Puttying the walls with your own hands

When planning a major overhaul in an apartment or house, as well as when entering a new housing , which is not finished, necessarily will have to resolve the issue of putting the walls in order. Of course, you can invite a team of builders and "unfasten" them a decent amount, sometimes without even having a guarantee that the work was done qualitatively. However, in order to be sure that all the layers of decoration applied to the walls do not fall off for a couple of weeks , it is better to conduct all the building processes in-house with our own efforts, naturally, having studied their technology in advance.

Putty the walls with your own hands - is not such a simple occupation, as it seems at first glance. Align the walls to the ideal is possible only after there is a knack in the process of applying the formulations to the surface. Therefore, before proceeding to such work, after reading the instruction it is recommended to practice small

sections of the wall that are not in sight, for example, in places which are guaranteed to be covered by a large furniture

What kind of putty to buy?

You can not treat wall filling with a secondary process that you can skip. If it is not carried out qualitatively, then all irregularities of the surface will appear through any finishing coating, whether it's wallpaper, decorative plaster or painting.

Spatting is, usually, the finishing process ss pr and the preparation of walls for any decorative coating. The main task is for account of a thin layer of putty on the surface of the walls, filling the existing flaws and eliminating unevenness, to achieve an almost perfectly flat and smooth plane. To obtain the desired result, two types of fillings are used: - is the start and finish.

The composition of the starting putty includes a mixture of dry coarse materials. With this solution, the walls are pre-treated, aligning the most with serious flaws and at the same time creating a good basis for applying the finishing coat.

Finishing, finishing mixture is made on the basis of a thin powder, most often - gypsum. With the technology, the preparation of the composition, the timing and the correctness of its application, it is possible to make the surface of the room walls perfectly smooth.

Sometimes, in order to adjust walls, use universal mixtures that are suitable for both primary, rough alignment, and for finishing, that is, one compound is applied to several layers .

Putty can be purchased in dry or ready-to-use form. Ready-made compounds are, of course, convenient to use - they are produced on oil-glue, lacquer , latex, polymer and other bases. But they were not particularly popular with private masters due to the rather high cost, which is not available to everyone.

But the dry filler mixes are on sale in a large m m of the image, so that even you can get confused at first. Some parameters of putties are summarized in the table offered to the reader. In more detail, with each composition, you should get acquainted directly with the selection, reading the instructions that came with each package.

AS /	LS 35/65	LS 50/50	LS 65/35	ASK FASHION 50/50	Termonite	For
blocks Recommended thickness in mm	3 ÷ 5	5 ÷ 15	5 ÷ 15	5 ÷ 15	3 ÷ 10	2 ÷ 10	3 ÷ 10
Recommended water flow in l / 25 kg	3,5 ÷ 4	3,5 ÷ 4	3,5 ÷ 4	3,5 ÷ 4	4 ÷ 5	5,5 ÷ 6	6 ÷ 7
Ultimate compressive strength, MPa, not less than	16	8	4	2	4	6	20
Ultimate bending strength, MPa, not less than	2	2	1	1	1	3	3
Adhesion( adhesion) to the substrate, MPaenee	0.5	0.4	0.3	0.3	0.3	1	0.5
average density.kg / m3	1900	1900	1900	1900	1900	1900	1900
PH	12 ÷ 13	12 ÷ 13	12 ÷ 13	12 ÷ 13	12 ÷ 13	12 ÷ 13	12 ÷ 13
Remarks:
LS 10/90 belongs to the category of couplings;
LS 35/65, 50/50, 65/35 and putty for blocks - leveling compounds;
"Fine Coat 50/50" and "Termonite" - finishing compounds

Buying shpatlevku, you need to consider and study its packaging, drawing attention not only to its characteristics, but also for the expiration date. If the material is overdue, then it should not be taken, as in this case the money will be thrown to the wind. Do not buy filler mixture stored in high humidity conditions, even if the term of its expiry date is still not expired .Wet or with obvious stains of dampness packing is a sure sign of a spoiled mixture.

It is recommended to buy filler compositions for starting and finishing layers made by one company, as they provide good mutual adhesion and compatibility, which will result in a better result.

Materials and tools

It is very important to be well prepared to work in order not to be distracted in the process due to lack of any material or the necessary tool.

So, you need to work:

• Starting and finishing shpatlevochnye mixture.
• Primer composition.
• Plastic capacity for kneading putty if it is purchased in dry form.
• Special painter's bath for priming.
• The construction roller and two brushes - are wide and narrow. They are necessary for applying primer in hard-to-reach places of , for example in corners or behind radiators.
• Spatulas:

- wide in 500 ÷ 600 mm or even 700 ÷ 800 mm - for application of the finishing layer of putty;

- narrow in 100 ÷ 150 mm - for picking up putty from of tank and applying to a large spatula, and also for leveling the composition in corners.

