sam/stu

Hi all,
I'm a British builder currently working in Toronto. I am trying to get hold a finish plaster, you know, the sort of stuff that we used in the UK, not the stuff that you get over here for drywall. Gyproc/Gypsum, the sort of stuff that is easily available in B&Q/Homebase etc. that you knock up yourself. I have been on the Gypsum/Gyproc website based in the States but they only seem to carry plasterboard products. I know that plasterind is done mainly in the older houses now but you must be able to get hold of it over here. Is it sold under a different name over here, if so can you let me know what and where I can get hold of it. Thanks guys!
Stuart

Cowtown

We looked at a house once that had real plaster on the walls. It was in a very bad state. In the UK we would have just called a plasterer and fixed it. Over here we decided that the chances of finding someone in rural Alberta with the required skill was so remote that we just didnt buy the house. [There were other reasons too]

Sorry - cannt help with the original question though. But there must be a prize for being off topic by post #2!

dingbat

http://www.quikrete.com/catalog/catalog_stucco.html
Home Depot have their own version.

Arizona Wurzel

Hi sam/stu Try swimming pool plaster.

Canada2006

If they don't plaster their walls, what do they do with them?

Majj

Are you looking for the equivlent of a skim coat plaster, i.e 2-3mm thick?

hudd

Most houses are dry lined with drywall/plasterboard. Its quick, cheap and easy, even a DIY person can drywall. I did my own attic conversion using drywall.

Only older houses are plastered like the 1905 farmhouse we owned in Ontario. I got some funny looks when I was asking for base coat and finishing plaster at the local hardware stores. Their answer was rip out all your plastered walls and use drywall.

I managed any to get 15kg bags of plaster repair compound for patch repairs in the end. Where the plaster was is a such bad state I replaced with drywall because of costs and availability of plaster.

Canada2006

Can you paint drywall like you'd paint plastered walls?

If it's so good, why do people in Europe still plaster?

It's maybe my wallpaper phobia that's lurking behind all these questions!

Almost Canadian

Yes


New houses are virtually all dry walled now - very rare to see plaster - which is why if you try to fix anything to an external wall - you hit 1/2 an inch of space after you have gone through the plaster board

If UK ever goes over to totally timber framed construction (rather than just for internal walls) plaster will virtually vanish

Other benefit to drywalling is that you do not need to wait for the house to "dry out" which means you can decorate it quicker and you don't get so much "wood movement" as you would with plaster

Edit - just realised - above points are specific to UK only - I have no idea what continental Europeans do :scared:

Majj

Don't they apply a skim coat to the drywall?

Canada2006

Thanks for the info! So I'm imagining that you're left with a smooth wall after you've put up the drywall - does seem more efficient than plastering.

In Belgium houses are built bespoke, and usually very solidly with solid internal walls and concrete floors. My experience in the UK is that houses have wooden floorboards and thin internal walls so you can hear everything!

Xeroxed housing à la UK is really, really rare - usually reserved for council housing. However, I do live in a xeroxed house in Belgium in a nice area. Can't wait to get rid of it!

hudd

Its down to cost/time I believe. North American homes tend to be of cheaper construction and thus you pay less than in Europe generally for a home(as well as land prices).

Maybe in North American people would not pay the price for brick and stone houses. Would you pay for a house that would last 200 years plus in Canada etc? or be happy to buy one that needs refurbishing every 25-50 years?

I looked at wooden frame houses in the UK and they start at 40-50 pounds a sq ft foot to build. But land so expensive over here at present.

I read that a traditional brick house is twice the cost be build as a wooden framed house of the same size. I still prefer a sold house than those that sound hollow when you knock the walls.

I know my aunts house in Kent is a modern house which has dry lined walls, but finished with finishing plaster as you get a better finished walls.

Almost Canadian

Not normally - the joints of the plasterboard are "filled" and, whilst a "skim" is sometimes applied, it is not the type of skim that you are probably imagining (the "silver" coloured one that is 2-3 mm thick).

Once the joints are filled they are usually just sanded and left for the decorators to finish.

This is how it was 15 years ago when I stopped being a chippie but I can't imagine that the basic principle has changed all that much

Canada2006

That was what I suspected!

Other thing to consider with wooden houses in the UK is that as they are rare, the resale value would be lower.

I've a friend who has imported a pre-fab wooden house from Germany (best quality). Went up really quickly.

Almost Canadian

That very much depends on the skill of the plasterer. I would say that average compared against average, a dry walled wall will be much more straight and true than a plastered one. Whilst walls may look straight, when you put something straight against them you will be amazed just how crooked they actually are. At least with "plasterboard walls" they should at least be straight along the length and width of each individual sheet - that's the theory at least :scared: