Thornley Plasterers: Whenever there's plastering work to be done on your property in Thornley, whether large or small, you should be calling on an experienced and professional plasterer to execute this task. Plastering is not really a job you can do yourself, it can take years of practise to perfect.
Even modest home restoration projects could require some plastering work to be carried out. It will potentially be something like screeding, rendering a patched up wall, fitting coving or cornices before decorating or skimming dry lining. The fact is, it may possibly be any of a multitude of plastering related jobs.
There are numerous means by which to figure out if potential Thornley plasterers know their stuff, one good approach is to ask for a portfolio of previous assignments. For this sort of work, you do not want to be employing "cowboys". Inferior plastering is worse than no plastering at all, because it is very difficult to correct later on.
Any defects will become glaringly obvious as soon as some emulsion paint starts to be applied to your freshly plastered ceilings and walls. This impression will be even more accentuated when the defective surfaces are viewed in bright sunlight. To avoid issues like this, pick only from competent plasterers in Thornley.
Because plaster is usually covered up with other products and materials you can easily forget how crucial it is that it is level and smooth. Small cracks and imperfections can be filled afterwards with few issues, but irregular plaster is tricky to conceal. Areas that are unevenly plastered can bring about problems with the fitting of kitchen units, the tiling of wall surfaces, fitting architraves and the painting and wallpapering of walls and ceilings.
The aim of the most skillful Thornley plasterers is to get a polished finish right from the trowel, and you should count on nothing less. You can recognise when plastering has been done by an expert, since a quick rub down is all that's required and no sanding is necessary. If the finished plastering needs forceful sanding, you can be pretty certain that it hasn't been done properly. If you hear the buzzing of power sanders, you need to carry out a thorough quality check.
These days, one of the most common jobs a plasterer is requested to do, is cover up an old artex ceiling. A popular form of finish in Thornley during the 1970's and 80's, artex is pretty much out of favour today. Covering that artex ceiling with plaster is something that most Thornley plasterers will be more than happy to do in order to make it look more fresh and modern. Plastering over artex is preferred to removing it as it is quite hard to get off or repair, which is probably why its popularity has waned.
DIY Plastering Thornley: When you've got a plastering project that needs to be undertaken in Thornley, you've really got a couple of choices. You can either employ a reputable plasterer to do the job, or have a crack yourself. Unless you're fairly good at DIY and have got the self-confidence to tackle the task, it's probably best left to the professionals. Choosing a wall that already has a poor quality plastered finish is recommended to start with, so your novice plastering amateur efforts are unlikely to make it any worse. A spare bedroom or an out-of-sight area would be an ideal place to start. This will allow you to test out your newly found skills and is going to be less stressful than trying to do a wall that everyone will regularly see. It's possible to re-skim a wall surface as many times as you like to an extent, and you can simply have another crack if you don't do a great job at the first attempt.
You may be able to get some decent plastering tips and hints by watching You Tube tutorials online if you don't want to go to the extreme length of signing up for a plastering course. The problem is that some of those videos can often make it look simple, and plastering is far from that. Plastering is of course "hands on" activity and the more you practice the more adept you get. By using experimentation you might even think up you own techniques for getting that perfect plastered finish. But if you're unsure, follow the tried and true methods. The more often you do it the more confident you'll get, and when the chips are down - plastering is all about confidence. Once you've perfected the skill to a level you're happy with, you'll be able to move on to plastering the other walls of your home. If the whole thing goes pear shaped and you mess up the plastering, you can always hire an experienced plasterer to correct your mistakes.
Rendering
Rendering Thornley: The process of applying a mix of cement, sand, lime and water to either interior or exterior walls to achieve a smooth or textured surface, is known as rendering, which is a fairly similar trade to plastering. Rendering is especially prevalent in the Mediterranean area, but is also a popular method throughout Europe. Mostly employed for cosmetic reasons a rendered surface has some useful fire retardant properties and is also waterproof. You can obtain a more resilient and long lasting result by adding colour to the render itself, although it is of course possible to paint a rendered surface.
