Hi - I'm planning on attempting to skim coat a room in my house. I did a B&Q 4 hour course where I gave it a go and it seemed to go OK. The guy running the course talked about blocking off larger areas so you don't have to work a whole large wall at a time. Does anyone have any opinion on how best to do this? He used bits of thin scrap wood I think. He was saying that as long as you get a sharp edge to the skim coat, it isn't hard to pick up later, and a bit of light sanding should take out any join marks. It seems that some people use scrim tape for creating smaller sections. Wickes also do level guides to run a straight edge down that could serve the same purpose.

There seems to be a bit of a tendency for people who can plaster to tell people that can't that its too hard to learn on internet forums. So go easy on me if that's what you think.

Thanks

Hi Niall,

Far be it from me to discourage anyone from attempting some DIY but to be honest I think you're rather jumping in the deep end here. I'm sure your B&Q tutor had the best intentions, but encouraging someone to plaster a room after a 4 hour course seems a little bit adventurous to me - talk of blocking off with bits of wood sounds quite scary as well.

If you really want to 'have a go', try a small area - e.g back wall of a small cupboard? small wall in your garage?, and see how you get on. Just don't try a room mate...please don't...

With the best intentions,

Cheers.

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JC DIY Blog

:-D So perhaps I'm over simplifying it but, if I make an arse of it, is it not just a case of paying a plasterer to come and skim over the top, which is what I would be doing if I didn't have a go? Or is it not that simple? I appreciate the advice though. Although I'm never sure how diyers ever learn - by doing a longer course I suppose, or getting help from someone who can do it.

So, I did "have a go" at B&Q - I did a 2ft wide wall running and onto about 3ft of chimney breast i.e. internal and external corners. And it seemed pretty bloody flat when I'd finished! (who knows what it looked like when it was properly dry right enough) Like I say, the thing I didn't try was doing large areas.

Niall,

You go for it mate, I had never plastered and as a rule hate wet trades, I successfully skimmed my en-suite bathroom, 4 walls and a ceiling with a little rubbing down and filler afterwards!

SSM

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Measure twice, cut once!

Good stuff - like I say, I know its got a rep for being a bit of a knack but I had a go and thought it was ok. Any suggestions for big walls - I guess the biggest is about 5m by3m. This blocking off idea seems to cause horror in a lot of people but then be pretty acceptable to others! It would be nice not to be under time pressure.

thanks for all the opinions

Niall

For a 3x5 metre wall, you need to be pretty quick because you have to be up and down steps unless you have a better way of getting to the top. You could do it in sections, but you might be better off finding a plasterer who is out of work and working with them on that one. If you do it in sections, use scrim tape only for the joint and be prepared to sand and fill afterwards along the join.

I have taught people to plaster and they do OK with a bit of sanding and filling.

Thanks for that. I maybe over estimate the wall size a bit - I don't need steps to reach the top. How would you use the scrim tape exactly?
1. Run the tape from top to bottom to create two sections
2. plaster from one wall edge up to the scrim tape
3. plaster from the other wall edge up to the scrim tape
4. remove tape and plaster the gap
(5. tidy up the join with some sand paper/filler)

or
3. remove scrim tape and plaster from the other wall up to the section you did first then tidy up the join.

Hope that made sense. I'm going to have a go on the small area beneath the bay window first anyway as its out the way.

Thanks
Niall

You leave the scrim tape in position. It will make sure that the join never becomes a crack. When you have finished both sections, you will probably notice that the join isn't as good as the rest and needs filling and sanding, using easifill and a pole sander or a sanding block to give a finish which isn't just smooth but is also flat.