Advice from Builders, Joiners & Plasterers

I've managed to find the garage of my dreams with a house attached to it.

Before we move in I need to do a bit of work. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm pretty handy when it comes to diy and hope to do most of the work myself with the help of my father in law who is a plumbing and heating engineer.

I'll list the jobs I need to do before we move on and if you have any recommendations on techniques please let me know.,

1.removing water tank from attic(it's dry)

2. Removing old insulation from attic and replacing it

3.builder to remove 3m load bearing wall and fit beam.
How long will process take and how much should it cost to have it finished off? Who does what when. Building regs, architect, builder
I'll be stripping the plaster and moving the radiator and electrics.

4. Erect a 3m stud wall

5. Feed electrics to socket in new wall.

6. Plaster board new wall.

7. Plaster new walls ready for painting. What the best tech nique to use when plastering. A start to finish guide would help

8. Lay 40 square meteres of wooden flooring. Any advice on quality of flooring? Thickness? We liked howdens chestnut oak but it's only 8mm laminate. Is that rubbish?

9. Paint and decorate throughout.

10. Carpets fitted.

11. Feet up with a beer on time for santa coming (this year)

Any advice appreciated.
Neil

 

Plastering is easy to do badly! It’s one of those things that you’ll do terribly every time you do it unless you do it everyday. The most important part (that I’ve found) is consistency of the muck. too thick and you get big drags or lumps in it, too thin and it ends up in the floor.

I’m not a trained spread, but went on a course for basic plastering when I was doing my last place up. I’d wholly recommend it, cost £350 to do and I reckon I’ve saved that 10 times over.

Why do you need to remove the old insulation? Would work out cheaper to buy more thin insulation and go over the top of it, wouldn’t it?

For making good after wall has been removed, box in the steel and skim it. For the walls that’ll be bare brick, use thistle hardwall to fill the void between the brick and finished level, it give you a more solid base that’s less likely (in my limited experience) to crack or move during the steel settling in.

Good luck in finishing before Christmas!

 

Water tank ... why bother removing it prop it up on some timber blocks and lay your new insulation under it. as for the old insulation I wouldn't bother about removing it just top the loft up with another layer laid perpendicular to the first (that assumes the first layer is thin and laid between the joists) the reason I wouldn't bother is to avoid breathing in the dust and Marmite and glass fibre particles you will undoubtedly stir up.

I'm pretty handy with most things but wouldn't bother doing the plastering myself ... try you tube

 

No. 11 Your in Scotland so you don't really need advise on that

 

The old insulation is 40 year old, not spread correctly and who knows what's been living up there I'm never going to do it again so thought I'd do that first whilst the place is a building site.

I wanted to remove the old tank as it useless and taking up space. I'd like to floor that area to allow for storage.

I've only ever done small plaster repairs which turned out ok but I'm nervous about tackling a whole wall.

 

Mattlad's 'Never fails' guide to plastering:

Look at walls and ceiling - if studwalls make sure nothing moves too much when you press it esp joints 'cos it'll crack.

Unless it's on plasterboard - 2 coats PVA - single cream consistency. Or if silk paint or something weird use the bluegrit stuff. Set beads around angles - i use yellow gripfill as quick an clean

Sheet up room cos it's gonna get a bit dusty at least and if it's your first go at plastering it'll be a utter carnage.

Get all stuff you need in the room so you don't have to spread footprints all
Around. Seen houses that have loads of mess outside after plastering - they not thinking....

You need:

Gurt 30ltr mixing bucket with however much water you reckon

Builders bucket for cleaning/wetting down 1/3 full so if you boot it over there won't be gallons

Trowel, bucket trowel, hawk (plastering type not bird -you're not Chris Peckham) 4"brush, big drill, mixing paddle. Multi finish assuming you've no big holes to sort. Spot table unless just doing small bit then just spoon out of bucket.

Wet down trowels and spot

Mix up plaster-aiming for cake mixture consistency but a bit wetter. I mix as much as I think I can lift onto spot table then a bit more. If there isn't imminent danger of getting a hernia or dropping the whole bucket then I haven't got enough in 30ltr bucket.