A Plasterer's Tools
Bona fide plasterers use a lot of tools that do not appear in the toolkits of other craftsmen or do-it-yourselfers, which is the explanation why the majority of plastering work in Thornley is generally undertaken by professional plasterers. Here are just some of the tools that a skilled plasterer will use:
- Taping & Jointing Knives
- Plaster Mixing Paddle
- Scarifier
- Plasterer's Hawk
- Dry Lining Rasp
- Plaster Pan & Buckets
- Finishing Trowel
- Plasterboard Carrier
- Plasterer's Trowel
- Feather Edge
- Plastering Rule
- Edging Trowel
Screeding
Screeding is a procedure through which a smooth, level floor surface is established by the use of a cement and sand mix. The application of screeding is typically done over a previously laid concrete sub-floor to encase underfloor heating pipes, to be covered with a floor finish (such as carpet, tiles or floor boards) or to be used as a finished hardwearing floor surface. A properly laid screed can help to lengthen the lifespan of the whole floor and ensure its finish, durability and quality. Hand mixing screed is only recommended for smaller areas, in all other cases a screed pump should be used to swiftly guarantee an even, smooth mixture of sand and cement and to pump this fine mix directly to its required location, avoiding the need for wheelbarrows and other equipment.
Artexing
Artexing Thornley: Especially popular through the 1970's and 1980's, artex has long been an ideal way to add an ornamental finish to a ceiling, as well as to cover over uneven surfaces and cracks. While previously you would find lots of tradespeople who did very little else but apply artex and do artex repairs, these days it's not quite so easy to track down a plasterer that will tackle artexing. With designs and styles like circles, swirl, pairs, stipple, basket & roses, criss-cross, medusa, bark, broken leather, hook & line or scroll, there was something for everyone. No matter what your taste was, you would find an artex design to suit. Every one of these artex designs can still be done today if you can find a local artexer or plumber willing to do it. Avoid handyman types who offer to "have a bash". Having said all that, it should be mentioned that artex is somewhat challenging to repair or patch and it is most likely because of this that its popularity diminished.
Plaster Thornley
Plaster is a building material that is used for protecting or decorating ceilings and walls in Thornley, and for making decorative components. What we call "plaster" in the British Isles is normally thought of as the material which is used for covering the interior rooms of houses and buildings, whilst that which is used on outside walls is known as "render" or "rendering". Plaster blends typically contain either lime, gypsum, or cement, all of which work in fairly similar ways. Blended with water to form a stiff, easily workable paste, plaster is just a dry powder when manufactured. The resulting reaction between the plaster and water generates heat through crystallization and the mixture subsequently becomes hard. If you want to buy plaster products, there are a lot of places you can do this including British Gypsum, B&Q, Wickes, Screwfix or Travis and Perkins.
Dry Lining Thornley (Plasterboarding)
Dry Lining Thornley: Dry lining (plasterboarding) is quite often needed in home improvement projects, and you will find several plasterers in Thornley who can deliver this particular service. A procedure which produces an acceptable wall surface that doesn't need to be plastered, dry lining can be attached to a brickwork surface, a timber studding or joist or metal Gypframe. Although in certain situations the plasterboard itself can be decorated (with a bit of additional preparation), an extremely fine, durable surface is generated by applying one last skim of finishing plaster. With regards to fittings, when fixing plasterboard to wooden joists or studding, drywall screws or nails are used, when fixing to a masonry or brick wall the "dot and dab" method is used and when fixing to a metal frame self-drilling, self tapping (Jack-Point screws) are used.