- angular - for aligning corners when they are putty.

• Rule for monitoring the smoothness of the wall.
• Drill and a mixer for mixing the mass.
• Electric grinding machine( vibrating or eccentric) or manual grater for mashing and grinding applied putty.
• A spotlight or a portable light bulb to identify poorly aligned areas on the wall.
• Construction knife.

Preparing walls for putty

• Before applying the putty, the wall must be carefully prepared. If it is left with old plaster or pieces of wallpaper, they must be removed. Also it is necessary to clear a wall from oil or water-emulsion paint.

• After removing the old coating, cracks or irregularities may appear on the wall. To putty flattened smoothly and not cracked after drying through cracks, it is necessary to conduct their embedding.

- Before sealing the detected cracks, they must be widened as deep as possible into the wall so that they do not repeat the their direction after applying the putty.

- After expansion, the crack is cleaned of dust and pieces of plaster - , this process can be done with a small brush.

- Further, the expanded and cleaned crack is treated with a primer and left to dry completely.

- Apply a starting putty or sealant to the dried crack. The repair mixture should be pressed as deep as possible into the crack, and the top should be leveled to the level of the wall surface.

- repair mortar After the putty or sealant has dried, the grater should be traversed over the cracks in order to finally level the with its with the wall.

• If the wall is lined with plasterboard, then all its joints should be glued with a fiberglass mesh, on top of which a thin layer of putty is applied. holes from recessed self-tapping heads, with which drywall is fastened to on the wall or crate , must also be filled with with filler mortar, otherwise the rust will appear through any decorative trim.

• After drying of the seaming joints, the primers with antiseptic properties are applied to the walls. This layer will add extra strength to the surface, increase the adhesion of materials and prolong the maintenance period of the finish.

Primer is poured into a special tray, from which it is easy to type its onto a roller( brush) for application to the wall surface. It is very important to handle all hard-to-reach places well, otherwise putty can start subsequently peel off.

The applied primer to must dry well.

Preparation of filler

If a dry mix is ​​purchased, its needs to be properly prepared, as it must be homogeneous in consistency and resemble thick sour cream.

• is suitable for mixing with the usual plastic bucket , in which water of room temperature is poured. Usually 9,5 ÷ 10 liters of water is necessary for a putty bag weighing 25 kg, but to know this accurately, before opening the package with the mixture, it is necessary to read the instruction.

• If the selected mixture is manufactured by on an gypsum base, it is not worthwhile to mix with its too much, since the term of its "life" is very limited. The time of use of the mixed solution can also be learned from the instructions for its preparation.
• After filling the powder in water, the mixture is kneaded with a mixer nozzle, fixed in a drill chuck.

• is completely homogeneous and the required plasticity. After , the first portion of the mixed solution will be used, the bucket and the mixer must be rinsed well, otherwise the following solution can be obtained with solid impregnations left from the first knead. It is clear that such an operation is repeated continuously during the of the entire operation.

Application of the starting putty

• On the primed surface, the starting putty is applied with a wide spatula , on which the mixture is conveniently superimposed and evenly distributed with a small spatula .

• The putty is applied to the wall from the corner and from the bottom to the top by smooth movements without strong pressing the spatula, which the needs to hold approximately at an angle of 45 degrees. It is this position that will help to apply the filler smoothly, leaving no traces on it from the corners of the instrument.

The filler strips are applied to the surface of the overlapping the , that is, the smears must overlap each other by 70 ÷ 80 mm.

• After applying the putty on the , the defined area, using the rule, its evenness is checked. The rule is gently, without pressure, carried along the surface of .The plane of the tool with its even edge should collect the surplus of the filler mixture and reveal obvious depressions. Especially well the flaws of will be visible if the wall is illuminated with a light bulb in such a way as to create a mobile shadow.

If the differences appear, then should be followed by the once again to walk over the wall surface with a wide trowel to level them. This can be done until the filler on the wall is still dry on the .

• When applying the starter layer, you need to pay special attention to the corners, because they are always a "weak spot" when leveling the walls. Therefore, very often a special spatula in the form of a right angle is used for leveling these difficult for plastering places.

• . After applying the starting layer, the walls are rarely perfectly even, although one should strive for this. Small errors are allowed, which can cover the finish layer.
• After the application of the starting layer on all walls of the room, it is necessary to wait for it to dry out - only then go to the first grout. Using electric grinding machine or manual grater with fixed on it with sandpaper or abrasive mesh, the surface of the walls is removed from any roughness from the coarse starting mixture. In addition, the grout can equal the small flaws left from the corners of the working surface of the spatula.