Use 4"brush to clean mixing paddle in builders bucket.

Lift gurt bucket onto spot and pour out then scrape out the bottom . Pour water from bucket into gurt bucket and clean it out, then water back into bucket.

A set takes 2 1/2 to 3 hrs hours mix to final trowelling so I try and do the room in as few sets as poss.


Scrape a smallish bit onto hawk with trowel from spot table to see what it's like. Think nice just right, Marmitee it's a bit wet, or balls too thick it's gonna hurt a bit.

With a flick of the wrist and a flourish transfer plaster from
Hawk onto trowel then left to right put a line a foot or so off ceiling height horizontal, then from ceiling down to that line, then from 1/4 way up
Wall to orig line then fill in bottom.

Have a fag/cuppa.

Then go over with same mix for second coat. Clean off spot table

It start to go off a bit so with clean trowel get the lines out of it.

It'll go off a bit more and firm up so go over with clean trowel and ho round edges -us 4"brush and brush down edges and trowel from edge down/across.

After a while you'll need to add a little
Water to the wall - try and bruah water on then trowel immediately behind rather than flicking water around as you'll just make a big mess.

When it's gone off - add a little
Water and trowel again- you can increase pressure to get really smooth. - if it's too dry the trowel will screech and you'll get ridges in it.

There - you can't go wrong.

If your doinf a ceiling - do that first...

 

With plaster you have to learn to leave it before polishing it. I have no patience - my plastering is rubbish

 

Anyone got the number for a plasterer in fife ?

 

smash the tank up then into pieces small enough to go through the loft hatch.

 

To add to @Mattlad s post, when you’re wet trowelling it, remove the creamy plaster from the trowel really regularly and don’t use it to fill in divots that are in the original coats. It’s more water than plaster and will dry really badly, crack and be visible through paint.

Also, mist coat with paint once plaster is dry. 50/50 mix of paint and water, that way the plaster sucks in coloured water and not the paint. Makes the next 256 coats that you have to do much less patchy. Apparently!

 

You need patience?

Ok so get a plasterer in to do it properly?

 

I had a 3.5m wide structural wall removed a few years back when I had my kitchen done, the guy that did it was a familly friend, he did a great job, it cost me £3k all in, completely finished. He was done in three days. We were having our kitchen done at the time and he replaced the floor as well, I provided the flooring, solid oak brushed and oiled, random lengths, he charged me £250 to fit it.

And get decent plasterer, you'll regret it if you don't.

 

Plastering is an art form
Save yourself a world of pain and get a pro in.

 

Everyone wants to save money when doing up a properly understandable. But unless your in the trade there are many pitfalls that people overlook.
Good equipment, knowledge,good understanding. Get pro’s in to do the big jobs it will safe you money and time in the long run.

Do what your comfortable at.

Best wishes
Geord

 

Matt lad is taking the p155, Geordie has the right idea. Patching is different to whole walls and ceilings. Matt Lad can do it, I can do it and there’s loads more that can do it. But no one can do a decent job straight off the bat like that but it could be very entertaining to watch someone have a go. There’s a zillion other things that we would do automatically like checking nail heads or screws and loose boards gaps etc etc, then there’s skrim etc etc. The one thing that Matt Lad mentioned in his rather jocular (hysterical) guide to skimming that will always be truer than true and seems easy if you can do it But next to impossible for the novice and that is keeping your tools and kit clean, from cleaning your mixing bucket out as you empty onto the spot to a sparkling gauger and a dazzling corner trowel, and that is easier said than done until you’ve done it hundreds of times. Good read that Matt Lad. Them Brizzall lads can spin a good yarn

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,, I’ll be following this,

 

Sage words - and from a Pikey

 

I upsold @crossy2112 uncle paddy doing the building work and I’m doing the drive for £100 I told him!
Forgot to mention it’s £100 a square foot! Situation

 

I just googled it and watched YouTube man skimming, looked easy- he didn't even get any in his eye.