ISSUE 06/07

WICKES UNIQUEPLASTERING SYSTEMPlastering is a traditionalskill which presentschallenges for tradesmen aswell as for DIYers.

The Wickes UniquePlastering System has beendevised to provide advancedproducts with enhanced

features, which would notonly benefit the seriousplasterer, but also enablesuccessful use by theconfident DIYer.

The use of Wickes One Coatgypsum based plaster forboth repair work and wall

finishing is described in thisleaflet. The other product inthe system may be used incombination with the plasterto ensure the best possible,longest lasting job.

20

Use Wickes One Coat to create a smooth, flat finish over brickwork, blockwork or othertypes of masonry. The background needs to be sound and not loose or crumbly. WickesOne Coat should not be used to plaster damp walls.

TOOLS REQUIREDGauging trowel, tape measure, brush, sponge float, darby or straight edge, bucket andmixing stick, plastering trowel (for applying plaster to walls), hawk (for holding the plaster),tin snips or hacksaw and a spirit level.

BEFORE YOU STARTThe Wickes Plastering System uses flatness guides to achieve a flat plastering surface.These are fixed to the walls and then plastered over.

You will need to calculate how much plaster you will require and how many WickesFlatness Guides you will need. 25kg Wickes One Coat Plaster covers approximately2.5m2 when applied with a thickness of 15mm. Wickes Flatness Guides are normallyspaced no more than 900mm apart and run from the floor to the ceiling.

If you have not plastered before, you may find it useful to have a practice on a hidden wallor in the garage out of sight. Plaster is remarkably ‘sticky’ and so some will always end up on the floor instead of the wall. Do not be put off, practice does help and it isworthwhile putting down plastic sheeting where you are working.

THE PRODUCT RANGE CONSISTS OF:

221-806 Wickes One Coat 25kg

221-809 Wickes Flatness Guides 2.4m

221-807 Wickes Plaster Bonding Agent 3kg

221-808 Wickes Patch & Repair Mesh 1m x 25cm

240-320 Plaster Angle Beads 2.4m

240-321 Plaster Angle Beads 3.0m

KEEP INFORMED• Look for other Good Idea

Leaflets that could help youwith your current project.

• Check that your Good IdeaLeaflets are kept up to date.Leaflets are regularly changedto reflect product changes sokeep an eye on issue dates.

• If you would like to be put onour mailing list for the Wickesbooklet, call our Freephonenumber which is:

0500 300 328• Visit our website at

www.wickes.co.uk

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PREPARING THE WALL

Remove any contamination such as mould,oil, grease or paint from the wall.

Brush down the surface of the wall to removeany loose particles and dust. See FIG. 1.

If the wall is constructed from smoothmaterials, such as dense concrete, claybricks or smooth textured blocks, then youwill need to treat the wall with Wickes PlasterBonding Agent before plastering. AllowWickes Plaster Bonding Agent to dry fully toprovide a ‘key’ that Wickes One Coat canstick to.

For surfaces that already have an adequate‘key’, simply dampen the wall surface slightlywith a brush and clean cold water.

CUTTING WICKES PLASTER FLATNESS GUIDES

Wickes Plaster Flatness Guides are simpleto use and make achieving a flat surface alot easier. Plan to space them 900mm apart(or less, to suit the length of straight edgeyou will use later), mounted vertically.

Wickes Plaster Flatness Guides should becut to the height of the wall using metalcutters or a hacksaw. Care should be takenas the cut ends are sharp - protective glovesare highly advisable. See FIG. 2.

MIXING

Only mix as much plaster as you can use inabout half an hour. Start off with around halfa bag of plaster, you will find you can mix upmore as your plastering skills improve. Forspecific jobs, such as fixing Wickes PlasterFlatness Guides, only mix enough plaster todo that particular job.

Ensure Wickes One Coat plaster is situatedand mixed as close to the working area aspossible and ensure there is adequateventilation when mixing. Wearing a mouthand nose mask is advisable when mixingplaster. If you have sensitive skin, glovesshould be worn.

Mix the plaster in a clean bucket using coldtap water. You should allow approximately 14litres of water combined with 25kg of drypowder. Always put the water in the bucketfirst then the plaster.

Mix the plaster using a strong stick (a pieceof 21 x 44mm planed timber is ideal) to agood workable consistency. See FIG. 3. Thiswill be when all the loose powder has beenmixed in and the plaster has thickened justenough to form ‘peaks’ when you dip yourtrowel in and remove it.

NOTE: Rather than using the mixed plasterstraight from a bucket place a 700 x 700mmboard (a spot board) on top of a workbenchand pour the plaster on to this. This preventsthe need to bend down to reload the hawk.

FIG. 1

FIG. 2

FIG. 3

FIG. 4

FIG. 5

FIG. 6

FIG. 7

FIG. 8

FIG. 9

FIG. 10

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FIXING WICKES PLASTER FLATNESS GUIDES

Mix enough Wickes One Coat plaster to fixthe flatness guides.

Apply a continuous 15mm thick vertical lineof plaster approximately 200mm from thestart of the wall.

Firmly bed the first flatness guide into theplaster and make plumb to the desiredfinished plaster thickness using a spiritlevel. FIG. 5. Smooth off surplus plasterfrom the perforated edges of the flatnessguide with a trowel. Repeat the process for

the remaining guides ensuring that they are900mm apart (or less, to comfortablyaccommodate the length of straight edgeyou will use later). To ensure that thefinished wall is flat, make sure that theguides are uniformly positioned. See FIG. 6.

Leave the guides to set - this will typicallytake between 11/2 and 2 hours.

