Finishing Works (Plastering, Painting, Flooring, Tiling)
This domain covers the visible work, where surface preparation and curing decide whether the finish lasts.
Plastering
Prepare the background: rake joints, remove dust, wet the wall, and fix chicken mesh at junctions. Use 1:4 to 1:6 cement-sand mortar, 12 mm in a single coat or 20 mm in two coats, level with screeds, float, and finish with a trowel or sponge. Cure for at least 7 days. Corners and reveals must be square and plumb.
Painting
New plaster must be dry, with moisture below about 12%. The sequence is cleaning, primer, putty to fill, sanding, first coat and second coat. Use emulsion inside, exterior emulsion or cement paint outside, and enamel on wood and steel over primer. Never paint in damp or dusty conditions.
Flooring and tiling
Floors may be IPS or cement concrete, or tiles laid on a mortar bed or adhesive. Use spacers of 2 to 3 mm, check level, and give wet areas a fall to the drain. Grout after 24 hours and seal porous tiles. Allow 5 to 10% wastage for cutting at the perimeter.
Worked example
100 m2 of 12 mm plaster in 1:6. Wet volume = 100 x 0.012 = 1.2 m3; dry volume = 1.2 x 1.33 = 1.596 m3; cement = 1.596 x 1/7 = 0.228 m3, about 328 kg or 6.6 bags; sand = 1.596 x 6/7, about 1.37 m3.
Traps
Plastering over a dusty or dry wall, painting before the plaster dries, tiling without a level or drain fall, forgetting wastage, and curing plaster for only one day.