Finishing off a blockwork wall

[thinfourth2]

I've built a small and inoffensive blockwork wall to stop the drive from landing in the living room.

But it looks like st

So is rendering doable by an amatuer?

[dickymint]

Hawk £10
plastering float £15
plastering trowel £12
pointing trowel £6
scratcher £5
sponge £5
cement £4 a bag
lime £5 a bag
Sand £2 a bag
PVA adhesive £6
Beading £6 a length
Hire of mixer £30.......................

A decent tradesman............Priceless!






Yes doable but for 2 x 1/2 days labour do you really want to learn? I can do it but I still pay my mate to put the top coat on.

[thinfourth2]

dickymint said:

Hawk £10 got
plastering float £15 got
plastering trowel £12 got
pointing trowel £6 got
scratcher £5 can make one
sponge £5 The man in the sponge shop must love you
cement £4 a bag got
lime £5 a bag Not got
Sand £2 a bag got tons
PVA adhesive £6 got
Beading £6 a length can make
Hire of mixer £30.........got one already

A decent tradesman............Priceless!


Yes doable but for 2 x 1/2 days labour do you really want to learn? I can do it but I still pay my mate to put the top coat on.

And yes i do want to learn

[Paulbav]

thinfourth2 said:

dickymint said:

Hawk £10 got
plastering float £15 got
plastering trowel £12 got
pointing trowel £6 got
scratcher £5 can make one
sponge £5 The man in the sponge shop must love you
cement £4 a bag got
lime £5 a bag Not got
Sand £2 a bag got tons
PVA adhesive £6 got
Beading £6 a length can make
Hire of mixer £30.........got one already

A decent tradesman............Priceless!


Yes doable but for 2 x 1/2 days labour do you really want to learn? I can do it but I still pay my mate to put the top coat on.

And yes i do want to learn

Well you answered your own question then!

I have done a large wall myself (1st time) and it came out well if not a little rustic

Don't forget the rendermix additive though;)

[thinfourth2]

So any tips

And what do i need batons for?

The wall is only 16 inches high

Can't look any worse then just now

[King Herald]

thinfourth2 said:

So any tips

And what do i need batons for?

The wall is only 16 inches high

Can't look any worse then just now

Watching the guys render my workshop in concrete it seems they trowel the stuff on to a rough depth, then level it as best they can with the float, then use battens to get it flat/check it over larger areas, rather than just use eye sight.

[RV8]

I'm no expert and just enjoy giving things a go, it isn't that hard to do.

I usually make sure whatever wall I'm plastering or rendering is moist first so it doesn't pull too much of the moisture out of the render. I mix up the render so it's consistency isn't too runny or thick in one of those rubber buckets and use a float to roughly apply it to a section. You only have to get the coat fairly even, worry about the finish when it's starting to go off as it remains workable for a while if you've mixed it right and it's not in full sun or something. Sometimes I wet the float to assist smoothing after I've used a length of wood to find level is consistent, to use the baton I just shuffle it from left to right while working upwards and you'll see any low spots while the high spots will catch and you'll level them off.

[dickymint]

thinfourth2 said:

dickymint said:

Hawk £10 got
plastering float £15 got
plastering trowel £12 got
pointing trowel £6 got
scratcher £5 can make one
sponge £5 The man in the sponge shop must love you
cement £4 a bag got
lime £5 a bag Not got
Sand £2 a bag got tons
PVA adhesive £6 got
Beading £6 a length can make
Hire of mixer £30.........got one already

A decent tradesman............Priceless!


Yes doable but for 2 x 1/2 days labour do you really want to learn? I can do it but I still pay my mate to put the top coat on.

And yes i do want to learn

So you can make beading........



I was referring to a plasterers sponge........



You have the tools and materials and obviously the will to do the job.