Overhaul in the houses of the old foundation or the decoration of apartments in a new building is difficult to imagine without leveling the walls. To surface looked as aesthetically pleasing and even as possible, they are pre-plastered. With minor flaws, alignment occurs along the plane, and large defects are eliminated by a thick layer of solution, which requires the installation of beacons.
For professional masters, this process does not cause difficulties, but ordinary homeowners do not always know how to exhibit beacons for plaster. To make it easier for you to do the upcoming work, we examined this issue in detail in our article.
What is a stucco beacon?
Aligning walls with lighthouses has been practiced for several decades. Previously, wooden glazing beads, nylon cords, thin boards and metal corners were used as control guides. Recently, special strips began to be used - metal beacons. Their use made it possible to achieve high quality of the work performed and reduce the time required for finishing.
The control strips installed on the walls help builders in solving the following problems:
- in determining the degree of curvature of the base;
- in choosing the optimal layer of plaster;
- in determining places with excess mixture;
- in assessing the complexity and duration of work.
The lighthouse itself is a metal L-shaped strip, which is attached to the surface on a plaster composition or using special screws. Today, three-meter products with a width of 3, 6 and 10 mm are available to us. The selection of a suitable option is based on the estimated thickness of the plaster mix.
The vertical and correct installation of the rails is controlled by the laser level. Before exhibiting beacons for plaster, some preparatory work should be done. Let's consider in more detail each stage.
Stage 1: preparing the necessary tool
If you decide to do the repair yourself, check if you have all the materials and tools in stock. To put the beacons under the plaster walls on both mortar and self-tapping screws, you will need the following items:
- building level or plumb;
- mixture for plaster (for beginners it is better to use gypsum compounds);
- wide spatula;
- trowel or spatula;
- beacon profiles;
- brushes;
- primer composition.
To apply the plaster, purchase a trowel, a broad rule, coarse-grained sandpaper, buckets for mixing the composition, and a drill with a mixer nozzle.
If you have to level a large area of walls, use a capacious trough. It will significantly reduce the time of work by reducing the number of kneading of the working mixture.
Stage 2: work with the base
Understanding the question of how to put beacons under the plaster of the walls, pay attention to the preparatory work. They include the removal of old cladding, paintwork, a layer of plaster. If you do not want to completely clean the walls, visually inspect them for significant defects. If peeling occurs somewhere, clean this area first.
Large cavities in the wall should be immediately covered with plaster. Before putting beacons for plaster, the surface needs to be smoothed a little. The curvature of the prepared wall should not exceed 12 mm. Convex sections, various influxes and tubercles are compared with the rest of the surface using a hammer drill.
Stage 4: preparing the foundation for work
After preliminary alignment, the walls are prepared for work. You need to remove dust from them, remove all interfering elements, and if necessary, conduct electrical wires.
To achieve maximum adhesion of the base and plaster, treat the walls with a deep penetration primer. However, pay attention to how to place stucco beacons on smooth concrete walls.
For such a base, an ordinary primer will not be enough, the composition will simply slide off the surface and quickly fall off. To prevent this from happening, treat smooth slabs with Concrete Contact primer. It creates a roughness on the wall, which ensures reliable fixation of the stucco mixture. This completes the preparation for the installation of beacons.
Note! "Concrete contact" is much more expensive than a standard primer. Take this into account when preparing estimates for repairs.
What if the wall is painted?
The most difficult preparation for installing beacons is for those homeowners whose walls have previously been painted. In such situations, the condition of the entire base should be assessed. It is possible to dismantle a paint and varnish layer only in those cases when the wall is strong enough. In other situations, frequent incisions are made.
To remove old paint from the walls, determine its composition. If previously used water-based composition, the surface should be properly moistened. Under the influence of water, the paint exfoliates from the base, and it can be cleaned with a spatula.
Oil coatings are somewhat more difficult to remove. For this, the wall should be covered with a special solvent and the softened layer should be cleaned with a spatula. Notches are made on the resulting surface.
Base marking
Correctly set beacons under the plaster of the walls (both on mortar and on self-tapping screws) is possible only subject to preliminary marking. For these works you will need:
- laser level;
- construction pencil;
- self-tapping screws;
- screwdriver or punch (depending on the type of wall).
