What is wall smoothing? What is it for? How much? In this guide you will find all the information to prepare the walls for the final finishing.
In construction with the term wall leveling means the important phase of preparation for final finishing of the walls.
Painting, covering with wallpaper or other types of products require careful attention verification of wall surfaces, before proceeding to work with decorations and effects. Let’s find out in our short guide what shaving is, what it is used for and the costs.
What is wall leveling?
With the shaving work a surface layer is made to make one smooth and homogeneous wall. An essential operation to give it the right permeability and guarantee its duration over the years. An intervention that must be well done to obtain the type of effect desired on the walls.
Read also: Modern wallpaper: how to dress your walls with style
Wall leveling products
To avoid the occurrence of defects it is necessary to proceed to one correct plaster leveling. In this regard, you can use different products: gypsum or cement-based smoothing agents for plasters, slaked lime, putty paste. Let’s find out the details for each.
Smoothing compounds for gypsum or cement based plasters
The smoothing compounds for gypsum or cement based plasters are in powder form and require mixing with water before use. These are suitable materials for smoothing walls with rather large surfaces.
Gypsum-based products for the interior ensure a good malleability, excellent application and smoothing. They also guarantee breathability and a white finish, ideal for the final painting phase. Cement-based plasters, on the other hand, represent a valid solution for both internal and external walls.
Slaked lime
Lime putty is used as a coating for interiors. Known since Roman times, it is a quality material, frequently used to restore buildings of historical or artistic interest. Also it is ecological, as it is composed of calcium hydroxide and water.
If you plan to make one glossy finish it’s perfect. Do you want to give your rooms the classic and refined decorations of the past? The lime putty is the solution, a aged and shiny effect to decorate your home with a touch of class. Among its other peculiarities, an excellent wall adhesion and one remarkable breathability, reducing the formation of mold and condensation.
It may interest you: Wallpaper: the 10 cool trends of 2021
Paste putty
Paste putty is usually used for smoothing of surfaces that are not excessively large. On sale ready to use, it stands out for its ease of application, as extremely mouldable and with good elasticity. A versatile product for use on interior walls.
Shaving walls how to do it
How to mow a wall? In itself it is not a complicated operation. Once the smoothing paste has been chosen, it must be spread on the surface using one metal spatula. Evaluate the right doses to make a consistent and viscous paste. If you are not an expert, we recommend that you buy ready-to-use products on the market so as not to risk ruining the job.
Do you want design advice on how to furnish? Join the group
First it is necessary remove the existing paint, any molds, accumulated dust and proceed to sand the surface, which is necessary to perform a cleaning of the wall eliminating imperfections. A 150/180 sandpaper, for example, may be for you. The next step is to apply the appropriate shaving plaster.
As for the technique, it is essential to learn the correct distribution of the smoothing material, as too strong pressure creates unsightly cracks while excessively light does not make the product adhere properly. It takes a little practice to aim for one perfect shaving of the walls and thus find the right balance.
Observe that the difficulty lies in adopting the correct movement of the spatula: it is acquired only with experience. Generally there will be no problems for already plastered walls while for surfaces with obvious defects, we recommend wiping with sandpaper and preparing the base. At this point it goes applied the fixative, essential to ensure the right compactness for subsequent finishing products.
summing up the steps to be taken for plasterboard smoothing I’m:
- Clean the walls.
- Apply the paste or other product on the spatula.
- Pass the spatula on the wall with the right pressure.
- Let the wall rest and dry.
- Apply the fixative.
After letting the fixative dry (at least three hours) you can move on to the last phase, the wall decoration, choosing the colors and effects you like best.
Shaving walls cost
If you are not a DIY lover, the solution is to turn to professionals in the sector such as a experienced painter or construction company. The advice is don’t stop at the first quote but make several, in order to understand what the average prices are in the place where you live and immediately exclude the least convenient offers.
In general, the cost of skimming a wall depends on its state, the presence of irregularities and other parameters. For the interior walls they oscillate around 6-8 € per square meter, for outdoor areas they exceed € 10-15. The reason for this higher cost for the external wall leveling they are to be found in the need to set up scaffolding, involving greater bureaucratic expenses.
For smoothing with whitening and application of decorations i prices can exceed € 20-25 per square meter.
Shaving: photos and images
Below is a complete image gallery to inspire you in the shaving technique: it’s time to rejuvenate and renovate the walls of your home!
What is wall smoothing? What is it for? How much? In this guide you will find all the information to prepare the walls for the final finishing.
In construction with the term wall leveling means the important phase of preparation for final finishing of the walls.
Painting, covering with wallpaper or other types of products require careful attention verification of wall surfaces, before proceeding to work with decorations and effects. Let’s find out in our short guide what shaving is, what it is used for and the costs.
What is wall leveling?
With the shaving work a surface layer is made to make one smooth and homogeneous wall. An essential operation to give it the right permeability and guarantee its duration over the years. An intervention that must be well done to obtain the type of effect desired on the walls.
Read also: Modern wallpaper: how to dress your walls with style
Wall leveling products
To avoid the occurrence of defects it is necessary to proceed to one correct plaster leveling. In this regard, you can use different products: gypsum or cement-based smoothing agents for plasters, slaked lime, putty paste. Let’s find out the details for each.
Smoothing compounds for gypsum or cement based plasters
The smoothing compounds for gypsum or cement based plasters are in powder form and require mixing with water before use. These are suitable materials for smoothing walls with rather large surfaces.
Gypsum-based products for the interior ensure a good malleability, excellent application and smoothing. They also guarantee breathability and a white finish, ideal for the final painting phase. Cement-based plasters, on the other hand, represent a valid solution for both internal and external walls.
Slaked lime
Lime putty is used as a coating for interiors. Known since Roman times, it is a quality material, frequently used to restore buildings of historical or artistic interest. Also it is ecological, as it is composed of calcium hydroxide and water.
If you plan to make one glossy finish it’s perfect. Do you want to give your rooms the classic and refined decorations of the past? The lime putty is the solution, a aged and shiny effect to decorate your home with a touch of class. Among its other peculiarities, an excellent wall adhesion and one remarkable breathability, reducing the formation of mold and condensation.
It may interest you: Wallpaper: the 10 cool trends of 2021
Paste putty
Paste putty is usually used for smoothing of surfaces that are not excessively large. On sale ready to use, it stands out for its ease of application, as extremely mouldable and with good elasticity. A versatile product for use on interior walls.
Shaving walls how to do it
How to mow a wall? In itself it is not a complicated operation. Once the smoothing paste has been chosen, it must be spread on the surface using one metal spatula. Evaluate the right doses to make a consistent and viscous paste. If you are not an expert, we recommend that you buy ready-to-use products on the market so as not to risk ruining the job.
Do you want design advice on how to furnish? Join the group
First it is necessary remove the existing paint, any molds, accumulated dust and proceed to sand the surface, which is necessary to perform a cleaning of the wall eliminating imperfections. A 150/180 sandpaper, for example, may be for you. The next step is to apply the appropriate shaving plaster.
As for the technique, it is essential to learn the correct distribution of the smoothing material, as too strong pressure creates unsightly cracks while excessively light does not make the product adhere properly. It takes a little practice to aim for one perfect shaving of the walls and thus find the right balance.
Observe that the difficulty lies in adopting the correct movement of the spatula: it is acquired only with experience. Generally there will be no problems for already plastered walls while for surfaces with obvious defects, we recommend wiping with sandpaper and preparing the base. At this point it goes applied the fixative, essential to ensure the right compactness for subsequent finishing products.
summing up the steps to be taken for plasterboard smoothing I’m:
- Clean the walls.
- Apply the paste or other product on the spatula.
- Pass the spatula on the wall with the right pressure.
- Let the wall rest and dry.
- Apply the fixative.
After letting the fixative dry (at least three hours) you can move on to the last phase, the wall decoration, choosing the colors and effects you like best.
Shaving walls cost
If you are not a DIY lover, the solution is to turn to professionals in the sector such as a experienced painter or construction company. The advice is don’t stop at the first quote but make several, in order to understand what the average prices are in the place where you live and immediately exclude the least convenient offers.
In general, the cost of skimming a wall depends on its state, the presence of irregularities and other parameters. For the interior walls they oscillate around 6-8 € per square meter, for outdoor areas they exceed € 10-15. The reason for this higher cost for the external wall leveling they are to be found in the need to set up scaffolding, involving greater bureaucratic expenses.
For smoothing with whitening and application of decorations i prices can exceed € 20-25 per square meter.
Shaving: photos and images
Below is a complete image gallery to inspire you in the shaving technique: it’s time to rejuvenate and renovate the walls of your home!
