Plastering Information
Plasterboard is basically an inner layer of gypsum (a mineral) sandwiched between two outer layers of lining paper. Various additives are included in the gypsum layer to vary the weight and strength of the lining paper, which give the finished board different properties.
Gypsum is made up of crystals containing a small amount of water (known as water of crystallisation). In a fire, this water is driven-off, helping to keep the temperature of the fire down, and preventing rapid fire spread. Plasterboards, such as Gyproc FireLine, are therefore used extensively for fire protection, proving up to 4 hours’ protection in some special multi-layer system applications.
Plasterboard is good for cutting down noise transmission, particularly airborne sounds such as speech and music. High performance plasterboards, such as Gyproc SoundBloc, have a specially designed core that provides even better insulation against sound. Perfect for blocking out unwanted noise!
Whilst standard plasterboard is ideal for most environments, it shouldn’t be used in constantly damp conditions. For kitchens, bathrooms and similar damp areas, Gyproc Moisture Resistant should be used. This is specially designed with silicone additives in the core so it just shrugs off water. It’s great as a tile backer.
Glasroc Multi-Board, a glass-fibre reinforced gypsum board, is not made in the traditional way with lining paper. Instead, the boards are strengthened with layers of glass fibre immediately below each surface. This gives them good all-round performance, a high quality durable plaster finish, and enables them to be easily bent for use on curved structures. They are excellent for semi-exposed areas, such as soffits and such like.
Most common plasterboards come with the option of either tapered edge or square edge. Tapered edge boards are ideal for either jointing or skimming, while square edge boards are generally used for textured finishes. It’s about knowing the right product for the job.
Plasterboard generally comes in 1200mm wide sheets, designed to suit the standard 600mm stud spacing used in housing today. Other widths are available for specific systems, for instance, 900mm widths for the British Gypsum GypWall RAPID metal stud housing partition system, and 600mm sheets for use where space is limited.
Most standard plasterboard has one ivory face and one brown. The liner on the ivory face is specially designed for plastering. Plaster should not be applied to the brown reverse face. Paper liners are generally made from recycled paper - a big plus for the environment.
Joint cracking on plasterboard ceilings is almost invariably caused by warping of the joists as the wood dries out. Screw fixing the boards will generally prevent the problem occurring. If you want to go further, use the British Gypsum SureLyner system, designed to upgrade ceilings to Part E acoustic standards, which will virtually eliminate the chance of movement problems.
Although you can apply wallpaper directly to the paper surface of plasterboard, ideally the surface should first be sealed with one coat of Gyproc DryWall Sealer to allow easy stripping at a later date.
At one point or another, you’re going to need them.
Who are we talking about? Us, of course.
If you have a home that you’ve lived in for quite a long time, you might notice that there is wear and tear appearing on your walls. Cracks that weren’t there before may have started to appear and there might be even spots where fasteners have become visible.
This is also a regular sight for people purchasing a home, especially if the house was built decades ago. Although a lot of things are in place, including high ceilings and great interior details, it’s not unusual to see cracks and holes on the walls.
This is where we at SMJ Plastering come to the rescue. We’re going to save you a massive headache and a huge amount of money. If you thought the only way to fix those cracks and holes was to tear down the wall, you can now rest easy knowing that we can do the job for you in a jiffy. If there are now bulges in what was once a pristine wall in your home, they’re easily repaired by us experts on walls.
Giving your walls a new lease of life is not so hard after all. In fact, we are just one phone call away. It’s a one snap, hey-presto change and your home is back to looking the smooth and stylish way it looked in your dreams. If you’re buying an older home, the walls will be just like new when they’re re-plastered. You can live comfortably and safely in a flawlessly walled, beautiful home with the help of our skilled plasterers. But this doesn’t mean we can only handle problems related to the walls of your home.
We can also work on commercial buildings and provide first class service in both areas – whatever the problem, and in whichever building, SMJ plasterers can be there promptly and professionally, providing you with a personal service.
For the many benefits it provides in home construction and commercial construction, many people favour plastering. The first, and probably the biggest, advantage of making use of this method with home decorating and renovation is the price tag – it is affordable. Today, when everyday construction materials and commodities are quite expensive, there is still a way for people on a tight budget to redesign their homes and maintain its upkeep.
