How to repair plaster in your home

Plaster is everywhere in the home. It is one of the essential building blocks of any building, giving the house its final finish. It fills in gaps and makes the home look finished and clean. However, what do you do if your plaster starts to look cracked and worn? Your first port of call should be a Plasterer Gloucester based company like http://pureplasterers.co.uk/. It will not be possible to fix many of the larger jobs yourself, so you are better off leaving these to the professionals. Plastering is a skill that takes years to master and the task may well be beyond you. Before you set about trying to fix the problem yourself, ask yourself whether it might be a better idea to leave well alone and get a firm of experts to complete the job for you.

What Plaster Is Made Of

The point of plaster is to be hard wearing and maintain a decent-looking finish. Most modern plaster is gypsum-based, while older homes often have lime plaster, and cement-based renders are used on some walls. When mixed with water, plaster makes a smooth, creamy paste (which looks good enough to eat, but definitely isn’t!) that can be applied to a surface and then sets hard. This can then be painted. Most people choose white, but there is no reason why other shades and colours can’t be used. There is some debate about whether our ancestors favoured colour over white. An example of this can be seen at Avebury Manor. The National Trust, who own the property, wanted to leave plaster features white for historical accuracy, while the television company, who were funding a sizeable part of the restoration as part of a programme, wanted them coloured.

How to Repair Small Cracks

The first thing that you will need is a bucket. The golden rule when it comes to mixing plaster to the correct consistency is that you add plaster to the water and never the other way around, following the manufacturer’s instructions on the bag for quantities. Once the mixture is ready, identify any small cracks and blemishes in the plaster. Application is simple in itself; you just need to apply it with a trowel or filling knife. You will soon learn whether the consistency is correct. If it drips off the wall there is too much water, and if it comes out in chunks there is not enough. For anything more than small cracks, it is time to call the professionals.