Plastering could be considered a dying art in today's mass production society, where houses are cranked out by the dozens, and many houses are only clones with the same floor plan spun out again and again.
The caring quality that once went into building a home is nearly a thing of the past, as many contractors have turned to drywall as a quicker and easier method of arriving at a finished product.
Plastering a wall or ceiling takes a couple of basic tools.
First you need a hawk.
This tool is very much like an artists palette, a flat, square board with a handle on the bottom side.
This tool is meant to hold the plaster you are working with in one hand, while what is called a trowl (or similarly a float) is used to apply the plaster to the surface you are working on.
When you begin plastering the wall remember the technique is quite different from the ceiling.
When plastering a wall, once you have your mount of plaster on your dampened hawk and scoop a small portion of plaster onto the center of your trowl blade, you will begin from the bottom of the wall quickly smearing your plaster in an upward motion, sweeping it away from you as extend to standing reach.
At this point you turn your trowl over and work the plaster back down with a steady even pressure to obtain a smooth coat or layer of plaster.
Repeat this process as many times as necessary.
Working quickly is a must as plaster dries very quickly, especially in hotter temperatures.
(55 degrees is the ideal plaster working temperature.
) To complete the top portion of the wall you will need a step ladder to work the last couple of feet across (side to side) the top of your previous work, but still with the sweeping motion.
A hole or blemish in the plaster is called a holiday.
You want to avoid holidays as you should not have to sand.
One could choose to use spray on tools to plaster the ceiling, but this method does take some of the artistic quality out of plaster a ceiling.
Plastering a ceiling is a more difficult task as it requires three coats.
A rough coat, a skim or smooth coat, and the third coat is generally referred to as a layer.
Another major difference in the ceiling plastering process is that you must start in on corner and fan out across the ceiling.
There are a number of other techniques that are being used in plastering that range from a high glossy sheen (venetian) to marble plastering.
The traditional plastering technique is lime or lime putty, as it is more pliable and less brittle than the gypsom.
For those that are looking for an easier product to install with more features and flexibility, you may want to consider tin ceiling tiles instead of plaster.
The pressed and imbeded patterns of these tiles are much more attractive and have many more benefits compared to that of plaster.