Stucco ceiling by own hands

Working with the ceiling surface is the most time-consuming and specific, and therefore many prefer to get off with "little blood" - glue the ceiling slabs or close everything with a tension cloth. However, there are cases when one can not do without plastering, and here everything is not so simple as with the walls. In this article you will learn everything about the plaster ceiling yourself.

Plastering the ceiling or not?

Few people know, but repair in any room should start from the ceiling, especially when it comes to plastering. There are a lot of finishing methods, but practically all of them need to be carried out preparatory work, namely - leveling by plastering and grouting.

Due to the high laboriousness and high cost of the work, many doubt the need for its implementation. Thus, the cost of plastering the ceiling, taking into account the purchase of mixtures, their transportation and the work itself, will be higher than the arrangement of the stretch fabric or the gluing of the ceiling slabs. But before making a final verdict, let's consider the advantages and disadvantages of this method.

Advantages of the plaster of the ceiling:

1. The cost of the mixtures themselves will be lower than the purchase of the stretcher or cassettes.
2. Plaster mixes are absolutely safe for human health and the environment.
3. Plaster practically does not reduce the height of the room - it is about a few centimeters( 5 cm maximum), which can not be said about stretch or suspended ceilings.

It seems that this is a fairly inexpensive and safe way to repair the ceiling, but you should take into account some of the nuances. For example, if the mixes for finishing cost cheap, then the work of the master, who knows how to handle them, will cost a tidy sum. The price of the plaster ceiling will be higher than if you ordered a suspended PVC ceiling. Another point is that the plaster can cope with only small differences in height up to 5 cm. If we put a thicker layer of the mixture, it simply falls off under its own weight, and the material consumption will be much higher, not to mention the fact that a piece of fallen off plaster canseriously impair the health of residents.

And, the most important factor that does not allow many economical owners to decide on plaster ceilings - to get a high-quality result, professional skills are needed. For this it is recommended to practice working with a spatula first on the walls, and then on the ceiling in some small room. Only when you have a perfectly flat surface, you can proceed to repair in spacious rooms.

The video on the plaster ceiling below shows the main points of the work:

technology The work with the ceiling is so difficult because everything has to be done "upside down" in an uncomfortable position, while the solution constantly strives to drip directly into the eyes. That's why the whole process should be broken down into several stages and clearly follow the instructions below.

Ceiling marking and priming of the ceiling

Any construction and repair work must begin with preparation and marking in order to clearly understand the sequence of their actions and represent the final result. Alignment of the ceiling, as well as leveling of the walls, occurs along the beacons - special labels indicating the level( horizontal or vertical) to which the surface should be drawn. In the case of beacon ceilings, it is recommended to expose the light. If you work in a corner room with two windows, put beacons along. So you will have more probability of avoiding overfalls, which often happens when 3 rows of lighthouses are exposed, and the average is obtained lower. And to put beacons across and does not make any sense, because the result will upset you.

The number of rows of lighthouses depends on the width of the room - if it is less than 3 m, you can completely manage two rows, placing them 60 cm from the walls. As a result, the distance between the beacons will be equal to 180 cm, which is quite enough for a long two-meter rule. First put the plaster on the middle row, and then take out under it lateral. For wider premises, 3 lighthouses are required for 3-5 m, and so on. We will consider an example of an equalization of a ceiling 3,5 m wide, so here it took 3 beacons: in the center of the ceiling and 20 cm from the walls. The length of the first row of each of the beacons should be slightly less than the length of the building rule, that is, 2-2.5 m. The length of the second row can be done as it will.

How to prepare the ceiling for plaster:

1. Make the marking with a simple pencil at the points where the screws will be located. It is better to immediately write on the ceiling the size of the lighthouses, so that you do not have to measure them every time. Make holes in the punch through the markings and screw in the dowels.
   
2. Do not screw in screws yet - first you need to apply a primer. Since the surface of the rough ceiling is concrete and smooth, a primer is needed so that it can hold a quality and hold tight. One of the best options for such cases is Betokontakt. Apply the mixture generously in several layers, letting dry the previous layer.
   
3. After complete drying of the primer, determine the lowest point of the ceiling surface. For this, it is most convenient to use a laser level and a gon( tape measure).Hang the level on the wall as high as possible, let the beam out and see what mark it will display on the angle piece or roulette.
   
