DIY Plaster a wall like a Pro | In depth guide with timings and touch tests 

I have decided to plaster a room after binge watching few of your videos, to make it interesting, it is a small toilet under the stairs, with odd corners, sink and some pipes in place. Got all the stuff, SBR of course, even bought myself a proper Marshaltown 14' stainless, that thing is lovley. Now, I have skimmed in the UK once before, with a friend, and we only did one room, no ceiling, had some plaster starting to bubble and fall off(presume PVA issue, high suction wall), but that was probably 2-3yrs ago now. I do have lots of experience with european type of plaser, rendering base coat and finish coat in EWI etc, so have held trowel in my hand before. It came out beautifull, straight and almost glass like, still some minor imperfections due to odd corners and pipes,but 95% there I'd say. BUT it took me almost 4 hours for that little space, plaster is odd(maybe need to mix it better/thicker or thiner), and I probably fiddle with it too much for the first 2 coats due to learned techinques with european one, not to mention how much stuff ended on the floor. How Kirk is so tidy with it is a mystery to me...This trade takes years to perfect, is hard on the body and hats off to all the expert tradesman there. When they charge what they charge, whatever that is these days, it is fully deserved and fair. Thank you Kirk for all the info and tips you give freely on the channel, hope people understand how much value there is. All the best

Feel honoured this skillful guy is sharing his skill with us 🙌

"You might be tempted to skip parts"... I ain't skipping shit! I'm about to settle down and watch the lot. Only thing I regret is not having popcorn! Thank you so much for this man!

I qualified as a plasterer nearly 30 years ago but sadly give it in 2009. Watching your videos has brought good memories back and at a ripe old age of 56, I'm slowly getting back into it thanks to you mate 👍

Cool as a cucumber... You should have seen me DIYing my bathroom wall the other day!!!! 😂😮😂

Have I ever plastered? No. Am I likely ever going to? No. Can I stop watching this guy with an incredible talent from teaching us common folk (DIYers) on how to plaster a wall? Absolutely not. Keel it up 👌🏼🎊

The comment at 17:37 is funny… but bang on, real World. This video is long but is quality! The other RU-vidrs are flapping I think! Keep it going mate, we’re so lucky to have exposure like this from someone so seasoned like yourself.

I wish I found this video before I plastered the whole kitchen and bathroom for the first time. The only video I've found that gives time and drying explanations. Thanks man

Hi Buddy i love watching you RU-vid vids , Also thanks for showing us your Skills tips n tricks , i really appreciate it , am soon to be doing a wall , cheers buddy and keep up the Great work ,, oh i certainly wont be sleeping with my trowel too its a 13 incher lol 😮

Love your vids Kirk your energy and enthusiasm is infectious I’m only a diy er but watching your vids gives me and I guess many other people the confidence to try a bit of plastering 😊😊

Absolutely love these videos… I’m new to plastering . Love it

thanks for the close up of the plaster, as some videos people do are too far back and hard to see the details. Top video

Been plastering for about a year now, please keep the videos coming… anything to do with how to get a better finish would be great!👊

what a great human being...welldone Sir

superb demo on the real world of plastering walls that are a pain is what you need to see being done not flat easy walls with no obstructions to through the flow top job

Great video, lovely finish at the end. Thanks for sharing 👍🏿

Tha ks Craig for all you videos...your words on mental health are very meaningful.

Wow you make it look so easy !!

Excellent excellent, long format, I watched over 2 days, looks much more realistic than a polished 2 min video, great for learning, thank you!!!!

Love this very honest and genuine great work

I am a painter and decorator, and have just asked my work supervisor who is very good on the trowel, if he can teach me. I love watching your video's and picking up some great tips. Thanks mate👍

Great video Kirk, thanks for sharing, plastering really is a useful skill to have. A little suggestion from a sparky in the trade for 40 yrs. Regarding any sockets you have to work around. Just carry a couple of strips of 30A connectors, so you can remove the socket and tuck the cables in the back of the box. A 5 min job, less clean up and the circuit is still energised for any occupants in the house to use. Keep up the great work👍

Really well presented and covered the most important thing that most plastering videos miss - The time between coats, how to know when it's ready for the next coat, the next trowel etc. I did plaster my own bathroom and bedroom ceiling, but honestly I had to do some repairs and it took me ages. I got a pro to do the rest. I do feel a bit more confident to try & do some more now, cheers. 👍

