BotusBuild Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 Ready to order plasterboard and see claims you can decorate straight onto the plasterboard, implying no need to do a plaster skim. Am I reading this right? And if so, then the main question (a la Shakespeare) is whether to skim or not. Pros and cons? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 The Americans tend to not skim, just “joint” and “nail” cover, I have done this in an office environment (huge wall) but I prefer a proper plaster skim (and wet, not D@D) but I am old school. 🥸 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone West Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 I bought a new built, estate house many years ago that had an unskimmed drywall finish inside. I was surprised, but it wasn't too bad. The joins were all taped and filled and the paint finish was pretty good. It was in the early nineties recession and house prices were dropping so I guess the builders were saving money. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Punter Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 I am not keen on tape and fill. It doesn't seem to give such an even finish when painted. That said, it is what they have in almost all commercial areas you see. I hate the dust from tape and fill and the mess from plastering, so take your pick. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 I run a dry lining company around half of our jobs are tape and jointed the other half skimmed Tape and jointing is slightly more expensive I’ve skimmed my last two builds Personal preference 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 I have often wondered why a clip together, melamine faced plywood/MDF/other substrate is not used. They work well in shower rooms, can be fireproof, and relatively easy to DIY. And you can screw into them without a Rawl plug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BotusBuild Posted May 14 Author Share Posted May 14 (edited) 11 minutes ago, SteamyTea said: clip together A bit like the clip together flooring. Interesting product/business idea Edited May 14 by BotusBuild Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 1 minute ago, BotusBuild said: bit like the clip together flooring. Interesting product/business idea You raise the marketing budget and I will be the technical director. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveasteading Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 1 hour ago, nod said: Tape and jointing is slightly more expensive Only if done well! For an amateur t and j is possible whereas skimming will likely be a mess. But @nodwhat do you choose for yourself and why? If it is dearer why do developers do it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 1 hour ago, saveasteading said: Only if done well! For an amateur t and j is possible whereas skimming will likely be a mess. But @nodwhat do you choose for yourself and why? If it is dearer why do developers do it? I’ve skimmed both my builds It’s a better job 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 1 hour ago, saveasteading said: Only if done well! For an amateur t and j is possible whereas skimming will likely be a mess. But @nodwhat do you choose for yourself and why? If it is dearer why do developers do it? Both skimming and taping is likely to look bad if done by an Amateur Once the lights go on or the sun hits it It’s one of those jobs that your better paying someone to do I’m 62 and skimmed our six bed room house out in a week with the help of our son It could tie a novice up for weeks and still look rough 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 Skim every time for me; it provides a better quality surface. With jointed plasterboard it's virtually always possible to detect the joints when the light is in the wrong direction. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMo Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 Nearly all Scottish builds are dry lined (not skimmed). Joiners do the plasterboarding, and generally make a good job of it. I have lived one new build that was skimmed and all can remember is the huge amount of cracks after a few months. This house we are in now, was dry lined, nearly all our walls are over 3m tall and all ceiling vaulted so lots more joints than a normal house. 6 hours ago, Mr Punter said: not keen on tape and fill. It doesn't seem to give such an even finish when painted. That said, it is what they have in almost all commercial areas you see. I hate the dust from tape and fill and Good job has little or no issue with finish. Dust - anyone doing it properly, will use a sander that has a hoover attached with HEPA filters to limit dust. But as with most things, do what is normal in your area. It's no use saying dry line and you can't find a decent dry lining company. Same with skimming. Get that sorted first as you line the walls differently with either taper edged or straight edged plasterboard. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickfromwales Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 Plaster skim via a recommended and tried / tested spread EVERY DAMN DAY OF THE WEEK! Tape & Joint is for commercial / office / bean counters, and cannot and does not removed the 'bumps' in the walls no matter who says what (unless the installer had shares in Easy-Fill and sanded back very generous amounts of it). A bad trade will do a bad job, so let's play the ball here eh? Great trades do fantastic work, so find a spread who has pride in his work and survives only off his recommendations / word-of-mouth, and you'll be right. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crofter Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 Tape and fill if you forever want to know where every nail and joint are. Otherwise, skim. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BotusBuild Posted May 15 Author Share Posted May 15 Thank you all ye Thespians - It seems it is nobler in the mind not to suffer the tape and joint of outrageous fortune but to take skimming tools against the bumpy boards, and by skimming, end them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveasteading Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 10 hours ago, Nickfromwales said: Tape & Joint is for commercial / office / bean counters As far as i am aware, every new house around Inverness, and there are thousands, is T and J. That's got to be because it is cheaper, or faster, or because of skillset availability. It's easy to choose lighting that is not close to the wall , so the joints won't show. If the boards have tapered edges there should be no bumps. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crofter Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 2 minutes ago, saveasteading said: As far as i am aware, every new house around Inverness, and there are thousands, is T and J. That's got to be because it is cheaper, or faster, or because of skillset availability. It's easy to choose lighting that is not close to the wall , so the joints won't show. If the boards have tapered edges there should be no bumps. Just because everybody is doing it doesn't mean it's the best way. We were very lucky to find an out of work plasterer who had come up to Skye to do a job for a hotel, but they weren't ready on time. So he was looking for work while he waited, which way perfect timing for us. I had been planning to tape and fill but I couldn't turn down the opportunity and we got a full skim instead. When the SSE guys came to install our meter, they said it was the best finish they had ever seen on a new build. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickfromwales Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 10 hours ago, saveasteading said: As far as i am aware, every new house around Inverness, and there are thousands, is T and J. That's got to be because it is cheaper, or faster, or because of skillset availability. It's easy to choose lighting that is not close to the wall , so the joints won't show. If the boards have tapered edges there should be no bumps. It's the natural light as well, which shows up everything on such a wall. Taper boards have non-tapered edges which have to join here and there, just too simple to say they won't exist or won’t be quite frequent (unless you are happy with huge amounts of waste). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbeard Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 I used to do tape and joint when I did (Victorian) attic rip-outs and re-insulate as I could never be sure of rate of progress and therefore often missed the chance to book a plasterer. After a learning period I rarely sanded; just feathered in with the trowel. There's no doubt that some joints may 'show' a bit, but generally clients were very happy with the results. If you can get a plasterer out, however, they will skim faster than I could T & J, so horses for courses. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceverge Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 On 14/05/2024 at 18:05, saveasteading said: For an amateur t and j is possible whereas skimming will likely be a mess. You say that, I taped and jointed my little office. I was unsatisfied with the results so I skimmed it. I did use premixed buckets of skim though as I was starting and stopping a lot. It's not enormously difficult once you get the knack and it really covers a multitude of sins. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickfromwales Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 The problem with learning to skim, was I couldn’t practice in customers homes. “Hi, the plastering will look like shit, but bear with please, it’s my 1st day” wouldn’t really go down too well. lol. Great if you can take it one wall at a time in your own home, and quite therapeutic when you get to polish up and take the credit. Also, if it’s a compete train wreck like my first few attempts were, you just PVA it and go again. One trade where practice certainly does make perfect. 👌 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceverge Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 This is the stuff I used. I didn't water it down at all at the beginning an it was like treacle. Later on I did so that it was the consistency of sponge cake mix. I was doing it wall by wall. The first 1m² took me nearly 3hrs and my arm was killing me. The next 2m2 took me about 2hrs. The next 4m² took an hour. The last couple of 4m² including the ceiling took me under 20 mins each and was the best finish of the lot. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceverge Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 Here's some pics taken with my phone torch "along" the wall. You can see the imperfections and occasional gouges. Not @nods pro standard but much better than my tape and jointing. If some prat comes to my office/pumphouse however and does that with their torch, i'll eject them through the second hand pvc door, head over heals into the garden and they'll be followed by pointy end of the skimming trowel looping parabolically towards their nethers. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickfromwales Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 I can say this to you with honesty, openness, conviction, and confidence...... "It doesn't look too shit, to be fair mate" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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