DIY textured plaster for those who are not afraid of dirty work

Gusevsky Andrey Anatolyevich

Drawing on the wall is literally created with your own hands.

Do you want to have an exclusive design of the facade of the house or walls in the bedroom? You should not hide this desire in yourself only because it will cost a tidy sum.

It will not cost if you know how to make textured plaster with your own hands - the video and detailed description in this article will help you not only save money, but also express yourself and express your creative abilities.

Features of textured plaster

Decorative plaster happens different. The difference between textured and other types is that the texture and relief of the finished surface are formed by mineral fillers in the form of granite and marble chips, quartz sand, which are part of the mixture.

They depend on their shape and size, volumetric ratio of the filler and the binder. And the picture - on how to do it yourself immediately after applying the textured plaster - the video will allow you to see how this happens.

In ready-to-use form, this plaster is a plastic and viscous mass that is heterogeneous in structure. Its main advantage for beginners is the ease of applying and designing the texture. The surface does not need perfect alignment, since the chaotic terrain masks minor flaws.

First of all, the type of finished cladding depends on the granularity of the finishing mixture, the amount and type of filler:

• A grain size of up to 2-2.5 mm will allow you to simulate the structure of a tree spoiled by a beetle-bark beetle or to create a “lamb” coating (see Plaster front Lamb - a practical "clothing" for your home);
• Larger granules will provide a pronounced relief resembling the bark of an old tree;

Wood textured plaster

• If there is a lot of filler in the plaster, the surface will get a uniform pebble texture without grooves and furrows;
• Fine-grained materials are most often chosen for interior decoration, and the surface relief is attached using special tools and devices;

Stucco under the skin in the interior

• If you do not know how to make a textured plaster imitating natural stone, choose mixtures with calibrated stone chips based on a transparent binder - acrylic resins, liquid glass, etc .;
• Multi-colored or multi-colored crumbs will create a mosaic surface.

An example of finishing a plinth with mosaic plaster

In any of these cases, except, perhaps, for pebble textures, the pattern on the surface is unique. Even if two people will clearly follow one instruction and try to act in the same way, the results of their “creativity” will vary.

This is the whole charm of the material, if not to talk about its operational characteristics, which also deserve all praise.

Features of creating a textured surface

Before you make the textured plaster yourself, you need to perform a whole range of work to strengthen and level the walls. This is quite difficult and difficult for a person who has never held a spatula in his hands. But the application of the decorative composition on the finished walls can be taken over.

However, for those who decide to do everything on their own “from and to”, we will give some useful tips.

Preparatory work

Their list depends on the initial state of the foundation:

• New brickwork, reinforced concrete panels and blocks must be plastered with cement-sand mortar if there are obvious defects on the surface or it has a serious deviation from the level;
• If repairs are made to the “secondary”, then the foundation before making the textured plaster itself, must be cleaned of the old coating and examined for strength and stability. If the above-described flaws or crumbling areas are found, the surface is repaired;

Note! Further work can be started only after the final drying of the rough plaster. Depending on its thickness, humidity and air temperature, this may take 2-5 weeks.

• So prepared walls are primed (see Primer walls and all for that matter) The type and composition of the soil is selected according to the circumstances. For example, if the base is loose, a deep penetration hardening primer is needed. And for processing walls in wet rooms, it must contain antifungal additives;

Relatively even walls can be primed and putty immediately

• The next step is putty (see How to putty the walls with your own hands, observing all the rules) With its help, minor flaws of the rough plaster are eliminated: potholes and sinks are filled, cracks are smeared, the surface is given smoothness and uniform color. At the same time, corners and other joints of surfaces are strengthened, which are reinforced with fiberglass or special profiles during the putty process. If you need to apply several layers of putty, each must be well dried.

Tip. Sanding a putty-lined wall is not necessary. It is enough to cut off the frozen spray and the “tracks” left by the tool with a clean spatula.

At the end of all these works, it is necessary to clean if the decoration is inside the building, or the surrounding area.

Work with decorative plaster

Now about how to make textured plaster yourself. Rather, apply it to the walls and grout with the desired texture. If the foundation is prepared with high quality, it will not be difficult to implement.

But first, let's talk about the material itself. Its consumption will depend on the thickness of the layer, which, in turn, is determined by the size of the grain. It is indicated on the package. But this is an average value, so we recommend buying with a margin.

• Mineral binders based plasters available in the form of a dry mixture, which must be mixed with water to obtain a working solution. Depending on the type of cement, it will have a white or gray color. Dyes are not recommended to be added to such compositions, and the required finish color is achieved by painting the surface.

Cement decorative plaster

• Acrylic, silicate, silicone plasters are delivered ready-made. Their price is much higher, but it is possible to choose a color or tint the mixture, giving it the right tone by introducing pigments into it. They have a fairly long lifespan, which simplifies the work for beginners. While gypsum and cement compositions must be consumed within 20-30 minutes after preparation.

In hermetically sealed packaging, the mixture retains its working properties for a very long time.

Tip. Before making textured plaster, apply a small amount of it with a thin layer on drywall or an invisible section of the wall to practice creating textures and evaluate the color and pattern of the cladding after drying.

Trial application

Application is carried out in small areas of about one square meter. To do this, a little mortar is transferred from the container to the trowel with a spatula, after which it is attached to the surface at an angle of 30 degrees and with a little pressure is led to the side and down. The next movement is done crosswise.

In general, it is not so important how your hands will move - do what is convenient for you. The main thing is that the plaster lay in a continuous even layer, the thickness of which should not exceed the maximum grain size. This will not be difficult to achieve, since the material is malleable and ductile, and small flaws under the texture will not be noticeable.

Tip. We recommend that you watch how the textured plastering of walls is done with your own hands video, before you start work.

Then the fun begins: creating the texture. It all depends on your imagination, which, however, is limited to the type of plaster.

When the layer grabs a little and stops sticking to the tool, it's time to proceed:

• Pebble and mosaic mixtures rubbed with small circular motions with a plastic or wooden grater.
• If you bought Bark beetle plaster (see How to make bark beetle plaster yourself, if you have no experience at all), the scope for creativity will be wider: with a grater, you can perform jerky or continuous horizontal, vertical, diagonal or cross movements, circular, spiral or chaotic. They will determine the nature of the pattern, since the filler granules will roll under the grater in the thickness of the solution, leaving traces of it.

In the photo - the process of creating the texture "bark beetle"

• Even more ideas may arise when using fine-grained mixtures.. A pattern on such a surface can be applied with a decorative roller, brush, sponge, a piece of crumpled paper, a notched trowel, or simply with your fingers. An interesting idea: on fresh plaster you can leave handprints of all family members or press coins, rhinestones, shells and other commemorative or matching jewelry into it.

Options for using various objects for applying texture

The most difficult part in this work is to ensure that the boundaries of successively finished areas are invisible. To do this, you need to either work together (one puts, the second creates a picture), or stick masking tape on the wall, restricting the sections, go over it in the process of plastering, and tear along with the adhering mortar before processing the next section. In this case, the edges will not dry out while you are texturing.

If you plan to paint the walls, then this is done after the plaster has dried. The manufacturer indicates the drying time on the packaging, as does the recommended coatings.

Conclusion

In this article we did not affect the properties of textured plasters, focusing on their types and decorativeness, application rules. However, having become acquainted with other materials and watching the video in this article, you will be convinced that such a finish is not only beautiful and original, but also reliable, durable, and practical.