Spot on m8 the customer will be over the moon with it hats of buddy

I’ve decided im gonna give it a go in summer house iv built for the kids - will be following this ! Wish me luck 😂 cheers geezer

Omg an hour 😃 brilliant, saves me looking in different videos for what I need to do

Fantastic advice , Thank you

Well worth watching. Thanks matey

I did a couple of walls and a ceiling about 7 years ago myself, with average results mainly due to preparation. I will be doing another ceiling (bathroom - only small) tomorrow and feel much better prepared than before after watching these videos. Little things like how the plaster adheres to the hand-board and how PVA is quite poor. I had it in my mind the last time that water with a bit of PVA would be fine, which it wasn't. Now I feel that if I get the first coat on in 10-15 minutes I should be fine and a lot less stressed than the last time. Why I put myself through it I'm not quite sure, but mainly because I don't want to wait until a plasterer is available. By the next time I need to do it I will have forgotten and will be looking up Kirk's videos again. Anyway, keep up the good work.

Brilliant video one of the best detailed start to Finnish I have seen some great tips for a novice like me thank you👍

Thanks so much for making this tutorial!!!

Great method there Kirk I’ve always used the speedy to flatten just shows if u get it flat on first coat or close enough as long u go over with the 2nd when it’s ready no need to be rushing around flattening first My ceiling lines have come thru much better with little effort aswell Let the trowel do the work not your elbow 👍👍

Another belter Kirk. One thing I'd really like to see is how to roll plaster into a nice even curve - for example on a vaulted ceiling rather than trying to form straight lines at wall/ceiling junctions where they meet at an angle rather than 90 degrees.

Kirk these videos are boss mate 👌 luv this channel I'm 48 now I'm starting the plastering again next month I've been out the game 12 years had a change of jobs but getting back out there can wait your videos have given be the bug again nice one fella 👍

Great video again real world plastering

Thank you very much for this explanation, that was informative, just what I needed. 🙂

This video is immensely helpful. I want to finish a media wall and wanted to know if plastering would be do-able, feel like I'm ready to give it a crack now! Thank you.

Brilliant video mate.

Thank you for helping me with diy plastering ..👍👍

Great job and Explanation

Hi Kirk, you're quickly gathering a loyal following, myself included. Another belter of a vid, you knocked it out the park 👍 Quality! 😀

Great video mate lots info detail can’t wait see the rest learnings alote

Great videos, really helpful 👍

Without a doubt probably the most informative and detailed plastering video I've watched on RU-vid so far. Channels flying mate 💯🎯 Roll on the next video. I'm hooked 🤣

Thank you so much Sir for all you good content, love and care! You have a home in NL if you want couchsurfing!

And the winner of the Oscar for best plastering video is??????? On The Trowel

Fair play butt 👏. Wish I worked with you when I left school you got a brilliant way of putting things across that make it easy to understand. Anybody who's lucky enough to have an apprenticeship with you is on a winner. Keep it up I'm an experienced plasterer/bricklayer and watch you're videos among others because we never know it all and always good to see how other boys do they're work. Ps rendering video with the dubbing of the wall with sand cement b4 k rend with use of the Darby was good 👍

Absolutely top video mate.. keep em coming :)

Good vid mate thanks. 👍🏻

Good video Kirk.

Brilliant video, thank you! Trying plastering for the first time this weekend and your channel is super helpful!

Brilliant video. Nice work too

Your awesome buddy fair really knowledgeable

great video thanks

Brilliant

Great video. Thank you.

Nice to see someone skim a real wall with rad brackets and sockets so close together.....none of this 2 full board flat un obstructed nonsense we normally see 👍

Nice video mate, thank you.

hi great videos keep them coming when I started out plastring I was told to plaster celing first I see youdont eney reson for that cheers

Bloody good show 💥💥💥

Wow, what an absolutely fantastic video Kirk. Thanks so much again! I can see now where I've gone wrong when using water. I thought you weren't supposed to get any residue build up and fat, and always leave white milky like smears over the wall, but I can see you were scraping them away with your trowel at a steep angle! I wouldn't have known that because if there's any movement of the plaster I'm too scared to open the trowel up, thus keep it flat, therefore not removing the water marks. Looking forward to more amazing vids from you. One of the few things that still stump me is when putting on the second coat. I struggle to see where I'm adding the second coat to the first, as it all seems to blend into one!

