor to be covered with an appropriate floor finish (such as floor boards, vinyl, carpet or tiles), to encase underfloor heating pipes or to be used as a finished hardwearing floor surface. A properly laid screed can considerably prolong the lifespan of the complete floor and assure its finish, quality and durability. Screed is only ever mixed by hand where small areas of flooring are being worked on. For more substantial projects, a reliable screed pump needs to be used to ensure a smooth and even mix of sand and cement, which can then be pumped directly to the required location.

Plasterboarding (Dry Lining) Cottenham

Some plasterers in Cottenham also offer dry lining services (plasterboarding), which will be required in plenty of home improvements. Dry lining is the procedure where plasterboard is mounted on a wood studding, metal framing or a masonry or brickwork surface to produce a wall surface that doesn't need plastering. Whilst you could decorate or paint the plasterboard surface as it is, in reality most elect to get the plasterboard skimmed with a thin coat of plaster to give it an extra smooth finish. With regards to fittings, when fixing plasterboard to wood stud or joists, drywall screws or nails are used, when attaching to a metal Gypframe self-drilling, self tapping (Jack-Point screws) are used and when attaching to a brick or masonry wall the "dot and dab" method is used.

Artex

Artexing Cottenham: Whilst more common during the 1970's and 1980's artex still is a good way to enhance the appearance of a ceiling, particularly a cracked or shabby one. It is not quite as straightforward to track down a plasterer who'll do artexing nowadays, where a few years ago you would find a lot of tradespeople who did nothing but artexing and artex removal. The thing that boosted its popularity was probably the a wide variety of designs that it could be fashioned in, and it seemed that everyone had their favourite design, perhaps it might have been criss-cross, medusa, swirl, bark, basket, circles, pairs, broken leather, hook & line, scroll or stippled. Whatever your taste was, you would be able to find an artex design to match. It's obviously still perfectly possible to get any one of these artex ceiling designs carried out today, you'll just have to locate a craftsman (a plasterer and not a handyman) prepared to tackle it. The only disadvantage of artex, and what probably brought about its drop in popularity, is it's difficult to patch or repair.

Cottenham Plaster Patching

Damaged or cracked plasterwork is a common issue, especially with older properties in Cottenham or those which have recently gone through construction work or home improvements. A sound plaster finish is important for reasons of both aesthetics and strength, and so keeping it in tip top condition is a necessity. Cracked or crumbling sections of plaster and areas which have been poorly repaired with Polyfilla, look terrible and ruin the overall appearance your home. This kind of task is simple for any self-respecting Cottenham plasterer, and your walls should quickly be looking pristine and ready to be decorated. A variety of factors can cause issues with your plaster walls shrinking, accidental damage, dampness, settlement and vibration. Before carrying out any patching work it is crucial to address any underlying issues, as damage will probably reoccur if they are not sorted out beforehand.

Plasterer Cottenham

A tradesman who exclusively works with plaster, a plasterer in Cottenham is a professional who applies a smooth, even coating of mixed plaster over otherwise rough and unglazed surfaces, which can then be decorated. Plastering as a trade has been around for many hundreds of years, whilst the technique in general has been used in construction for millennia. Nowadays, mostly applied to the internal walls of domestic and commercial buildings, plaster is used to create a smooth and even surface that is ready to receive the final finishing material. It is also regularly used to form ornamental moldings on the ceiling and other sections of the wall. Plastering also plays a significant role in numerous home renovation projects in Cottenham, and can be used in the construction of garages, extensions, attic conversions, porches and more. (Tags: Plastering Cottenham, Plasterer Cottenham, Plasterers Cottenham).

Plastering Tasks Cottenham

Cottenham plastering specialists will likely help you with recessed TV walls Cottenham, floor screeding and levelling Cottenham, wet dashing, lime rendering Cottenham, monocouche rendering Cottenham, asbestos testing Cottenham, relief plaster Cottenham, the rendering of concrete blocks Cottenham, Marmorino plaster Cottenham, metal studding partitioning, repairing holes in ceilings and walls, coloured K Rend Cottenham, rendering with sand and cement, decorative mouldings, blown plaster Cottenham, coloured acrylic screeds, plastering quotations, skirting board installation in Cottenham, fancy coving, dot and dab walling Cottenham, drop ceilings Cottenham, false ceilings, stucco plastering Cottenham, overskimming plaster ceilings and walls, plastering over artex, concrete plaster, wall crack repairs Cottenham, flood and fire renovations Cottenham, screeding floors for tiling, ceiling overboarding Cottenham and other plastering work in Cottenham, Cambridgeshire.

Advice and Guidance

For more information about plasterer's duties, the history of plaster and plastering over the years, traditional plasterer's methods, interior plastering, the tools of the trade and exterior plastering, you could have a look at the Wikipedia "Plasterwork" page. Visit the Federation of Plastering and Drywall Contractors website to get approved members. To see what is occurring in the realm of plastering, rendering and screeding visit one of the plastering forums. Topics of discussion include General Rendering, Tips and Tricks of the Trade, Fibrous Plastering, Floor Screeding, Damp and Damp Proofing, Plastering Students Discussions, Exterior Wall Insulation, Plasterer's Health and Safety, General Trade Discussions and Magnetic Plaster. (Tags: Plasterers Cambridgeshire, Plasterers Cottenham, Plastering Cottenham, Plasterer Cottenham).

Cottenham Plastering Services

Get Plastering in Cottenham Here

• Cottenham Plaster Skimming
• Cottenham Artex Covering
• Cottenham Plasterers
• Cottenham Dry Lining
• Cottenham Coving Installation
• Cottenham Artexing
• Cottenham Plaster Repairs
• Cottenham Commercial Plastering
• Cottenham Plastering Estimates
• Cottenham Plastering
• Cottenham Floor Screeding
• Cottenham Plaster Re-Skimming
• Cottenham Plastering Courses
• Cottenham Soundproofing

Other Useful Trades in Cottenham Cambridgeshire

Undoubtedly, when you happen to be doing home renovations in Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, you will likely be in need of all kinds of different tradespeople and aside from a plasterer in Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, you could additionally need dry lining in Cottenham, renderers in Cottenham, pebble dashers in Cottenham, cornice fitters in Cottenham, waste clearance in Cottenham, cleaners in Cottenham, building contactors in Cottenham, tiling in Cottenham, screeders in Cottenham, polished plaster in Cottenham, carpenters & joiners in Cottenham, plaster mouldings in Cottenham, painters and decorators in Cottenham, bricklaying in Cottenham, electric socket installation in Cottenham, plasterboarders in Cottenham, artexing in Cottenham or external wall insulation in Cottenham.

Plastering Jobs Cottenham: Browse plastering jobs in Cottenham here: Plastering Jobs Cottenham

More Cambridgeshire plasterers: Ramsey Plasterers, Whittlesey Plasterers, St Neots Plasterers, Cambridge Plasterers, Ely Plasterers, St Ives Plasterers, Littleport Plasterers, March Plasterers, Orton Longueville Plasterers, Orton Waterville Plasterers, Huntingdon Plasterers, Soham Plasterers, Sawston Plasterers, Peterborough Plasterers, Wisbech Plasterers and Chatteris Plasterers.

Plastering Cottenham - Polished Plaster Cottenham - Cheap Plasterer Cottenham - Plasterers Cottenham - Screeding Cottenham - Plaster Skimming Cottenham - Plasterboarding Cottenham - Rendering Cottenham - Plasterer Cottenham