Grouting is carried out by movements along the trajectory of the spiral. It is necessary to be careful and try not to miss a single centimeter zashpatlevannoy surface.

• If after grouting on the illuminated wall irregularities deeper than 2,5 ÷ 3 mm are detected, then a second layer of the same mixture is applied to the first starting layer. It can be applied to the entire surface or only to individual areas where defects were found.

Finishing layer of filler

• Finishing layer of putty applied after complete drying of starting, on the same principle - that is, from corners and from bottom to top .

The mixture is also superimposed with a small spatula on a large spatula, distributed along its edge, and applied to the wall with clear movements with slight pressure. The finish layer should not be thicker than two millimeters, and the remaining excess fillings and lines from the edges of the spatula are neatly stretched and smoothed by the passage through them again.

• In order for to see all the defects at once, it is recommended to create combined lighting coming from several light sources during operation, or to use a mobile light bulb on the wire, so that the can bring its to an aligned wall withdifferent sides. When creating such lighting, the falling dynamic shadows will immediately exhibit insufficiently aligned areas of the wall.
• Finishing putty is applied in two layers. The second is applied after the first drying out.
• When the second layer dries, it is rubbed in the same way as the starting layer, using grater or a special power tool with the installation of fine-grained sandpaper or abrasive( start with grains 200 and finish usually - 400).If surface defects are detected, it is permissible for to place its on separate one finishing layer.
• Very carefully it is necessary to seal and polish the corners of the room, because they will be particularly noticeable flaws. Two - spatulas and rubber are used for their removal. The first immediately forms an angle, and the second softly smoothes excess fillings.

• After completes the filler and trowel work, the walls are covered with with another with one or two coats of primer, and only then can the decorative finish be applied.

If the walls are planned to be painted after the leveling, then the process of applying putty should be approached with special care, since the surface must be aligned to the ideal. If the room is designed with wallpaper, then they are in some way able to hide small defects, but when painting defects on the contrary , will appear - it must be foreseen and determine the choice of decorative coating in advance.

can appear on them. After completing all the work on leveling the walls with filler, all the tools that were used for the process must be thoroughly cleaned, washed and dried, as it will be necessary to clean up other roomsapartments.

Some useful tips for

To achieve the desired result when leveling the surface of walls with putty, it is recommended to observe some rules and recommendations. Some have been mentioned in the article, but it makes sense to take it out separately as a summary summary:

• If there is not enough experience in given kind of work, do not buy a large amount of materials. To try, whether it will be possible to carry out these works on your own, you can buy a small amount of putty by weight, learn to prepare the solution and try to level a small section of the wall.

Having performed such an experiment, it will be possible at once to understand whether it will be possible to perform shpatlevanie large surfaces, or still it is necessary to entrust the work to professionals.

• Work on the application and leveling of putty should be carried out under lighting from several lighting devices installed at different ends of the room.
• The starting putty is applied to a thickness of no more than 4 ÷ 5 mm, because the layers having a large thickness can be peeled off, and the risk of cracks appearing on them.
• Before applying each subsequent layer, make sure that the previous one is completely dry. The drying time of the putty directly depends on the thickness of the layer applied to the , the humidity level and the temperature in the room.
• Do not accelerate drying of plastered walls with heaters or by creating a draft in the building, as these effects may result in the detachment of of the compound applied from the walls.
• After applying each of the layers to the , you must check all surfaces using the rule, making marks of places that require additional adjustment.
• It is possible to obtain perfectly even angles only if a special spatula is used to align them.

And, finally, a few words about precautions when carrying out similar construction and finishing works:

• For the filling of walls and ceilings, it is necessary to prepare not only tools and material, but also suitable clothing and equipment. So, when working with fillers, plasters, primers, paints, it is necessary to protect hair and skin.

The head is usually tied with a kerchief, and as a working form it is possible to use old clothes as much as possible to cover the body, which does not pity to get dirty. Hands are recommended to protect with dense rubber gloves.

• When carrying out trowelling, it is necessary to protect the respiratory tract and eyes, since fine dust will fly quite a lot. To do this, you need to buy a respirator and special glasses in the building store.
• If the walls in the room are high, you need to take care of the reliable stable ladder or build " goats " for this. The latter should be preferred, as they allow you to cover just a large trim zone, and their will not have to be repositioned .

And in the end, according to the tradition of our portal - the video tutorial on leveling walls with filler:

video: the first steps in working with with filler mixes

It should be noted that aligning the walls of - is to some extent even a creative process, but enough laborious .Therefore, if there is no predisposition to such events, it is better not to undertake it, but to entrust the performance of professional plasterers of .But if there is a great desire to try your hand and at the same time save money funds, then it's worth taking a chance and doing it yourself.