Thanks

Great stuff.

Been looking forward to something like this. Proper in depth all the way through. Timings, touch abd techniques all covered. You've defo got something unique with your videos. The real world vibe is something I've not seen too much on other videos. Well in again

Lovely work nice Plasterering just one thing I do my ceilings first

Thank you

Top tradesman.

I like so much you job that very useful for me I want learn how to Palstering my home

But nice clean work like the shelves and cubby for the TV good work fella

very good indepth video !

Great video again Kirk. Really enjoy watching you work. You never seem in a rush and the area around you stays so clean. One question when you do the final trowel(the one after you put some beading up) do you still have a few fine lines in the plaster. i have always tried to make sure I have no dips or lines by this stage but maybe I dont need to worry about the small lines. Thanks again Paul

Excellent video Kirk. Your videos are definitely the best, most informative and most enjoyable on RU-vid. Got loads of tips from this, the touch tests helped a lot. Any tips for stopping the trowel juddering when running the trowel against an adjoining wall, or is it just practice.... Cheers Mate!

Great video.

Had to give up the trade i loved. 57 yrs old involved since I was 16 . Back and knees. Miss the banter the comradery and winders . Flat stuff for apprentices lol. Best trade in the world . Magicians , ceilings we defy gravity . Come on the spreads

Really good videos and thanks for the top tips …..really informative knowledge you have to share with us Can I ask do you not flatten off after the first lay on, do you wait till the second

Brilliant video got two questions 1. How long do you leave the SBR before plastering I know you said day before but did you put any on just before you plastered 2. How long do you wait before you put your second coast on

Made my day by not taking off those radiator brackets also never covered them with plaster

💜💜💜😊

👍🏻👍🏻

👍😎👌

No bull shit... Great content...10/10 lad... its a hawk and I'm a Manc 😄

Hey Kirk how much pressure do you apply when putting your 1st and second coat

You’re defo right with real worId did a set today with with 4 wires coming. Out of the wall and they was the ones with 3 thick cooper inside each one 🤦🏼‍♂️

Great work big fella..quick question do you water down your SBR or put on neat 👍

Hi m8 great start to finish detail the only thing you could add to a video like that is how to avoid tiger stripes cus I bet u not all these newbies self taught are gonna experience including myself when I first started then it’s hard to rectify it as habit as set in but I see it so much on jobs, was gonna ask you m8 do you use spats I’ve never bothered i do use flexy though?

Another brilliant tutorial mate you plaster same way as I used to before i had to retire early through ill health was one marshaltown trowel all the way Not that I'm knocking speedskims flexes ect it's whatever suits the individual Looking forward to next one cheers

Excellent video. Which water brush are you using?

Top video again mate 👍 you mentioned SBR.. have you used it on an artex ceiling before?

So do you wet the wall and smooth it off after the first coat or is that just after the second coat?

Has an absolute beginner about to start a journey into becoming a plasterer,do have a video or can you advise on what tools i should equip my self with to begin.... many thanks J

i watched the whole video today was great thank you - just one question you said that it the plaster sticks to your fingers its too soon for the second coat. So if its firm to the touch is that the right time for the second coat?

I watch your amazing videos and I always have one question... how much pressure do you put on when you're trowelling?

Do u not flatten first coat.? Ever use a speedskim .?

GREAT VIDEO KIRK!!!!! ive managed to skim a couple more small walls over the weekend (sealing first with SBR) & am gettin good results so far i now have a fairly large wall to skim (4M wide x 2.5M high) im slightly worried that i wont b able to apply both coats over the whole wall b4 it firms up in the bucket!!!! i woz thinkin of gluing a stop bead down the middle of the wall & then skim each half separately any tips for a beginner???

Like nice editing for a minute i thought you were going to put the stuff on in Time with the classical music 😂😂 would of been good to see... 🎶🎶🤔🎶🎶🎶👆👌

Great video got a couple of questions 1. Why don't u use a small Trowell around the plugs and fiddly bits? 2. Do u never use a superflex for the polish ?

Wirklich meisterhaft.

Hi bud quick question did you trowel up between 1st and 2nd coat of just got second coat straight on

how do you keep the plaster so workable , mine always dry to quick ?

Yo, can you wet trowel filler like toupret jsf or easifill 60