DIY ceiling plaster repair

In detail: do-it-yourself ceiling plaster repair from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

Any repair begins with a rough finish of all surfaces. First of all, the ceiling is prepared and enough time and effort should be given to this process, since it can be quite difficult to create a perfectly flat surface the first time.

Today we will find out how to plaster the ceiling with our own hands, how to disguise or fix small flaws on the surface after its preparation, how to cheaply repair the ceiling after damage, and what preparation requirements are needed for certain finishing materials.

Before starting the repair processes, you should study some of the features of leveling ceilings. At the moment, there are such ways to align it:

  1. The dry method is not used so often, but it allows you to create a perfectly flat base in the shortest possible time. Plasterboard is used as a consumable, the joints of which are subsequently putty. This investment cannot be called minimal and, unfortunately, it is not suitable for all dwellings. Plasterboard sheets are used in the case of neglected ceilings
  2. The wet option is ideal when you need to cover small defects or prepare the ceiling for painting. For surfaces with differences exceeding 4-5 cm, plaster should be used, and for unevenness of 4-5 mm, putty is used. An uneven ceiling does not stand out for its attractiveness, and when the height differences on it are more than 5 cm, you should choose a stretch ceiling or gypsum plasterboard as a design

Important! When applying a thick layer of plaster, the coating can begin to crack, crumble or fall off in pieces, which threatens not only damage to the repair, but even injury. If you notice cracks on the plastered ceiling, you should not wait for it to collapse - dismantle it.

Video (click to play).

Before you start using the plaster solution, you need to find out all its pros and cons, and then clarify how to properly prepare the mixture with your own hands. There are a large number of recipes and proportions among home craftsmen, but today we will consider the standards for the preparation and the advantages of such plasters.

Ceiling plaster is selected not only according to price preferences, but also according to the declared characteristics of the material. Quality plasters are sold in hardware stores and have quality certificates.

Which plaster for the ceiling of the house to choose and how much does it cost? - a question that worries any beginner in terms of renovation work. Among the variety of finishing mixtures, the main ones can be distinguished:

  • Polymer-ready - the preparation of the ceiling with them is performed at the highest level. The advantage lies in the ease of use of the solution, which does not need to be diluted. However, this is an expensive choice with large ceiling flaws - at the stage of full-scale leveling, ready-made mixtures are unprofitable.
  • Cement - soundproof, act as insulation, to improve the quality, you can add lime and sand. Lime and sand plasters do not shrink
  • Gypsum - Gypsum has good adhesion to concrete surfaces. It is easier to work with them, they differ in average pricing policy. Plaster adheres perfectly to concrete and brick walls.

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Ceiling plastering process

Before we start plastering the ceiling, let's look at the popular and demanded manufacturers of putty mixtures:

Important! Photo and video lessons teach beginners how to level the ceiling with plaster on their own, how to calculate the required amount of the mixture, how to make an estimate for further work, what proportions to use in the manufacture of plaster and how to hide a small flaw by creating a pattern on the ceiling with a putty.

Sometimes it is simply impossible to carry out repair processes with your own hands due to a number of reasons. Then qualified specialists can come to the rescue, who will need to pay for their services. Let's find out what are the prices for plaster ceilings per m2. A small table shows prices for certain processes:

Renovation of any room (residential or office) always starts with finishing the ceiling. There are different ways for this, but whichever one you choose, painting or wallpapering, etc., first of all, it is necessary to perform preparatory work. And the most laborious of them is to level the ceiling with your own hands.

  • Three types of metal spatulas of different sizes, with a rubberized handle.
  • Capacity for 15-20 liters, with high sides and straight walls. High sides will protect from excessive splashes when mixing, and straight walls will make it possible to pick up the mortar with a spatula without leaving any residue.
  • Stirrer for preparation of working solution.
  • Paint brush and primer roller.
  • Construction sandpaper for the final sanding of the ceiling surface for painting.

Before proceeding with the procedure for leveling the ceiling, it is necessary to prepare the surface by cleaning it of old paint, whitewash or other coating. And the more carefully this is done, the better the subsequent finishing operations will be performed. The surface is usually cleaned with a special scraper or spatula. You can also clean dry paint. But you will cope with this work much faster and with less effort if you moisten the ceiling surface abundantly with water and arrange a draft in the room. The old coating will begin to bubble from this and it will not be difficult to remove it. After removing it, the ceiling must be thoroughly washed.

The next step is to decide on the alignment method. The choice of material for the primer depends on this. They differ in purpose:

  1. under water-based paint,
  2. under putty or plaster,
  3. suitable for all types - universal.

Ceiling plastering is a highly labor-intensive process. And although there are many different methods of eliminating the unevenness of the ceiling, leveling the ceiling with plaster is still relevant. And if the level difference approaches the 5 cm mark, then this is the only possible solution in obtaining a quality repair.

You can plaster any surface: concrete and wood, columns, beams and other structures made of steel. Before applying the plaster to the ceiling, preparatory work should be done.

