Construction spatula - types and differences
Repair requires a lot of tools, and the construction spatula occupies the dominant position - without it, neither old wallpaper can be removed nor putty mortar. In the article we will talk about the types of spatulas used, their purpose, and also tell you how to choose the most suitable tool for various types of repair work.
The content of the article
What is a spatula?
The spatula (from German - Spatel - spatula) is a plate of various materials, equipped with a handle.
In construction and repair work, it is used for:
- Clean old wallpaper (seeHow to quickly remove old wallpapers of various types from the walls), putties, paints.
- Application of mortar or cement.
- Puttying surfaces.
- Tile laying.
- Grouting in tiles or masonry.
- "Treatment" of small defects on delicate surfaces (laminate, wallpaper, etc.).
By the type of material used to make the tool, construction spatulas are divided into:
- Metal.
- Rubber.
- Plastic
Types of spatulas
The name itself suggests that the tool is intended mainly for puttying (seeHow to putty walls in different versions), although they use it everywhere. The choice of spatula depends on the type of work to be done; at each stage, various spatulas are used. Let's take a closer look at the main varieties of the tool.
Facade spatula
This type is intended for applying and leveling plaster and putty mixtures on large surfaces, it is characterized by increased strength. The rigid web is made of anodized steel, not subject to corrosion.
An additional aluminum profile, in which it is fixed, eliminates the risk of curvature and deformation, increases the reliability and durability of the tool.
The soft two-component handle made of plastic thermo-rubber provides a reliable grip and comfortable work.
Facade spatulas are produced with a canvas width of 150 to 800 mm. The price of the product is higher than that of other analogues, but is determined by the quality and increased load during operation.
Paint spatula
The difference between a paint spatula and a facade spatula is the thickness of the canvas: it has a thinner and more flexible, springy, the handle can be rubber or wooden. The flexibility of the blade makes it easy to remove old wallpaper or paint (seeHow to remove paint from the walls: the secrets of the masters), accurately and efficiently apply the mixture on the surface of any configuration.
Apply a paint spatula mainly at the last stage of finishing - applying and leveling putty, sealing joints between cladding sheets, minor repairs of concrete walls.
But because of the thinner fabric during intensive work, the service life of such spatulas is much shorter. The blade is not always made of stainless steel, sometimes manufacturers use ordinary steel and cover it with a protective film that quickly wears out, and the sheet itself rusts. The width of the working plate varies from 20 to 450 mm.
Notched trowel
The main and perhaps the only function of this type is the application of adhesive compositions on the surface.The teeth on the blade evenly distribute glue, reduce overspending, remove excess mixture, as a result, reliable, strong adhesion of materials to each other is ensured.
The width and depth of the teeth is selected individually and depends on the type of surfaces to be glued.
Important! The larger the surface of the facing material, the larger the tooth at the spatula.
The height of the spatula tooth has the following sizes:
- 6 mm.
- 8 mm.
- 10 mm.
- 12 mm.
- 14 mm
For example, for gluing sheets of drywall, gypsum plasterboard, OSB, laying large slabs of porcelain tile, it is recommended to use a spatula with a large tooth; it is better to lay ceramic tiles on smaller glue furrows; when working with carpet or linoleum, it is recommended to use a spatula with a small tooth.
If the standard tooth height is small and it is necessary to increase the thickness of the adhesive, then you can apply the mixture on both surfaces, but in opposite directions.
Rubber spatula
The spatula is made of durable but plastic rubber of various shapes, sizes and configurations; it has no joints or joints, as it is made of a single piece. The working part is thinner and more flexible, which allows you to apply the mixture on delicate surfaces such as laminate, wallpaper, ceramic tile.
It is convenient for them to wipe the seams on a large tile, “heal” scratches or dents on the floor or walls, mask the seams on the wallpaper, apply glue or sealant with a thin layer. A rubber spatula will never damage the surface, but will easily repeat all its bends and drops, which is especially important when grouting.
Manufacturers produce rubber spatulas with a blade width of 40 to 100 mm. Usually they are sold in sets of three to five pieces, which include spatulas of the most popular sizes. Choose a rubber tool so that it lies comfortably in your hand - from a small one, your big hand will quickly get tired and vice versa.
Tools with a wider working surface (up to 200 mm) are used when using liquid mixtures. These are the so-called jointing spatulas.
They are much better suited for puttying and leveling walls with a large surface, as they have a wide grip area, are equipped with a convenient wooden handle, and are made of white or black rubber.
Important! With such a spatula, it is convenient to grout the seams on a shallow (100x100 mm) or mosaic wall tile. It is quite tedious to do this with an ordinary rubber spatula due to the large number of seams, and the jointing machine will quickly and easily fill them immediately over a wide area.
Plastic spatula
This type is used to smooth wallpaper and self-adhesive film, to expel air bubbles from under the canvases, therefore it is also called wallpaper (“comb”). When working, using a spatula is much more convenient than a normal rag: it captures a large area and presses the wallpaper more densely to the surface.
The spatula is made of durable, but elastic plastic, does not harm the material, does not scratch and does not tear the canvas. But when buying, you still need to check the absence of burrs on the working edge, since there are still a lot of unscrupulous manufacturers on the construction market.
I release them with and without handles, which have a different shape, but the most convenient and popular for straight surfaces is the “fin” shape. The width of the working blade varies from 210 to 400 mm.
Each facet of the spatula is designed for specific purposes:
- The widest smoothing wallpaper and expel bubbles and excess glue.
- Short edges are used to press the canvases in hard to reach places.
- With a sharp end with adjacent edges, smooth the wallpaper in the corners and at the joints.
The ergonomic shape of the angular spatula allows you to quickly and accurately press the wallpaper in the corners, which is not always possible when using the "grandfather" methods.
Spatula - scraper
The universal spatula-scraper is designed to perform several functions at once:
- Durable sharp blade cleans surfaces of various kinds of dirt and deposits.
- The pointed tip helps to open cracks in the lining for their further closure.
- The rounded notch in the canvas is designed to remove excess paint, glue or putty from the roller.
- A metal cast cap on the handle serves as a kind of hammer for driving fasteners in drywall.
- The oval hole in the canvas plays the role of a nail clipper and can remove small nails from the cladding.
The metal of this spatula is much thicker than that of conventional tools, so it is unlikely to be useful for leveling work, but it is perfectly suited for cleaning surfaces.
Corner spatula
This view is intended for alignment of angles, both external and internal. The sides of the stainless steel blade are 90 degrees apart. A spatula with an internal angle is more in demand, it is used to align joints between walls, ceiling, floor.
But since during construction a right angle is infrequently maintained in these places, the processing of corners with this tool is not always convenient. In most cases, special metal or plastic corners are now installed on external corner joints, so the external spatula is less in demand.
Spatula (trowel) for decorative plaster
Such an instrument has four working faces, it is also called the "falcon". With it, you can apply decorative plaster, chaotic putty patterns or liquid wallpaper on the walls.
The spatula is equipped with a convenient, right-angled wooden or rubber handle, securely attached to a stainless steel sheet. For applying putty and leveling it on the ceiling, a “falcon” is used with a straight handle, which allows you to comfortably hold the tool in an uncomfortable position.
Spatula selection
Let's decide how to choose a putty knife for putty, so that during work it would be possible to cover not only smooth large surfaces, but various hard-to-reach spots.
Let’s say right away: you can’t get by with just one tool, there isn’t such a universal spatula that it’s convenient to work both in the corners and behind the batteries, and even so that the process goes quickly and the mixture lies flat. You will need at least three working tools.
The most popular sizes of putty putty knives have the following standard sizes of blade width:
- Narrow (from 20 to 80 mm).
- Medium (from 100 to 150 mm).
- Wide (from 200 to 400 mm).
To remove the old coating, applying the mixture in hard-to-reach places, sealing small cracks, holes and other small defects, narrow spatulas are used.
When gypsum plasterboard is putty, the seams and fixing holes are closed with a narrow spatula.
Medium, they are also called typesetting, are used to putty putty on a working spatula, as well as its cleaning and removal of excess. Well and wide apply the composition directly to the wall.
If your surface is very curved or has various large irregularities, then the instruction for plastering recommends using a spatula with a wider blade (up to 800 mm). Using this tool to hide large defects and level the wall is easier than with a medium or even wide spatula.
Conclusion
We talked about the spatulas used for decoration and repair, answered the question "How to choose a putty knife for putty", provided photos of the tools. For completeness and clarity, he suggests watching another video in this article.