To control the level of lighthouses, you will need a building cord or any straight rope, fishing line, wire.
To place beacons under the plaster (both laser level and plumb), perform the work in the following sequence:
- When using a laser, position the device so that its rays are directed into the corner of the room. On its vertical line, evaluate the unevenness of the base.
- Slightly stepping back from the corner, screw a self-tapping screw into the wall. The installation location should correspond to the vertical line of the laser. At the other end of the wall, screw in the second self-tapping screw.
- Between the two fasteners, pull the cord. It will indicate the location level of all lighthouses.
If you are using a plumb line, use it to install a beacon from both edges of the wall. Pull the thread between the guides. Follow it when installing the remaining metal rails.
How to exhibit beacons for plaster: technology of work
After installing the control thread, you can proceed with the installation of beacons. To do this, mark the location of the vertical rails. The width between the beacons is determined by the length of the rule. If you are using a 2-meter tool, install rails every 1.5 meters. The first bar is located 20 cm from the corner of the room.
Draw a vertical line at the lighthouse locations. If you chose fixation with mortar, along the given line make “blotches” from the stucco mixture. The step of their location is about 25 cm.
Install a metal beacon on the prepared solution. Check the correctness of its location using the building level. Also, make sure that the metal rail does not extend beyond the stretched cord. Press the beacons against the wall and apply another layer of plaster on top of them.
Thus install the metal elements throughout the wall. Wall plastering the next day. During this time, the solution will solidify, and the beacons will hold firmly enough.
Installation of beacons on self-tapping screws
As you can see, mounting the strips with a solution is quite simple. And now we’ll talk about how to correctly set the beacons under the plaster using special fasteners.
If you do not want to lose the time required to set the solution, get the screws and do the work in the following sequence:
- On each vertical line indicating the location of the beacon, drill about six holes. Their depth should be 50 mm, and diameter - 8 mm.
- Drive dowels into prepared holes, insert screws into them. The length of the screws depends on the thickness of the plaster. Most often, elements with indicators from 50 to 80 mm are used. The screw-in depth is controlled by a plumb line or by a tensioned thread.
- On installed screws put on plastic or metal fasteners for beacons. Further, the metal rail is fixed in their nests and is adjustable by plumb or level.
If in the course of work errors are detected, they are eliminated by screwing in or out fixing bolts. Thus, the master manages to perform the most even installation of beacons.
Pros and cons of fixing on self-tapping screws
Understanding the question of how to properly set beacons for plaster, novice masters can not decide on the method of fixing rails. To make the decision as simple as possible, evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of fastening with self-tapping screws.
The positive aspects of this method include:
- reduction of time costs;
- the ability to set the bars as accurately as possible;
- facilitating the application of the composition;
- increasing the quality of leveling work.
The disadvantages are the increase in costs due to the acquisition of special fasteners and the complexity of the work for beginners.
Some experts prefer to dismantle the beacons after applying and hardening the plaster. This is due to the fact that the metal element can begin to rust, which will spoil the appearance of the wall. When using special fasteners, it will be quite difficult to dismantle the rail, which can also be attributed to disadvantages.
Finishing work
Before putting up beacons for wall plastering , decide whether you will get guides after applying the mixture. If you want to be sure that after a few years rust does not appear on your walls, use a mortar mount. In this case, after the plaster dries, you can tear the beacon out of the wall.
The resulting voids will need to be filled with a stucco mixture. For this, a small spatula is used. After the composition has dried, the walls are sanded with sandpaper. If in the future the surface will be faced with tiles or decorative stone, the wall can be left in this form, and just start primed before starting work.
For all other types of finish it is necessary to smooth the surface with putty. For these purposes, use one of the finishes on the market.
To summarize
We examined how to properly set up lighthouses for stucco walls. The methods described in the article can be used not only for vertical, but also for horizontal surfaces. You just have to decide which option will be used in the work process.
If this is the first time you are aligning walls or your budget is too limited, fix the beacons on plaster casts. This method is time-consuming, but simpler in terms of ease of implementation.
For those who value every hour, the use of special clips is recommended. However, for inexperienced masters, such installation will take no less time than when installing on a solution. Otherwise, it all depends on your preference.