  • Image - DIY ceiling plaster repairThe concrete ceiling must be well cleaned of various contaminants. Particular attention should be paid to mold or other stains of fungal origin, which must be treated with a special disinfectant solution. For example, copper sulfate, the German-made Pufas preparation or Homeenpoiste, the Finnish company Tikkurila. If on a concrete floor, the fungus has occupied large areas, the fight against it is carried out using an open fire (blowtorches, plasma welding, etc.). If the ceilings have already been painted or whitewashed, the old coating should be removed.
  • Carry out a primer with a strengthening compound, and then with a special primer mixture "Betonokontakt".
  • For better adhesion of primers to the concrete surface, it should be treated with a sandblasting machine that creates roughness. For the same purpose, it can be slightly notched or cut.
  • On wooden ceilings, as well as on the surface of structures made of steel, a metal mesh with a mesh size of 10x10 mm is stretched before plastering. It is attached to the surface to be treated, including joints and seams, with special studs, with a wide head, or staples.
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Image - DIY ceiling plaster repair

Plastering work is usually carried out on lighthouses, the installation of which is the most crucial moment. If installed correctly, you will end up with a perfectly flat plastered surface. Therefore, it is important that the entire technology of plastering the ceiling on beacons is followed.
  • This work must begin with leveling the room. It is necessary to mark the zero mark on the walls. For this, a paint cord is used.
  • Determines the location of the point that is the lowest on the ceiling. This is where the first beacon was installed.
  • Under the lighthouses, every 300 mm across the entire surface, plaster marks are applied with small moldings, on which they will be installed. This must be done so that there are as few connections as possible, since it is in them that errors are most often made.
  • It is not recommended to lay a layer of plaster more than 5 cm on the ceiling. Therefore, the height of the beacons should not exceed this value. To control them in the horizontal plane, a two-meter level is required. It is carried out after the installation of all beacons is completed.

When you are finished with the installation of the lighthouses, the plastering of the ceiling can be started using the following technology:

With a difference in the level of the ceiling of less than 5 cm, you can align the ceilings with dry mixes. It is advisable to use them for small volumes of work, in particular for sealing potholes, when the purchase of a large amount of other materials is not financially beneficial. The best of them is considered to be rotband (made in Germany) - a universal mixture for plastering, on a gypsum basis.

After finishing the "rough" leveling with plaster, you can proceed to the final leveling with putty.

For processing ceilings without significant differences in floors, it is best to use a leveling of the ceiling with a putty. The putty differs from the plaster in the size of the filler. She has it small, not exceeding 1000 microns. Therefore, it is most suitable for repairing small defects on wood and other surfaces such as cracks and other irregularities. This achieves perfect smoothness.

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Putty is applied in a very thin layer. Before applying the putty, all layers of old plaster (if any) are removed from the ceiling to the base. Small irregularities, as well as any bumps, are smoothed out with a construction sandpaper or a hinged float, on a long handle. Then, a masking net can be attached to the surface to be trimmed using PVA glue or a special composition. It is often called serpyanka because of its similarity to gauze. Recently, you can buy self-adhesive serpyanka on sale.

After completing the preparatory stage, it is necessary to prepare a solution for the putty. To do this, 30 kg of dry putty mixture is poured with 12 liters of water and quickly mixed. It is best to use a construction mixer equipped with a wide whisk or a drill with a special mixer for this. In the finished form, the consistency of the mixture should resemble thick sour cream.

All further work must be done promptly, since the prepared solution very quickly begins to set and harden. This is done as follows: using a narrow spatula, the solution is applied to a spatula with a wide blade. Then it is transferred to the surface of the ceiling and pressed tightly against it. There is no need to waste time smoothing out the streaks that arise. They can be easily removed after hardening with a trowel mesh.As soon as the last applied layer of putty dries, the entire surface must be sanded. For this, a special paste with a mesh is used, the minimum coarseness of which is 120 units.

In order for the work performed to be of high quality and delight you with the beauty of a flat and smooth surface, it is better to purchase all materials (primer, putty and paint) from one manufacturer.

So, do-it-yourself ceiling putty can be divided into the following stages:

  • Preparatory, during which the concrete floor is cleaned, which consists in removing all irregularities that are higher than two mm. For this, a perforator equipped with a special attachment is used.
  • Ceiling primer with a composition with deep penetrating properties. It is performed with a paint brush or roller.
  • Implementation of the starter putty as a leveling layer. To do this, it is applied to the surface of the ceiling, in a layer of 1 cm. According to its consistency, the finished putty solution should be like thick sour cream. To obtain a flat surface, a metal scraper is used.
  • The final stage is the finishing plaster of the ceiling. It is recommended to apply it in two layers. If the room is kept at a temperature above 18 ° C and it is well ventilated, then it can be performed four hours after applying the starting putty. Under other conditions, the drying of the previous layer may be delayed and the transition to the final stage will have to be postponed for the next day.
  • If the conditions necessary for the quick hardening of the putty layer are met in the room, then the next day, you can start sanding the surface. It is advisable to use a vibrating sander for this.

Whichever way of leveling the ceiling you choose, do not forget that for painting, on the leveled surface it is necessary to apply a layer of primer, as which you can use the same paint that will be used for the main painting.

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Take two spatulas - one with a wide blade (left hand). A ready-made solution is applied to it. In the right hand is a working spatula.

The mixture should be taken a little, trying to distribute it over the center of the blade of the working trowel. It should be applied as follows so that it completely lies on the ceiling surface.

You need to move in such a way that the surface is flat and smooth, you cannot go back and redo the already finished sections.

To avoid stripes on them, the working trowel must be held at a slight angle to the ceiling surface. This will allow the middle part to smooth the putty over the surface. In this case, one edge moves over the untreated surface, and the other (the one that moved over the already treated area) will be in the air, which will provide a smooth surface without streaks and scratches.

The quality of the puttying work largely depends on the correct choice of the spatula. Its canvas should be of medium hardness, since excessive softness causes excessive deflection of the spatula, while its side edges are turned forward. As a result, stripes remain. Therefore, a standard spatula needs to be slightly modified by turning the sharpness of the corners with a file. In this case, the end of the blade will acquire some ovality. This will provide convenience and safety in work, and the finished surface will be of excellent quality.