EXTERNAL CORNERS

These require protecting from knocks andbangs and therefore a Plaster Angle bead isused. These are fixed in a similar fashion tothe flatness beads apart form the fact thatonly dabs of plaster are used and theyrequire holding in place with galvanisedplasterboard nails. FIG. 7 & 8. When fixingthe beads ensure that they are fixed to givethe same plaster depth as the flatnessguides. Carefully use a trowel to clean offexcess plaster without disturbing theposition of the bead. FIG. 9 & 10. Leave theangle beads to set.

APPLYING WICKES ONE COAT PLASTER

Only apply Wickes One Coat plaster oncethe background has been suitably preparedand any flatness guides have been fixedand properly set.

Applying plaster correctly involves usingthe correct ‘wrist action’ and ensuring thatthe angle of the trowel blade against theworking surface remains the same. If theblade is to flat against the work surfacethen too much plaster is applied and thereis a risk of the trowel ‘sticking’ to theplaster. Too steep an angle will apply toolittle plaster. The correct angle is around45°. FIG. 11 & 12.

Load your hawk with a reasonable amountof plaster using the gauging trowel. To loadyour plastering trowel hold it at right angleto the hawk and push it towards the plasterwhilst tilting the hawk towards you andlifting the trowel slightly until sufficientmaterial is on the trowel.

Mix as much plaster as you need, at mostas much as you can apply in about half anhour. Apply the plaster material in twocoats with a plastering trowel and hawk toa recommended overall thickness of 10-20mm, or level with the flatness guides.Apply using a firm, easy pressure with aspreading, smoothing motion. Do notplaster level with the floor, leave a gap of25-30mm, which will be covered whenskirting boards are fitted. The gap is left toprevent dampness being drawn up into theplaster from the floor.

The plaster is then immediately ‘ruled off’ toform a level surface using a straight edge ordarby. FIG. 6. Rule the plaster vertically tostart with following the flatness guides,starting at the bottom and working up, andthen rule again with a side to side motion.FIG. 13.

Minor hollows that appear can be filled andthe surfaced re-flattened using either the

trowel or by ruling again.

Sponging should commence just as thematerial becomes slightly firm (this largelydepends on the suction in the background).The purpose of sponging is to bring thefinishing aggregate in the plaster to thesurface, thus creating a smooth finish.

In order to avoid hollows, ensure that afigure of eight motion is applied with thesponge, and that the sponge has beensoaked thoroughly to avoid extractingmoisture from the plaster.

FIG. 11

FIG. 12

FIG. 13

FIG. 14

FIG. 15

FIG. 16

FIG. 17

FIG. 18

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It may also be necessary to wet down thesurface using a water brush to allow thefinishing aggregate to form on the surface.

When sponging is complete, carefullytrowel the surface. A slight wetting down ofthe plaster surface may be necessary atthis stage to avoid friction and reducedragging. See FIG. 14 & 15.

A final dry trowel is applied immediatelyafter the initial trowelling until an even mattwhite finish is achieved.

Clean tools with water if you have finishedor if the plaster has started to set.

Remember to dry any metal tools andlightly oil them if they are not going to beused again. Always clean off the oil beforeyou start using the tools again.

New plaster should be left until thoroughlydry prior to painting wallpapering. A minimum of three weeks is normallyrequired.

REPAIR PLASTERING

Many of the plastering jobs around thehome do not require the whole wall to beplastered. Old plaster can fail in smallareas through age or around doors orwindows through movement and vibration.

Plaster that has failed through age and isno longer bonded to the walls needs to beremoved to leave a sound surface. Forsmall areas the sound plaster at the sideswill act as flatness guides when ‘ruling off’.See FIG. 16 & 17.

If the wall is constructed from smoothmaterials, such as dense concrete, claybricks or smooth textured blocks, then youwill need to treat the wall with WickesPlaster Bonding Agent before plastering.Allow Wickes Plaster Bonding Agent to dryfully to provide a ‘key’ that Wickes OneCoat can stick to. The plaster can then beapplied as described previously. See FIG. 18.

If the plaster has been damaged throughmovement the old plaster still needs to beremoved and the Wickes Patch & RepairMesh should be used. See FIG. 19 & 20.This reinforces the plaster and will preventcracking in almost all situations exceptwhere the movement is very severe.

To fix the mesh apply a layer of WickesOne Coat Plaster to half of the depth ofplaster required. Cut the mesh to size andpush this in place with a trowel so theplaster comes through the mesh. Allow thisplaster to set and then plaster theremaining area. See FIG. 21, 22 & 23.

HINTS & TIPS

• A new trowel will need to be ‘worked in’.To do this place the trowel face down on a smooth concrete surface and make figure of eight movements. This will take the corners off and sharpen the edges.

WARNING: a well used plasterer’s trowel will have very sharp edges

• Do not overload your trowel as this causes more plaster to go on to the floorthan the wall

• Use the short side of the trowel for smaller areas

• It is possible to ‘over work’ plaster, which causes the surface to break up. Should this happen do not panic, Wickes One Coat Plaster is a forgiving product. Stop work, have a cup of tea and then splash a little water on the plaster and re-trowel gently.

• Don’t mix too much plaster in one go. Mix what you can use in half an hour.

• Where you are working should be well ventilated, but try to avoid strong draughts and large temperature changes.

Whilst every care has been taken to ensure that the product design, descriptions, specifications and techniques of constructing the products are accurate at the date ofprinting. Wickes products will inevitably change from time to time and the customer is advised to check that the design, descriptions, specifications and techniques of

constructing any of the products described in this leaflet are still valid at the time of purchase or placing an order.© Wickes Building Supplies Limited 2008

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be produced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwiseor stored in any retrieval system of any nature without the written permission of the copyright holder and the publisher.

FIG. 21

FIG. 23

FIG. 20

FIG. 22

FIG. 19

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