Plaster or Tape?

D

dereko1969

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We're building a house at present and our electrician mentioned to us at the weekend that rather than having the walls plastered that we could simply get the plasterboard 'taped' and then painted over. He was saying that as the plasterboard is factory finished it should already be 'perfect' and wouldn't need plastering over. Has anyone used this method before? He said it's used a lot in the UK and in apartments. Given the cost of plasterers anything that would reduce our costs and still look good would be very welcome.
 
Re: Plaster or Tape??

Taping probably only entails taping the joints! Wouldn;t say there would be any particular prob with painting over plasterboard but you'll probably see the joints easier if only taped! just visited my new build over weekend...has stud and plasterboard upstairs and the hardwalled plastered finish is such a class job....smooth, perfect! our apartment, I'd say, has the taped finish, if thats what they're refered to, and there are plently of cracks where the plaster board joins etc! Probably needs to be skimmed....but moving out so not worried! but this might also be the case with a hardwalled finish anyway, when plaster dries out more! for my money, if its a long term home, i'd go with the plastered finish...might be a bigger jobe to re-do at a later stage!?
 
Re: Plaster or Tape??

You should get walls scimmed, not sure if spelt right
 
Re: Plaster or Tape??

Definitely plaster, All the screws and tape joints will be visible. The walls will also be much easier to mark and break holes in.
 
Re: Plaster or Tape??

thanks for that, was hoping someone would comment that it was best thing ever and they'd saved a fortune! ah well.
 
Re: Plaster or Tape??

Hi Dereko, this is a valid method. A friend of mine is using it on a new build at the moment. I think it is called "tape and joint". Someone more qualified than I may post in the meantime but I will try and get more info on it for you. I think that it can only be done on a particular type of plasterboard though.
 
Re: Plaster or Tape??

it's done in practically every new house that has been built in Dublin for the last 5-8 years. very poor finish in my opinion - no matter how well you apply your paint it will never look as good as a proper skim coat - we got a skim coat done on our extension and the difference in finish between it and the rest of the house is huge !
 
Re: Plaster or Tape??

Taping can be a good job if done correctly and is quite an easy job to DIY. Almost all of the new buildings are taped because it is faster and cheaper than Hardwall.

It is simple job.The materials required are lafarge ready mix lite, scrim tape and You will need a hawk to hold the lafarge mix during application, a paint scraper and a larger plastering trowel.

You will need to apply 3 coats

Apply coat one to the joints and the screw heads using the paint scraper. Apply a lite coat and llow to dry.

For coat 2 you will need to put the scrim tape on all of the joints and then apply the Lafarge mix over the tape using the plastering trowel. Note that if you take a look at the plaster board there should be a recess at the edges of each sheet to accomodate the build up of Scrim coat. after the final coat the skrim should be flush with the rest of the plasterboard.

the final coat should be applied once the 2nd coat has dried unualy the next day. this is the finish coat. it is recommeded to sand off any rough or excess skrim once it has finished, but a good tip would be to use a wet sponge on the skrim once it has "went off" i.e. solid but not set.

The finished job can now be painted.

The taping job can last a few years with out showing any signs of cracking or screw heads coming trough once the plasterboard has been attached correctly. Plasterboard should be screwed in place and not nailed, also the screws should not be so tight that the bust the backing paper once tightened.

I will say that skimming with hardwall is a better job and is usualy more expensive than taping, this will all depend on the guy that is pricing the job. Personaly if money was no object i would get my house skimmed with hard wall, but being a bit of a cheap skate i would probably tape the house my self, at least then when it does crack i would be able to repair it myself.

If the taping job was done poorly it would last about 5 years and at this stage i would assume that you may want to redecorate the room, ie paint it or wall paper it. The wallpaper will cover any cracks, otherwise if you want to repaint and done the taping job your self you will have the skills to repair the cracks.

IF you want to save thousands, buy a DIY book chech out taping, its so simple and do the job your self.
 
Re: Plaster or Tape??

With regars to the painted finish, you can get a Plaster based paint that is generaly sprayed to the plasterboard. This can give a very good finish that approachs hardwall for quaility. I'm not sure if this paint can be applied with a brush or roller but its worth a look. I think that paint choice would relly affect the final finish. Do you want to paint??
 
Re: Plaster or Tape??

i am just after getting a house taped, 2200sq ft taped in a week by one man. i think this is a trade that is going to really take of in ireland.
 
Re: Plaster or Tape??

would you mind disclosing how much it cost for the taping as opposed to how much you'd been quoted for plastering/skimming? you could PM me instead if you wish.
 
Re: Plaster or Tape??

taping done badly is horrendous, done well by experienced tradesmen with the correct tools it is every bit as good as skimming, I worked recently on a huge student complex where there were lots of so called tapers, the quality was shoddy as not one of them had the correct tools. Proper taping knives and useing paper tapes and not fibrous tapes (no cracks) Taping a small job diy is all well and good but a full house needs to be done by a pro. Taping is not as skilled as plastering by a country mile, indeed you can do a weeks course at the british gypsum base in Nottingham which would enable any competant diy'er to do their own new build. There are machines available that cut down the work of hand taping five fold and leave a perfect finish. Theese methods may well be well received in Dublin but try convincing new builders in the west about anything other than sand cement and skim and you are banging your head against a wall.

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Re: Plaster or Tape??

Just wondering has any one else taped and jointed their house . i'm about to plaster the inside of my house but some of the quotes seem crazy. i have seen a house that was taped and jointed and has been painted and the finish looks quality to me . what are other posters thoughts if any
 
Done correctly I know that I can complete a house skim much faster than a taper can. If it is a quick job (taping)then I can not..... but the finish will be far inferior.
Where are you Mc D ? .
B.T.W. There is a special egg shell primer for taped boards that is applied before painting to give a hard coat to the boards.
 
hey mc d,taping and jointing is a class job(only when done properly of course)its done in most other countries especially the u s,you wont get much skimming over there,best piece of advice i can give you is if you want a tape and joint finish,you will probably need a guy who has spent time working in the usa,or a country where taping and jointing is the norm.
nothing wrong with the paint finish on plasterboard,it just needs too be sanded properly after its taped,then primed with a proper primer sealer..a lot of guys who worked for big dry ling firms like o connell dryling have been laid off in the last 12 months,and they would be the ideal guys too get too slab, and tape and joint your house..could probably find a few numbers if you cant get anyone too do it for you,
 
again, nothing wrong with tape & joint - if done properly(same as any trade) I once saw very bad tape & joint they washed the board with a sponge and the board ended up with small balls all over it (paper ravelling) - ended up being a big balls up!!
 
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