How to putty walls

Recommendation points

• Wall preview
• Choice of tool and material
• Wall preparation
• Preparation of working mixture (solution)
• Plastered walls

Wall preview

Before starting to putty the wall, you need to inspect it, so to speak, familiarize yourself with the object. And determine how large the unevenness of the wall is. If it is a bare brick wall, then you need to pay attention to the quality of the brickwork.

Wall preview

If there is old plaster on the wall, then you need to determine in what condition it is. The condition of the wall itself and the depth of its differences on the plane are of great importance, the main thing is that the old plaster does not boil anywhere.

If the wall to be putty is drywall, then it is necessary to visually inspect it and check that there are no screws protruding anywhere. Everywhere at the joints, seams and corners, a reinforcing mesh (serpyanka) should be laid. And only after a preliminary visual assessment of the surface condition has been fully made, you can select the appropriate tool and putty.

Choice of tool and material

When choosing a tool, you need to start from what thickness of putty will need to be applied to the wall. When starting alignment (from 0.5 cm or more), you will need to have aluminum trapezoidal rules. It is advisable to have in the kit rules of different sizes, depending on the size of the surface to be leveled. There are meter, two meter and other rules.

They will also be needed to check the quality of the work performed. Also, for the starting putty, a two-handed trowel (trowel) of 500 mm and a one-handed trowel of 280 mm is required. For finishing, you need a set of spatulas of different lengths from 40 to 450 mm.

Wall putty tool

After a preliminary inspection of the wall, the putty is selected. For the starting finish, a putty will be required, in which the thickness of the layer is 0.5 cm and higher. Such a putty is coarse, therefore it does not float on large layers and hardens relatively quickly. For finishing, you will need a finishing putty, in which the thickness of the layer applied will vary from 0.5 mm to 4 mm. Well, you must definitely take the soil. The primer is a polymer waterproofing agent and must be deeply penetrating. Since it is necessary for impregnating the base of the surface, strengthening it, increasing adhesion, reducing the absorption capacity.

To apply the primer itself, you will need a brush (brush). Maklovitsa, and by no means a roller, which some use to speed up work. Wall priming is one of the most demanding types of work, although many treat it with negligence. After applying the primer and drying it, run your hand along the wall, there should be no dust on it.

Wall preparation

Before starting to putty the wall, you need to prepare it. This includes breaking off a protruding brickwork mortar, removing old plaster in those places where it coils and tightening screws on a plasterboard wall. And always a primer. The soil must be diluted in accordance with the proportions specified in the instructions and not otherwise. Regardless of what surface will need to be putty: brick wall, old plaster or drywall – the primer must be applied.

When leveling a brick wall and old plaster, it is necessary to put a so-called grid card so that in the future it would be possible to put beacons along it, along which the wall will be aligned. In front of the grid card on the old plaster, it is necessary to make notches for better adhesion of the putty to it.

Partially putty old plaster with notches on it

In order to expose the grid card, it is necessary to hammer dowels or self-tapping screws in the upper and lower corners of the wall. But not completely, you need to leave 3-4 cm of the dowel on the surface. After that, a strong nylon thread, preferably of a dark color, is pulled onto the screws (dowels) in the form of an envelope. Further down the level, any – left or right vertical side of this grid map is exposed. Then, by twisting or unscrewing the dowel on the opposite side, the thread is adjusted until the point of intersection of the diagonals on the grid card touches.

Grid Map Layout

Now, having the plane of the wall at the level under the horizontal threads, you need to install metal or glass beacons. In the future, the wall itself will be aligned along them. The thread is removed, the beacons freeze – it’s time to start making the solution. But this scheme only applies to brick walls and walls with old plaster. On drywall walls that are already leveled, this is not done.

Preparation of working mixture (solution)

To putty walls, the layer thickness of which will exceed 0.5 cm, a starting putty is being prepared. To do this, pour 5 liters of water into a bucket with a volume of 20-25 liters and gradually fill in the putty until the water is completely covered with it. Then, using a mixer with a whisk, we begin to knead it.

Mixing solution

It is advisable to take a larger whisk under the starting putty; it will be much faster and more convenient for them to mix the solution. For layers with a thickness of less than 3 mm, it is necessary to take a finishing putty. It is better to take a bucket with a volume of within 15 liters, pour 4-5 liters of water and in the same way gradually fill in the dry mixture until the water is completely covered with putty. Whichever putty is mixed, starting or finishing, the solution must be mixed until the mass becomes homogeneous and does not contain dry lumps.

Checking the putty for homogeneity

The average density of the mass should be approximately like the “grandmother’s” sour cream. But after application to the wall, the mixture may appear thin or thick. Don’t be afraid of this! You just need to take and add a little water or dry mixture to the bucket with the solution, and mix thoroughly again. After the mixture is ready, you can proceed directly to the putty itself.

Plastered walls

Having a prepared wall, that is, a primed one, with exposed beacons, you can begin to putty it. For the convenience of applying the starting mixture, you will need to take a two-handed trowel and a size 100 spatula. Using a spatula, fix the mortar on the trowel, and the mortar on the wall with a trowel. The trowel is kept horizontally, and the mortar is adjusted vertically accordingly. After one and a half to two squares of the wall have been applied, a trapezoidal rule is taken, of such a size that it will reach the lighthouses, and it is stretched perpendicular to them at the place of application of the putty.

If the rule does not remove the putty, then another layer of mortar is applied to the same place until the putty is removed by the rule. Where the putty is removed, the wall is considered leveled. The quality of the leveled surface is checked by the same rules, attaching them to the wall: vertically, horizontally and diagonally across the entire plane. Gaps between the wall and the rule should not exceed 1.5mm. Note: the longer the rule, the more accurate it will be to check the quality of the wall.

To apply the finishing mixture, which is used for putty under wallpaper and for painting, you need to take metal spatulas 450 and 100 in size (they are considered the most basic and convenient).

Plastering the wall with a 450 gauge metal trowel

You will also need a spatula of other sizes in order to be able to putty walls in hard-to-reach places where a spatula of standard sizes does not fit.

Putty is applied 100 with a spatula to 450, and 450 in turn on the wall. You can putty in any direction, both horizontally and vertically. The main thing is to achieve an even distribution of the putty over the entire surface. So that the surface remains without dimples, without abrupt sags and transitions. To obtain a better surface, it is necessary to putty the wall at least twice. After the wall has completely dried (after 10-12 hours), a visual inspection of the quality of the plastered wall is performed.

Checking the plastered wall for quality

It is best to bring a lamp to the wall, which will show all the flaws – drops, pits, marks on the surface, the elimination of which is achieved either with a trowel using a trowel net. Or by filling the existing dimples and ridges. In the final result, the wall surface should be uniform without obvious signs of any defects..