Besides the savings you get for using plasterboard on your walls, the next best quality that it has is its durability. Remember that quality doesn’t have to be expensive when you’re constructing a home or renovating your home with plastering. When you use plastering as a method to design of your walls, it can also look so much better than you might ever have imagined. Plaster can be made into a variety of designs that follow the theme you have for your home; you simply have to choose a textured finish that goes with your own personal style. Patterns and decorative swirls are easily produced on wet plaster – it’s possible to be creative, even down to your wall finish! When you make use of plastering to create wall designs, you could also increase the value of your property – now who wouldn’t want that chance?
If you have students or young ones in the family (or just generally noisy people!), you can sound proof your walls using plasterboard to make it more conducive for studying, playing and relaxing. It doesn’t have to stop in the domestic home though: with the peace and quiet plasterboard brings, homes are more tranquil but offices can also provide the necessary calmness for its employees to concentrate on their work.
Not only does plasterboard provide originality, sound proofing and a clean finish, if you use plastering in the construction of your walls, future repairs can be more cost-effective. It’s a win-win situation: beautiful walls now, easily and cheaply maintained in future.
The only thing you need to think about to know exactly what Screeders do is to imagine yourself pouring flour into a measuring cup: it’s naturally going to be shaped like a mountain when you finish pouring. To be sure you’ve got the exact measurement, you pass a knife over the cup to smooth the top of the flour out. This is what screeding is in the kitchen and it’s almost the same premise when it comes to home improvement.
Take this situation: you may have many rooms in your home and more than likely not all of the flooring is at the same level. Perhaps, you might have concrete poured for your washroom that’s higher than your living room floor or your kitchen may be slightly unlevelled in one area. Screeders come into the picture when we smooth the top layer of concrete poured on your floor. We make sure everything is levelled and perfectly smooth to walk upon.
If you find some areas in your flooring not at the same level or irritating to the eye, you can call SMJ Screeders to work their magic. If you are used to tripping over the same spot when you enter your home because the floor is much higher, we can smooth it out for you. If you’re in the middle of a house construction, we can be there to make sure that your floors are levelled and smooth from the very beginning. Perfectly level floors are just a phone call away with SMJ Plastering.
Screeders can work wonders inside and out: we can also help you with your landscaping projects and your gardening plans for your patio. The designing of your backyard begins with your contractor pouring concrete on certain spots in your garden and filling it up to a certain level. As soon as this is done, we can do our important job in ensuring the concrete that’s poured will be levelled accurately when it’s dry.
Before you start off with the construction of your home, there are many things you have to consider, and one of them must be dry lining. This is basically making use of plasterboard on your walls, regardless even if it is made up of timber, blocks or metal frames.
If you’re looking for a way to save a bit of money with the construction of your walls, this is one option that mustn’t be overlooked. We can help you construct walls cheaply and effectively with this method. Dry lining makes use of pre-finished board systems. This makes it easy to install when you compare it with the conventional block or brick wall that are built with the use of plaster and lath.
Installing dry lining with us is easy and quickly executed, saving you time and money. Plus, if you plan on redecorating and renovating your home in the future, you’ll have more flexibility going for you. For example, if you want to expand one of the rooms in your home and you made use of this method for your walls, it’s going to be quite easy for you to get the walls torn down and moved than it would be if the walls were solid. This is a win-win situation for growing homes and families, or expanding businesses and personnel.
With dry lining, you’ll also save a lot on the natural dampening of walls. This also actually insulates your walls and it happens easily with just fitting insulation between your property’s battens and decorating the wall with plasterboard.
So, with dry lining, you get to save on easy installation, and flexibility, plus the insulation that you need can be provided by this method. When you’ve decided that you can make use of this method for your home construction, you can start with the savings by getting SMJ Plastering professionals to do the work for you. In the end, you’ll have fantastic looking walls which don’t cost the earth to construct!
All plaster work within a new build Weatherspoons bar.
“Excellent service, top quality finish, all work areas spotless and tidy. Would recommend and use SMJ Plastering again.”
Bathroom plastering / skimming of 2 walls.
“Punctual. Quick and neat workers, kept us informed. Would definitely recommend. Steven very helpful.”
Plaster boarding over artex ceiling and brick wall, skim whole room and cove whole room.
“I contacted SMJ after another plasterer let me down the day before he was due to start. He came to see the job and provided a quote within 48hrs. Very professional service, great finish to the walls. Will definitely be using again.”