Plaster boarding and plastering vs jointing?

[bobfog]

A friend of mine is renovating a house and trying to keep the cost down, asked me about plastering/plaster boarding. As I'm a carpenter/joiner I didn't really know the answer.

Why in the UK do we do an entire skim coat of wet plaster on top of plasterboard, rather than just jointing the gaps between the boards and filling the screw holes, like they do in the USA?

It occurred to my friend that plastering entire walls is quite a skill that he wouldn't attempt himself, but just filling the 8" between the joints and sanding flush along with filling the holes is something most people could do, but wasn't sure of any down sides.

Any help, insights or comments appreciated!

 

[AlexThePalex]

A good layer of plaster results in a higher quality job. It will look smoother and stay smooth over time. It is stronger so you will not as easily go through it. Look on YouTube to find the sheer amount of people going through walls in America. And finally, the extra layer of plaster makes for better insulation.

Plaster originated of course to smooth out a brick wall (or stone, the technique is quite old already) . It is not that necessary with sheet rock, but I guess the habit sticks.   

 

[richy3333]

A friend of mine is renovating a house and trying to keep the cost down, asked me about plastering/plaster boarding. As I'm a carpenter/joiner I didn't really know the answer.

Why in the UK do we do an entire skim coat of wet plaster on top of plasterboard, rather than just jointing the gaps between the boards and filling the screw holes, like they do in the USA?

It occurred to my friend that plastering entire walls is quite a skill that he wouldn't attempt himself, but just filling the 8" between the joints and sanding flush along with filling the holes is something most people could do, but wasn't sure of any down sides.

Any help, insights or comments appreciated!

It doesn't happen in all of the U.K.  In Scotland we tape and fill like in the USA.

 

[bobfog]

A good layer of plaster results in a higher quality job. It will look smoother and stay smooth over time. It is stronger so you will not as easily go through it. Look on YouTube to find the sheer amount of people going through walls in America. And finally, the extra layer of plaster makes for better insulation.

Plaster originated of course to smooth out a brick wall (or stone, the technique is quite old already) . It is not that necessary with sheet rock, but I guess the habit sticks. 

Thank for the info. I can see it maybe being smoother as movement over time will be less obviously localised. Also I can see that it might add a small amount to the insulation value. However, with the way we frame 16" on centre and a 4ft horizontal noggin, I don't think falling through would be that much of a worry.

 

[bobfog]

A friend of mine is renovating a house and trying to keep the cost down, asked me about plastering/plaster boarding. As I'm a carpenter/joiner I didn't really know the answer.

Why in the UK do we do an entire skim coat of wet plaster on top of plasterboard, rather than just jointing the gaps between the boards and filling the screw holes, like they do in the USA?

It occurred to my friend that plastering entire walls is quite a skill that he wouldn't attempt himself, but just filling the 8" between the joints and sanding flush along with filling the holes is something most people could do, but wasn't sure of any down sides.

Any help, insights or comments appreciated!

It doesn't happen in all of the U.K.  In Scotland we tape and fill like in the USA.

Thanks. That's interesting to know.

What's your take on the quality and longevity of the finish of taping and filling vs what we do down south?

 

[Cheese]

Actually in the US we will skim coat a room or a ceiling if there may be an issue of seeing seams or wavy surfaces. If a room is large or will see a large amount of natural light or it will be painted a dark color or of a high sheen, it's a candidate for skim coating.

I turned an attic space into a 30' long master bedroom. It has windows on 3 of the sides and the roof has a 4' square skylight. There is a bank of windows 11' wide x 8' high that faces directly south. With that much natural light, skim coating was not optional.

 

[john molloy]

you can take wallpaper of when skimed

 

[demographic]

Personally I think that skim is a much nicer finish.
Never been keen on taped and jointed.

 

[Jak147]

99.9% of the volume built houses in the uk Eg Persimmon homes, Taylor wimpy etc, are tape and jointed for 3 reasons
1./ it's faster
2./ it's cheaper (less materials used and it's fast)
3./ the volume of water added to the building is negligible in comparison to skim.        Now dehumidifiers are now only required after the plumbers have been in

Plastering is a far more durable finish that can take knocks and bumps without serious damage. Personally if money is the decision maker I would tape the ceilings and skim the walls. (The plasters will thank you for it too!)

To get a high quality finish with tape and filler still requires a very high level of skill
And while 1 wall may be DIYable a whole house would be quite an undertaking

 

[mastercabman]

Plaster and drywall is 2 different type of wall finish
Drywall
You hang the board,tape the joints,fill nail/screw head
Sand and paint
Plaster board needs to be plastered
With plaster veneer
You hang the board,tape joints,put a coat of plaster on joints then plaster the whole thing
You can make it smooth or textures
Most plasterers wait for the plaster to dry a little and then used a wet sponge to give it a texture
They usually add sand into the mixture
Plaster board are also called blue board or imperial board
Plaster board has a somewhat rough surface for the plaster to stick
I can do drywall very well but forget plaster
It's messy!
I'll hang the board but get someone else to do the dirty work!

 

[tony_sheehan]

Most of the "higher end" developments I work in in London are either double layer plasterboard or plasterboard over OSB or ply

 

[mrFinpgh]

In the UK, I think the the thing people use a lot of is Thistle Multi-finish.  It sounds like a Veneer plaster, but perhaps more forgiving than Diamond. 

It is somewhat cheaper to tape and mud, but I think it depends on a lot of factors.  Speed being the primary one.  Tapers move fast, but they have to come back a few times and there is a lot of cleanup involved.  If they are good, not too much sanding.  Non professionals can probably keep up a daily rhythm like a pro, but it might take them 3x as many hours per session.

Plasterers can do a room in one day without any sanding.  If you're not a professional, you probably won't get that speed advantage.  Cleaning out the buckets can take time if you don't have a helper.

You can also use 'hot mud' like a plaster and trowel it through it's set.  Just be careful not to over-wet it if you decide to water-polish it.  That can be a nice in-between, since you can apply it thicker and over the whole surface, but still have an 'out' if you mess up.

-Adam