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HB 161—2005

Guide to Plastering

First edition HB 161—2005.

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GPO Box 5420 Sydney NSW 2001

Administration Phone (02) 8206 6000 Fax (02) 8206 6001 Email mail@standards.com.au

Customer Service Phone 1300 65 46 46 Fax 1300 65 49 49 Email sales@standards.com.au

Internet www.standards.org.au

COPYRIGHT

© Standards Australia

All rights are reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or copied in any form or by

any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without the written

permission of the publisher.

Published by Standards Australia GPO Box 5420, Sydney, NSW 2001, Australia

ISBN 0 7337 6704 4

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HB 1612005 Guide to Plastering

- i -

PREFACE

This Handbook was prepared as a result of a decision of the Standards Australia

Committee, BD-096, Plastering on Solid Backgrounds, to produce a general guide to

plastering.

Plastering is an art involving adjustment of the use of materials and the physical manner

of application in order to achieve a durable, visually pleasing surface. It is difficult to

define the performance required of the finished surface. Therefore, it has been published

as a Handbook, rather than as a Standard, to enable the inclusion of "best practice"

information and advice.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Particular thanks should go to the Chairman of the BD-096 Committee, Colin Stretton of

the Builders’ Registration Board of Western Australia for his considerable effort in the

drafting of this Handbook. The following organizations assisted with peer review and

comment:

Cement and Concrete Association of Australia

Housing Industry Association

Master Builders Association

Master Plasterers' Association of W.A.

National Lime Association of Australia

Union of Employers

West Australian Solid Plastering Association

West Coast College of TAFE

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER:

While this Handbook includes references to and extracts from various sources of

technical information, which refer to frequently encountered situations, it does not contain

all the requirements that may be of critical importance to their assessment. In addition,

this technical information was considered to be current at the time of publication of this

Handbook, at any subsequent time the information may have been amended or

superseded.

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HB 1612005 Guide to Plastering

- ii -

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HB 1612005 Guide to Plastering

- iii -

CONTENTS

PAGE

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................. 1

CHAPTER 2 GENERAL PROCEDURES.................................................................. 2

2.1 DEFINITIONS ......................................................................................... 2

2.2 BASIC PROCEDURES........................................................................... 2

2.3 MATERIALS............................................................................................ 3

CHAPTER 3 PREPARATION OF BACKGROUNDS ................................................ 6

3.1 SOLID BACKGROUNDS........................................................................ 6

3.2 METAL OR PVC LATH AND BEADING................................................. 7

CHAPTER 4 PLASTER SYSTEMS........................................................................... 9

4.1 GENERAL............................................................................................... 9

4.2 CEMENT/LIME/SAND-BASED PLASTERS (INTERNAL AND

EXTERNAL)............................................................................................ 9

4.3 BATCHING AND MIXING .................................................................... 11

4.4 APPLICATION OF PLASTER............................................................... 14

CHAPTER 5 GYPSUM INTERNAL FINISHING (SETTING) COATS ..................... 20

5.1 GYPSUM/LIME FINISH COAT APPLIED TO BASE COAT OF

CEMENT-BASED PLASTER AND CONCRETE BACKGROUNDS .... 20

5.2 BOARD MIXING ................................................................................... 20

5.3 TUB MIXING......................................................................................... 21

5.4 APPLICATION TO A BASE COAT OF A CEMENT-BASED

PLASTER............................................................................................. 21

5.5 APPLICATION TO CONCRETE BACKGROUNDS ............................. 22

CHAPTER 6 CONDITIONS, PROTECTION, CURING AND DRYING ................... 23

6.1 CONDITIONS DURING APPLICATION AND CURING ....................... 23

6.2 CURING AND DRYING OF CEMENT PLASTER ................................ 23

6.3 BOND COATS ...................................................................................... 23

6.4 GYPSUM PLASTER............................................................................. 24

CHAPTER 7 TABLES.............................................................................................. 25

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HB 1612005 Guide to Plastering

- iv -

APPENDICES

A INFORMATION ON MATERIALS......................................................... 31

B PROBLEMS AND REMEDIES ASSOCIATED WITH PLASTERING... 41

C CRACKING RELATING TO PLASTERING SYSTEMS ....................... 44

D SOLUTIONS FOR GYPSUM PLASTER PROBLEMS ......................... 48

E HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ............................................................. 50

F DEFINITIONS ....................................................................................... 54

G BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................... 60

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HB 1612005 Guide to Plastering

- 1 - www.standards.org.au

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

This Handbook is intended as a Guide for qualified plasterers for the plastering of homes

and commercial buildings on masonry backgrounds. It covers plastering to solid walls,

ceilings and soffits and the use of lath as well as exterior cement-based plastering and

interior plastering as follows:

• Exterior and interior plastering using cement, lime and sand plasters.

• Interior finishing using gypsum and lime plasters.

This Handbook does not cover gypsum based plasters used as base coats.

No amount of theoretical knowledge can compensate for the failure to understand the

overriding importance of the conditions under which on-site finishes are accomplished.

Practical, workable instructions that allow contractor and applicator to utilise their

knowledge and experience are more likely to be successful than those obtained with

over-complicated and restrictive specifications, which may not be compatible with site

conditions.

For craftsmen to produce good workmanship it is critical that they have the facts

regarding the materials they work with. This is especially important with plastering

because of the chemical nature of the various ingredients. The entire process has a

chemical affinity and operates in obedience to chemical laws. The apprentice or

inexperienced person cannot contemplate plastering as his/her livelihood unless he/she

learns about materials and their interrelationships with each other.

Plaster is basically made up of three main items, “water”, “aggregate” and “cementitious

materials or binders”. Combining them together in proportions best suited to all the

purposes of the job at hand is called "mix design", which is just one of the numerous skills

a plasterer accrues with experience. According to the unique aptitude of each operator,

plastering adds up to being an art form, rather than a science. It is always the same only

different.

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Click on the logos to search the database online.

SAI Global also carries a wide range of publications from a wide variety of Standards Publishers:

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