When buying an apartment in a new building or in a secondary housing stock, almost every homeowner is faced with a problem that requires alignment of the walls. More recently, this laborious process was trusted by specialists. But thanks to modern materials and the latest developments, even a novice builder can handle this. Before you start finishing, you will have to perform surface leveling in the currently popular way. This is the stucco wall of the lighthouses.
What will be required for work?
To do the job efficiently with your own hands, you should purchase some materials and tools:
- Metal profiles or wooden bars. However, due to the fact that the latter are subject to rot, they are practically not used.
- A mixture for plastering, which is divided into two types: gypsum and cement. The choice will depend on the desire of the homeowner, but many experts advise using gypsum, as it has the best qualities. It does not shrink, and cracks form on it. In addition, the gypsum mixture will serve as an additional advantage when creating sound insulation and maintaining heat.
- It will take a primer and a brush to apply.
In addition, it is necessary to prepare spatulas of various sizes, screws, dowels and the construction level.
Ways
A smooth and smooth surface of the walls can be achieved by several methods: putty, suitable for a working area with small differences, as well as cladding with drywall with lighthouses and without them. But such a finish has a short service life. More practical and long-lasting is such a method as monolithic plastering of walls under a lighthouse. The meaning of the option is to apply the ready-mixed mortar directly to the walls and ceiling of the room. The positive qualities of the wet method include the fact that it is suitable for use on any surface in rooms with high humidity. So, the method is perfect for decorating bathrooms and utility rooms.
Achieve evenness of the surface will work if you follow the rules of application and a certain order. Stucco walls on lighthouses will help in this difficult task. It’s quite possible to do it yourself.
Varieties of mixtures
When leveling the walls, you can prepare the mixture yourself or buy ready-made ones available in construction stores. By purpose and composition, they are divided into several groups:
- Clay compounds are mainly used for facing stoves and fireplaces. Slaked lime and sand are added in small quantities here.
- In rooms with low humidity, lime mixtures with cement are excellent. They have a long service life and low cost, therefore, are available to everyone.
- Cement-based plaster contains sand, the amount of which is regulated depending on the base intended for plastering. Other components can be included in it (for example, lime to improve the elasticity of the solution).
- More in demand is a gypsum mixture. This is an environmentally friendly product that has good ductility, does not shrink, and is resistant to changes in temperature and humidity. It also passes air well, so the walls do not collect condensation.
Now on the market there are various grades of gypsum plaster intended for both indoor and outdoor use. Another feature of this material is its quick adhesion to the work surface and ease of use.
Lighthouse selection
For further work, an equally important point is the correct choice of lighthouses. First of all, you should pay attention to the quality of the goods. It should have a flat and smooth surface. Only in this way the plastering of the walls with the help of lighthouses will be performed efficiently.
They are made of various materials:
- Tree. They are used repeatedly, but are currently not used.
- Metal. These are relatively inexpensive and user-friendly products. But at the same time they have a number of disadvantages. Due to minor damage during operation, they cannot be reused, as the resulting rust may protrude on the surface of the walls.
- The most practical are the beacons made of plastic or other similar material, not inferior in its rigidity and strength. The only drawback of these devices is the high price. Masters with great experience replace them with strips cut out of drywall, pre-impregnating with a water-polymer emulsion. They are attached to the work surface using adhesive means.
- Skilled craftsmen often use floating beacons. Plastering walls on gypsum lighthouses requires a lot of skill and certain skills, but the end result is worth it. The surface will gain special strength and durability.
Crate marking
Before the installation of lighthouses for plastering the walls begins, the foundation should be carefully prepared with your own hands. It is necessary to clean the surface of exfoliated old plaster, remove dust and dirt using improvised means. After this, marking is carried out for fastening profiles.
Using the construction level, it is necessary to determine the places of the greatest difference in the walls. Vertical and horizontal markings are applied. At intersections, you need to drill holes and hammer dowels, and screw in the screws.
Work surface preparation
The next step is the direct preparation of walls for plaster. Using a brush, a deep penetration primer is applied, which will ensure strong adhesion of the solution to the working surface and reduce the penetration of moisture.
After the walls have completely dried, you need to proceed to the establishment of profiles. During this moment, you should be extremely careful. The plastering of walls along the lighthouses and the general appearance of the finished apartment will largely depend on this.
Beacon Installation
There are several ways of exposure: to the prepared solution or using special fasteners. Preliminary, you should prepare a small amount of the mixture, scatter it at the location of the profile, attach a beacon and push it into the solution. In this case, it is recommended to check the correct location level.
The next way to fix the beacons involves installing them at the place of clogging dowels and twisted fasteners. When the structure is level, it is necessary to permanently fix the profiles by adjusting the thickness of the coating using self-tapping screws.
Cladding base
Stucco walls on lighthouses are carried out on various surfaces with certain solutions and mixtures. For walls made of concrete, you can use a cement mixture with sand or lime, in which cement is added. To ensure better adhesion of the mortar to the working surface, it is recommended to make notches or use a reinforcing mesh. Plastering walls with cement mortar on beacons is particularly strong and durable during operation.
For brick surfaces, any plaster is suitable. But in order to save the mixture and money, it is worth giving preference to cement mortar. For wall plastering in wooden buildings, before applying the working solution, a reinforcing mesh is mandatory. It is intended for the strength of the connection of the solution and the base. In this case, clay or gypsum-lime compositions are used.
The walls that are made of foam or gas blocks are considered the most difficult to plaster. For them, a suitable solution is the use of gypsum or lime-gypsum compositions.
Plastering
After completing all the preparatory work, you should start preparing the solution. It is worth paying attention to the information from the package, otherwise incorrect ratios will lead to poor quality work. Water is poured into the prepared container. Then the mixture is filled up and with the help of a special mixer it is brought to a homogeneous consistency.
The density of the finished solution will depend on the height of the layer intended for application to the surface. In work, you should use a large spatula, on which the solution is laid out with a slight excess and is applied to the wall. You can first sketch and then begin to align the walls with plaster on the lighthouses. The work needs to be done from the bottom up, keeping the rule perpendicular to the surface. It should be moved from side to side, for an even distribution of the solution throughout the working area. Smooth until the surface becomes smooth and even.
If the wall plastering on the lighthouses is performed for any finishing material, then the work is at the completion stage. Painting and decal of the wallpaper requires their removal, because there is a chance of rust. In this case, the place where they were is carefully sealed with a solution and leveled.
So, we found out how to do wall plastering on beacons with our own hands. As you can see, the operation can be performed in various ways.