Plastering
Unless you have had a long-held desire to appear in a Laurel and Hardy slapstick, don't even consider attempting the first part in this series of tasks: plastering is a skill like no other. Not only is it messy, it also involves a race against time to apply the mixture to the wall, level it and achieve a good even finish, before it turns from liquid to solid. Plasterers tell us that 20 per cent of their work comes from undoing the calamity caused by DIYers' attempts at plastering walls, or (even worse) a ceiling. It is rare for a novice to succeed in this particular assignment and, more often, the finished wall is as even as the frown on the self-builder's brow.
While plastering is an art form only truly recognised after being tried (and botched), constructing the base for it is something anyone can undertake. Plasterboard sheeting is likely to form the sub-base for ceilings, partition walls and, in some cases, the internal cladding for structural walls. First, there needs to be an adequate and rigid frame made up of timber battens, onto which the sheets are then fixed.
In the case of ceilings, fix 'runner boards' made from spare lengths of tongue and groove flooring along the tops of the joists, to stiffen the ceiling from side to side. This will provide ease of access in the roof void and will be useful for supporting electrical cables. If roof trusses have been used (check your construction drawings), every truss will be braced to support (hang) the ceiling underneath. Where a roof has been built using purlins, the ceiling joists should be hung with 25mm X 75mm softwood hangers from a purlin line above. Along the base of partition walls, moisture within the plasterboard can result in bowing and it is useful to run a second line of timber above the soleplate to prevent this. The timber will enable a top fixing through the skirting board to trap and hold the plasterboard straight and it will pull the skirting straight as well, if needed.
The range of plasterboard sheet sizes available makes it relatively easy for one person to do the job, but four hands are better than two and enable bigger sheets to be fixed. A simple footlift can be made from a spare section of softwood and used to lever boards up against vertical framework. Dry-lining screws are used to attach the boards and, once erected, the joints should be covered with jointing- tape - both these products are available from a builders' merchant. Care must be taken to stagger the joints as much as possible and all edges of partition sheeting should be securely fixed down. The rolled paper edges of the plasterboard should be used to span the joists of ceilings. Cut holes around sockets and switch-boxes before fixing the sheet into position. First score the paper surface with a Stanley knife, then peel back and cut the plaster section out.
Once all the walls and ceilings are boarded, use jointing-tape to finish off and secure all corners where the walls or walls and ceilings meet. This will bind the whole surface together and, combined with earlier joint taping, it will help prevent the fished plaster-skimmed surface from shrinking and cracking. You can now install corner-beads and cut templates for curved sections, so the rough plaster has a boundary to adhere to and the fished skim will be neatly formed. This final task prior to plastering could be left for the plasterer to complete, if required. Bear in mind that it is the finished quality of these surfaces that you will see for years to come and they must therefore be created competently and with precision.
Once plastering has been carried out, the spaces you devised in your early plans transform into real rooms for the very first time. There are lots of 'wow' moments involved in self-building - but this is probably one of the most memorable and satisfying!