Plasterer Thornley
A tradesman who works exclusively with plaster materials, a plasterer in Thornley is a professional who spreads a smooth, even layer of prepared plaster over otherwise rough and irregular surfaces, which can then be painted or decorated. Plastering as a trade has been around for hundreds of years, while the technique in general has been employed in the repair and finishing of structures for millennia. These days, mostly applied to the internal walls of domestic and commercial buildings, plaster is used to create a smooth, even surface which is then ready to accept the final finishing material. It is also commonly used to form elaborate moldings over the ceiling and other areas of the wall. Playing a vital role in many home renovation projects in Thornley, plastering can also be used in the the construction of extensions, attic conversions, garages and porches.
Plastering Help and Advice
For more info regarding plasterer's tasks, internal plastering techniques, exterior plastering, the history of plaster and plastering over the centuries, traditional plastering techniques and the tools of the trade, visit the Wikipedia page here. Visit the Federation of Plastering and Drywall Contractors website to identify fully qualified plasterers. To ask questions pertaining to rendering, plastering and screeding visit the Plasterer's Forum. Topics comprise Plasterer's Health and Wellbeing, Fibrous Plastering, Rendering, External Wall Insulation, Floor Screeding, Magnetic Plaster, Tricks and Tips of the Trade, Plastering Students Discussions, Damp Proofing and General Trade Discussions. (Tags: Plasterer Thornley, Plastering Thornley, Plasterers County Durham, Plasterers Thornley).
Plastering Tasks Thornley
Thornley plastering specialists can normally help you with dragged plastering, recessed TV walls in Thornley, wet dashing, false ceilings, skirting board installation, sculptured coving Thornley, lay in grid suspended ceilings, drywall jointing, re-skimming plasterwork in Thornley, blown plaster, magnetic plaster Thornley, Marmorino plastering, float and set plastering, pitted plastering, stud partitioning, monocouche rendering Thornley, lime rendering, decorative mouldings, patch plastering Thornley, ceiling overboarding, concrete plastering in Thornley, repairing holes in walls and ceilings, plasterboard skimming, plaster removal, fire and flood renovations, screeding floors for tiling Thornley, coving and cornices, plastering estimates in Thornley, asbestos testing, professional plasterers Thornley and other plastering work in Thornley, County Durham.
Thornley Plastering Services
- Thornley Floor Screeding
- Thornley Partitioning
- Thornley Plastering Courses
- Thornley Plaster Skimming
- Thornley Plasterers
- Thornley Plastering Estimates
- Thornley Domestic Plastering
- Thornley Ceiling Replacements
- Thornley Plasterer
- Thornley Plaster Patching
- Thornley Float and Set
- Thornley Artexing
- Thornley Coving Installation
- Thornley Dry Lining
Other Useful Trades in Thornley County Durham
Of course, when you happen to be doing home remodeling in Thornley, County Durham, you are likely to need all sorts of different tradesmen and as well as plasterers in Thornley, County Durham, you could additionally need rubbish removal in Thornley, tiling in Thornley, plasterboarders in Thornley, artexing in Thornley, electricians in Thornley, dry lining in Thornley, painters & decorators in Thornley, external wall insulation in Thornley, plaster mouldings in Thornley, carpenters & joiners in Thornley, polished plaster in Thornley, pebble dashers in Thornley, coving installers in Thornley, building contactors in Thornley, internal rendering in Thornley, screeding specialists in Thornley, cleaners in Thornley or bricklayers in Thornley.
More County Durham plasterers: Bishop Auckland Plasterers, Stockton-on-Tees Plasterers, Hartlepool Plasterers, Darlington Plasterers, Yarm Plasterers, Chester-le-Street Plasterers, Consett Plasterers, Horden Plasterers, Shildon Plasterers, Seaham Plasterers, Peterlee Plasterers, Murton Plasterers, Billingham Plasterers, Newton Aycliffe Plasterers, Eaglescliffe Plasterers, Spennymoor Plasterers, Ferryhill Plasterers, Brandon Plasterers, Durham Plasterers and Stanley Plasterers.
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