Man Lab - Plastering Planning to Finish the Alcove

I'm actually writing this on like the 18th, but there were lots of posts planned and scheduled, so you're getting it today - late as it were.

Tonight I'm going to try to get the left hand side done on the main wall, but I'm doing this in two steps because of my poor mixing so far... So, I'm going to get the skim bead up on the left of the main window - the blue squares...

Next I'm going to do one mix and try to get from the wall around the left most window, now I've already got skim bead around this window, and I've already done the inside of it... so its smooth, the wall above it however has that bulge mentioned before, so its going to be a shit.

 

Whilst that's having a moment to set I'm going to clean the bucket and get clean water... Then smooth the first left most skim out... and clean the wall corner up... And then its the second mix and I'm going to do the blank flat wall between the two windows.

 

Now this skim has to get to the radiator at the bottom, there's no gap at the top of the radiator below the sill, so that's as far as we can get along the bottom there, and then blend and taper off the skim at the top there...

Problems with this section is that the top left of the right hand (main) window has been rebuilt in bonding compound, so I need to scrape some of that away, also the whole area above the windows bulges.

But, once this skim is done the desk can go up.... And the plan is that it'll fit into the alcove I've already plastered... here's my MS Paint powered 3D rendering...

So the desk, and shelf want to go in like this:

The reason being... a) to get it done... b) the desk fixings can go up... c) the father-in-law coming xmas day can help cus the desk to size and fit the shelf.

Now, this whole plastering effort he's going to take the piss out of, but... hey I've seen the plastering done by someone else in our utility room... that's god awful plastering compared to mine, and the wife seems to like my efforts here.

Oh, I've also been trying to drop hints to people that I need a simple DIY skimming plastering course, there is one I'd go to in the local area, but it seems to be more of other details I don't need... like putting up dry lining board... and then another which seems exactly what I want is like 80 miles away... Both courses are expensive, over £180 for one and £225 the other... I'm in negotiation with the wife to go on one, but this room needs finishing before that, so... Wish me luck.

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Right, the plan above I wrote last night, and here I am in the morning after some success.  But not before an absolute disaster.

I started out with my first mix, and thought I was happy with it... I'd PVA'd the target area, I'd cleared up around the place... The mix was ready to pour and prepare, so I started... whisking with the drill... and yeah it was peaking, it was like a thick double cream... Oh hell... It was just too sloppy... Just a touch too sloppy... but I didn't realise this really until more of it had slopped onto the floor than got ont he wall, and then what had got on the wall was so finicky.

So I tore it and scraped it back off the wall... and despaired... I cleaned all my tools and then smoothed the little I had left around the window over... The inside of the window is now near perfect...

But I was determined to get something done... So I mixed again... this time when it was peaking I added another trowel full of powder... it looked way too thick... But... i got it on the wall... and I got it smooth...

This is the purple area, now its awkward the corner is shitty - because I'm so bad - and there's a lump in the wall just above the window, so I did from the lump down to the floor, around the window sill left... And I got it perfect, this little bit and this mix was by far my best so far...

With the ignimony of the first mix poured into a bag and disposed of (well its in the car ready to go to the tip) I was really happy to get at least this small slice of wall done... and so smooth, its really nice, I got it on, got it smooth, let it cure until tacky then I stroked water over it and polished it up, its really really nice.

Tonight therefore I have the same process to follow and its going to be in 3 steps, baby steps....

So, the first thing is a thicker mix above the bulge to fill the wall in.

Then another mix to go below the window sill smoothing it all out.

Whilst the second mix is curing, I can polish the first, and then whilst the second is curing I just wait.

Then polish the second and make sure I'm happy with all this.

Finally for tomorrow, its a bigger mix and I do the wall area number 3... it'll probably go right to the radiator as well.

This will be a clean up and then polish, and I really really need a thorough clean, there's plaster everywhere.

I need to scrub the skirtings and the windows.  This third area being done marks the end of my plastering before Xmas, because I've found a dodgy area of the walls which I need to check with the father-in-law about - I think the lathe behind it is rotten.

And I can get the desk up, now there are two very good reasons for putting the desk up, the first - the one I'm most excited about getting a look at - WarThunder patch 1.37 is out... with whole new progres model.

And then DayZ stand alone has his Steam - finally - as an open alpha for £20...