Plasterboard Coats – A Quick Explanation of the Different Coats Applied on Plasterboard.
So the hard work has been done and the plasterboard is finally up – you are officially one step closer in calling the painter to start the next step. But before this can be done the finishing touches must be applied before you can paint or place a beautiful wall paper as a feature wall. There are 2 more important phases that are required to complete the walls, so that the walls are smooth and seamless.
The two most important things that need to be applied onto the plasterboard are the Base and Top Coat. What are they and what is their function you may ask? Well here is quick rundown:
Base Coat: On plasterboard you first apply a base coat, followed by top coat. A base coat is a special formulated compound that helps to create a super strength joint and is typically use for the first and second coat in a three coat plasterboard joining system for a smoother finish.
Top coat (or skimming) is the final finishing coat which is a heavy weight topping compound for finishing joints and angles on plasterboard. Top coat should not be relied on to fill out joints as it has higher rate of shrinkage. Once this has been applied the walls are ready for painting.
There are a few things to remember with top coat as opposed to base coat – Top coat is easy to sand whilst base coat is not. In wet area applications where the wall is to be tiled, a topping coat should not be used.
Also if you do want to be daring and apply a wallpaper finish to the wall, keep in mind that while it can be applied directly to the front surface, it can be a problem if you want to remove the wallpaper later for redecoration. Before wallpapering directly onto the plasterboard, it is best to apply a couple of coats of dry wall primer (it is painted on), this makes it easier to strip the wallpaper later.
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