le plumber

I bet the divorce is because you spent 37euros for a packet of washers

Ka Ora!

No because I haven't finished

le plumber

Not wanting to change the subject but do you have any idea what kind of plaster is used in the UK - brownish reddish stuff - and what would it be called in France?
Have you ever found any and if so where??

The guys in Doras/Bigmat just look at me blankly and start laughing

Ka Ora!

You wont get it from a French building yard, The French counter part as I understand is inherently trickier to work with because it sets off so quickly. You find a lot of houses are just done with Placo here bare boards un plastered, Hence the big pre mix buckets of Placo mix for the joints and corners.

But aim for the Lutece 3000L note the L as it has a longer set time "Bit" I keep meaning to set a couple of boards up in the barn so I can have a try with it somewhere that can just be knocked down after.

cjm

A friend and I have used Lutece Projection, which is intended for spraying on, but the mix is quite liquid for hand plastering. We use Brico Depot for our supplies; choice and price among the best.

le plumber

I seen some 2000L but not the 3000L Apparently it has a working time of 2hours which will do me.
I suppose that its white stuff like the rest?? I actually liked the idea of the british plaster as I could see it better - my eyes must be going
Another thing you may know, in the UK do they tape the plasterboard or do they just skim it??
I'm finishing of some flats that I was going to rent out, but have decided to sell so I want them to be finished to a high standard etc. The other day I was at someones house and I happened to look up at the ceiling - bloody awful. You could see the taped boards through the paint and it got me back to thinking of how the brits do it
Its true in France le ratissage is rarely done. But this means that the tapes have to plastered over, which have then to be sanded down and after all that I still don't think that the finish is as good.

I've never really thought about it before - when in Rome and all that - but this time I'm doing the work myself and I can't help but not understand why the French don't skim plasterboard

cjm

Taping provides a key for the plaster. The trick is not to lay it on too heavily, build up layers so you have a flush finish with the wider board. You shouldn't need to sand down, but be a little patient. You will find it easier if the edges you are plastering are the tapered ones. If you are jointing plasterboard you have cut, so edges are square, this can be a problem as cut edges tend to show a little proud. You may need to hand sand these down to create a level surface, then just plaster over, forget the tape as the plaster width is not so great and less likely to show or crack. If all else fails, good thick paint can cover a multitude of sins ...

le plumber

In the DTU they should be taped twice, and its the normal practice we see on sites when we're working with the plaquistes. This means taping once, waiting for it to dry, taping once again and waiting for it to dry then sanding down. Its why in the trade they use the powdered plaster rather than the premix stuff, because it dries faster.
Its then sanded down using whats called a giraffe (bit like hoovering the walls). If a painter then comes on site he'll often grumble saying that the sanding down isn't sufficient, and more often than not he'll do it again himself.

I find it all a bit time consuming and I'm wondering if the UK method wouldn't be quicker or eaiser or both. I can't recall in the UK if the boards are taped or not, but in France they'll tell you that they have to be taped otherwise it cracks........

cjm

In a very old DIY book, it suggests using a broad knife/scraper to put plaster over joint, then taping over when wet, running the broad blade down the joint. After 5 mins put another wide band over the area and before dry sponge down. If that doesn't do it, then create wider band, up to 300mm and feather edges with sponge.
Tape I use is the very small mesh type.

Ka Ora!

The taping as I understand it stops cracks appearing between boards, Although the over engineered approach I took was to use the newer self adhesive mesh and then the new jointing stuff that has fibres in it then a very lite skim and rub down of the joints. Two coats of primer and two of what ever paint. The advantage of the new jointing fill stuff with fibres is zero shrinkage so you can fill up too about a 2 cm hole in 1 pass. They claim it does not need tape or mesh but I use it anyway.

I make it up as I go along I have only ever used one layer of the self adhesive mesh, and metal beading on outer corners. The older paper tape is a complete pain in the derrière to be honest. The UK approach is good if you have the hard wearing plaster, As the French dries more like plaster of paris and is more prone to chipping. A Placo chamfer plane is useful for mid planel joins and corners, I always board out from outer corners and windows and have mid board joins in the middle of walls or inner corners. If you need to join boards long aways then get a plasterboard rebating plane thingy. If any stud work needs replacing do it in the metal. The tools are cheaper in the UK.

le plumber

To be honest I'm beginning to think that everything is cheaper in the UK!!

Sometimes I think that I should open an account with wicks/screwfix go back to the UK with the van, and even after travel costs I'll still be quids in...........

Anyway, plasterboarding I'm OK with and I've done quite a bit, and your right the plane is a great tool. I've never tried the self adhesif mesh - seems a bit pricey. Paper joints I can do, and I don't find it that bad to do, but obviously it takes me a lot longer to do than someone who does it day in day out.
In the past I've usually done the boarding myself and then I sub contract someone, "un bandeur", to do the joints.
This time around, I thought that a nice smooth as a baby's bottom finish on the walls would be nice as I'll be painting everything to a high standard and I thought about the UK method. The guy I usually have out to do the joints groaned when I asked him for a "ratissage" - seems to me in France the true plasterer is an endangered species........Its a shame.