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Discussion Forum

Just how slow is plastering

skip | Posted in General Discussion on May 8, 2004 05:45am

how long should it take to plaster a 300 sg ft room – walls and ceiling?  (a kitchen remodel)

We went with plaster, done by a pro, thinking it would be faster, but we are two days into the plaster job and looks like another day or three!

time is getting important.   the new cabinets were delivered, have taken over the living room, the wife is getting, well, a bit edgy, lets just say.

Each work day. The plasterer is there working hard, making progress when I leave the house for work in the morning.  I get home and wonder how long he was really working.

Just wondering if the 1 day estimate was over-enthusiastic or the plasterer doesn’t hang around if no one is there.  your guess?

Scott…

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  1. User avater
    CloudHidden | May 08, 2004 06:01am | #1

    One guy? Veneer plaster or 3-coat?

    It is hard work, especially if mixing, applying, cleaning all alone. Trying to remember how long a 20' x 15' room took here. Veneer plaster. Best guess is 2 guys plus a useless gofer took 2 days.

    1. skip | May 08, 2004 06:31am | #4

      Veneer coat,about the same size room, but 1 skilled worker and I watcher/gofer.  Maybe 3-4 days isn't so unreasonable.  (except for the cabinets in the living room, the wife in a bad mood...)

  2. xhammerandnailsx | May 08, 2004 06:01am | #2

    Did he/she say that it would only take them one day or did you just assume that?

    1. skip | May 08, 2004 06:28am | #3

      the quasi- GC implied one day, but then again, according to his schedule we'd been done months ago. 

  3. RW | May 08, 2004 07:13am | #5

    Hmm. Last time I got into veneer plaster. Old room, about 25x15, with a stairwell, and two half walls going up the sides to a landing. Patching old enough to level - 1 day. Blueboard hanging on walls & ceiling. 1 day. tape, durabond joints and fasteners, 1 day, short. Roll on bonding to old surfaces, brown coat, just over 1 day. Top coat, 1 day.

    The only thing that comes to mind in defense of what seems to be a longer schedule than it "ought to" take - you've got remodeling going - which always takes longer, patching new with old, and I can just picture some of the kitchens I've been in. All that cutwork takes time too. With plaster, great big expanses are a joy. Small areas, turning corners - that bogs down efficiency significantly.

    "If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain

    1. DavidxDoud | May 08, 2004 08:15am | #6

      With plaster, great big expanses are a joy.

      your arms are better than mine then ;>)"there's enough for everyone"

  4. kostello | May 08, 2004 09:35am | #7

    as long as the work is of good quality let him finish.

    notmuch is worse than a shoody plasterer as you end up spending ages cleaning up after them and rubbing down the walls to tidy up for the painters.

    plastering is a real art. oh and it really hurts your shoulders!!!

    if the work that you're having done is taking longer than expected, you're not alone!! it always does.

    at this point (assuming that things are OK) i think you need to relax a bit (difficult i know) and keep telling yourself how lovely its all going to look when its all done

    good luck

    PS 300sqft is a bigg room, a big as or if not bigger than my whole downstairs!!! a week seems a resonable period for 1 man to finish plaster the whole thing.

  5. User avater
    Luka | May 08, 2004 10:39am | #8

    3 hrs. Tops.

    Yer being ripped off.

    ; )

    If you do nothing, nothing will happen.

    1. User avater
      IMERC | May 08, 2004 11:56am | #9

      Good morning...

      You could have said you'd send me over and then you could change that 3 hours to never...

      Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming....                                                                   WOW!!!   What a Ride!

      1. User avater
        Sphere | May 09, 2004 02:40am | #10

        ya and if you were doin it the wife would be more than edgy..

        View Image

        Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

        Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations. 

  6. skipj | May 09, 2004 04:38am | #11

    Scott,

    Ummm...did anyone say anything about the time delay required between the final skim coat and the application of paint, wallpaper or any other finish?

    Good luck.

    skipj

    1. skip | May 09, 2004 06:31am | #12

      Delay until painting...another fun topic to bring up with the wife in earshot... GC says 3-4 days, plasterer says you better wait 7.  

      I'd love to paint, the ceilings at least, before the cabinets go up. But with the cabinets now filling the rest of the house, that might not fly.  They might get hung right around the time the plasterer is cleaning up ;-)

  7. User avater
    JeffBuck | May 09, 2004 09:40am | #13

    ask the wife is she wants a "quick house" ...

    or ... a "nice house".

    Are you paying more for the plasterer taking longer than you expected?

    If not ... relax and enjoy.

    You're not the one losing money because it took 3 times longer than "expected".

    Jeff

    Buck Construction, llc   Pittsburgh,PA

         Artistry in Carpentry                

    1. tenpenny | May 10, 2004 03:59pm | #18

      Don't use the term "quick house", just compare it to sex.  You want it fast, a quickie with the "workman" done quickly and gone, or do you want it done well.....takes longer for a satisfying job.......

      1. User avater
        CloudHidden | May 10, 2004 04:14pm | #19

        But then you get into things like how big a crew is necessary to do the job, and if they should come in through the front door or the................

        (We're still talking about building, right?)

        1. tenpenny | May 10, 2004 06:03pm | #20

          if they should come in through the front door or the................

          Reminds me of the snooker player looking at his DW, who was lying naked on the bed.  After a loooong delay, she asked what his problem was.  "Just like playing snooker," he said, "I'm trying to decide whether to go for the pink or the brown...."

          1. User avater
            CloudHidden | May 10, 2004 06:59pm | #21

            I think we'd better stop be/f we're taken to the woodshed! Ha ha ha.

  8. JerBear | May 09, 2004 09:49pm | #14

    It totally depends, did this include hanging rock or blueboard?  Are you just talking about one coat of veneer plaster or the traditional three coat?  Does he have a helper who can mix?  If it's just one guy doing one veneer coat on board that's already prepped and taped then one guy should do it in 3 days maybe four.  If he's doing a good job, let him be and just wait it out till he's done.  Don't hang cabinets or paint until the plaster is cured.  Just out of curiosity (if this is new construction), why did you decide to go with plaster?

    1. skip | May 09, 2004 10:21pm | #15

      Jer,

      Its a remodel, bluebooard with a skimcoat.  the preponderance of greats answers thusfar seems like 3-4 days is not out of the question, and as many have suggested patience should prevail.

      As several have suggested, I am certain the end result will be worth the wait and the extra days *might* not cost me more.  the contract says no, but I fear miscellaneous extras have a way of balancing the books when the job is done.

      jer, you may have hit the hot button.  I didn't spec plaster, the rest of the house is sheetrock. the GC suggested plaster as better,  equiv cost, faster. i agree on #1, doubt #2 and 3.

      But, with all the input from breaktimers, I can be at ease.  as someone greater than I once said:

      you feel much better when you give up all hope ;-)

      1. JerBear | May 09, 2004 11:20pm | #16

         Good answer and right attitude.  As the sneeker people say, just do it.  Someday soon as you are enjoying your new room you'll look back on this, smile and shrug.

        1. xMikeSmith | May 10, 2004 03:51am | #17

          scott... we're just putting the windows in an enclosed porch... about 300 sf..

          i expect my plasterer to show up late this week.. they'll board it one day and plaster it in another day.. but there will be about 4 guys , including the boss who is a working boss..

           i'll take some pics... oh, and .. let it cure for a week...

          here's before.... and the framing... and the floor insulationMike Smith   Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore

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