4. If you do not have a laser level, you can take a regular bubble. To do this, the level must be glued to a long rule with adhesive tape. Start the measurements from any angle, from time to time making notes near the holes for the screws. The work takes a lot of time and will require patience, but without it you can not get a flat surface. Your task is to find a point where the plaster layer will be minimal, and if you make a little mistake, either too much mixture will be spent or, worse, during the work you will rest on the rough ceiling and all work will go wrong. As you understand, in order to cope with such a task, one must be able to handle measuring instruments.
5. So, when you were able to figure out which self-cutter the lowest segment of the ceiling will start from, screw it so that it is not screwed to the surface by 6-7 mm. This distance will be the standard thickness of the plastering beacon. The remaining screws, respectively, should be nedokrucheny even more, that is, more strongly advocate for the surface of the ceiling.
6. Screw the second screw "by eye", then attach the rule between it and the first screw. Check the horizontal with the construction level and adjust( screw or unscrew the second screw) so as to exit into a flat horizontal plane.
   
7. Do the same procedure with the second and third screws, and so on. Periodically check the levels between different pairs of screws, not just between neighboring ones - so you will be sure that you did not allow a minimum deviation, which eventually can grow into a large difference in height. If you are working with a bubble level, the process of installing beacons will take about 2 hours or longer. An experienced master will spend 1-1.5 hours on it. But with a laser level, things will go much faster, so if there is an opportunity to borrow it or rent it - do it.

Application of plaster to the

ceiling Before proceeding to step-by-step instructions, I would like to draw your attention to one important point. Everyone has heard about the high quality of German building mixtures, in particular Rothband plaster. However, not even all specialists know that the maximum permissible thickness of a layer of such plaster can be only 1.5 cm, while the second layer can not be put in any case, otherwise everything can fall off. Thus, if the altitude difference of the surface is more than 9 mm, Rothband can not be plastered. The fact that the domestic and European construction standards are very different, and we are good, if you can meet the 3 cm plaster.

In general, in the process of applying the plaster there is nothing difficult - smeared on the surface, stretched out the rule and removed all unnecessary. But in the case of the ceiling there are subtleties. So, it is better for him to make a thicker solution, otherwise he will all be on you and on the floor. But too cool mixture can not be done, because it just can not stick to the ceiling. Since in this case gravity works against you, the technology of applying the plaster is best chosen depending on the required thickness of the layer. Steel smoothing is convenient to work, if it is necessary to apply a thin layer of up to 15 mm - apply the mixture with a slide and transfer it to the ceiling by moving forward and upward. If a layer is needed thicker, use a simple spatula.

Important point: The thicker the plaster layer, the more likely it is that air bubbles will form in it. In these places, the solution does not adhere to the ceiling and sags, thereby reducing the strength and durability of the entire coating. The most frequent risk areas are in the corners between the wall and the ceiling. To prevent sagging, some professionals use construction cunning - they first apply a thin layer of mortar, wait for it to dry out, and then lay the main thickness. The first thin layer and provides a quality grip plaster with the rough ceiling. The interval between application of the first and second layer should not exceed 30 minutes.- the first layer should only slightly dry. Otherwise, the consistency of the layers will be too heterogeneous, and the bulk may fall off.

In the photo above just this situation is shown - the first thin layer was perfectly preserved and well kept on the ceiling, while the thicker mass fell off. If after finishing the work and drying the plaster you still found blisters or cracks, this can be corrected. You will have to scrape the plaster with a spatula to the very bottom, then again lay the solution on this place.

Specific moments of the plaster ceiling:

1. Getting started is best with your back to the window, moving towards it. So the light will not blind your eyes, but you will see everything with full natural light.
2. Remove excess solution by moving the treader or rule to yourself, and the last( final) movement rule always leads to the opposite side of the window. So you can look at the defects of the work and immediately fix them.
3. Constantly check the plane along the beacons after each mixing of the solution to exclude situations when the layer enters the layer. To fix it later it will not be easy. Also, after each portion of the solution, "jam" the edges, as shown in the image below.
   
4. The remaining non-stucco strips along the walls and along the axes of the central screws should be closed after the main plane is seized. Before proceeding with this, unscrew all the screws so that the rule does not catch on to them and they were not visible after the grouting.
5. After the alignment, be sure to delete all beacons. It only remains to seal and align the grooves from them, and you can proceed to the final stage - the grout.

Grouting

If you have mastered the leveling of the ceiling, the grout seems trivial. To do this, dilute the plaster and apply a thin layer on the area of ​​approximately 1 m².Do not immediately smooth it with pressure, otherwise you will get a hilly ugly covering. Just wait a couple of minutes for the moisture from the solution to absorb a little into the stiff plaster, and then gently smooth. You can experiment with fresh and "two-minute" plaster to see how much the result differs.

When the solution is properly seized, finally "polish" it to get a perfectly smooth surface. After grouting the quality plastered ceiling looks like this:

As you can see, the plaster of the ceiling is a very specific idea. The very idea beckons with the opportunity to make cheap and high-quality repairs, but at the same time frightens laboriousness and the need for owning special skills. Therefore, before deciding on an independent plaster, soberly assess their capabilities.

Summarizes the above material useful video about the plaster ceiling with their own hands: