Instructions for applying rough plaster for inside & outside

Rough plaster, like the well-known Munich rough plaster, offers many design options, can be painted without any problems and lasts for several decades. It is suitable for interior and exterior wall design and can also be easily applied by laypeople themselves. You can find the relevant instructions here.

Substrate and primer

Before the plaster can be applied, the substrate must be prepared accordingly. It must be clean, smooth, absorbent and dry. There are three steps involved in preparation:
1. Clean:
Remnants of wallpaper, paint and plaster must be removed from the wall. If you get stuck manually, you can use a sandblaster or a high-pressure cleaner.
2. Level and repair:
If there are holes, cracks or other unevenness, these must be repaired and the wall leveled before plastering. This is very easy to do with a suitable filler or plaster of paris.
3. Priming:
The wall should be primed so that the plaster will hold well later. A silicate primer should be used for mineral plaster such as the Munich rough plaster. A dispersion primer is more suitable for synthetic resin plaster. Once the wall has dried after the primer has been applied, the rough plaster can be applied.

Plaster types

The rough plaster is between synthetic resin plaster and mineral plaster. Both have different advantages and disadvantages.

Synthetic resin plaster:

advantages

• is very elastic and adapts flexibly
• is well suited for exterior walls
• rarely cracks
• can be applied very thinly

disadvantage

• only dries slowly, therefore susceptible to fungal spores and algae
• water-repellent, hardly lets water vapor through

Mineral plaster:

advantages

• naturally resistant to mold
• can absorb and release moisture, thus having a positive effect on the indoor climate
• cheaper in comparison than synthetic resin plasters

disadvantage

• more prone to cracking
• must be applied thicker

In addition to the decision between synthetic resin and mineral plaster, a choice must also be made with the size of the grain. The size of the grain, together with the application and the design tool, determines the look of the plastered wall. At one to three millimeters, the structure is finer and smoother than, for example, with five millimeters of grain.

Instructions for the inside: step by step

When the preparations have been completed and the walls have dried well, plastering can begin. Proceed as follows.

1. Tape up the door and window frames and cover the floor to protect them.

2. Mix only as much plaster as can be processed in about 20 minutes. Normally, the manufacturer's information can be found on the packaging.

3. The plaster is applied to a trowel with a trowel. The plaster is applied to the wall from bottom to top with a trowel and distributed evenly.

4. The plaster is stripped down to grain thickness with a stainless steel trowel. This means that the appropriate layer thickness is produced. Only then is it possible to structure the plaster correctly and evenly afterwards.

5. After a short drying time of around 15 minutes, the plaster is structured with a plastic smoothing tool, a nail board or a texture roller. It can be rubbed or rolled horizontally, vertically, diagonally or in circles - depending on the desired effect.

Tip: So that there are no steps on the wall, it makes sense to work in pairs, at least on larger walls. In this way, the wall can be plastered and structured more quickly. Experience has shown that it is beneficial if one is plastered and one is structured. In this way, very even results can be achieved.

Plaster outside walls

The basic procedure is the same when plastering exterior walls as it is when plastering interior walls. However, the outer walls are larger and, above all, higher, so that a suitable frame or ladder must be prepared. In the outdoor area you should therefore urgently work with one or more helpers in order to ensure safety on the one hand and to be able to work quickly and evenly on the other.
In addition, consideration should be given to using plaster strips or quick plaster profiles. These are attached at regular intervals, thus dividing the wall into smaller sections and helping to apply and smooth the plaster faster. They form a frame and make it easier to remove the plaster evenly.

Structure

Various options and tools are available for structuring the rough plaster. Including:

• Structure rollers
• Nail boards
• Plastic smoother

In addition, various structural techniques or directions can be used. Vertical, horizontal, diagonal, in circles or waves - each direction brings a different result. Manufacturers of the various rough plaster variants usually provide information and structural examples. Nevertheless, it makes sense to test the structuring and the result beforehand on a test piece.

costs

The cost of plastering is made up of various factors. These include:

• Plaster type
• Utils
• Cleaning and priming

When plastering with a mineral rough plaster, around 10 to 15 euros per square meter must be expected. When using synthetic resin plaster, 10 to 20 euros per square meter should be taken into account. However, this is only vague information, because even colored synthetic resin plaster is now available for less than 10 euros each Square meters available and the cost depends, among other things, on whether quick plaster profiles are used and what is necessary around the wall prepare.