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French plaster


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I know there have been long and learned discussions on French plaster vs British plaster but can someone tell me what the properties of the French plaster are like. For eg, UK pink plaster is a pretty tough finish and will take knocks - is French plaster similarly robust or is it softer and more prone to damage? Any other good things / bad things about French plaster? Easy availability is obviously one.[:)]

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My experience of French plaster has been awful.  I plastered our entire kitchen and bathroom in the UK using British 'pink' plaster with no problems, but when I tried to use the French 'white' plaster I don' know what I was doing wrong.  It was setting in the bucket before I even got it anywhere near the wall, and I ended up with a terrible finish on the places I was patching up.  At first I thought it was because I had an 'old' bag (about 4-5 months old) but I had the same results with a 'new' bag too!  Maybe I was doing something wrong?!  I recall the bucket getting quite warm as it set!  I intend to import plaster when I need it as I understand what I'm doing with British plaster!

Matt

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 I am no expert, but you need to be mindful of the the construction of your house. Our house for example is built of stone and pink plaster would impede the abitity of the stone and cause long term problems with damp etc. We used chaux. Also if you use internal plaster boards 'placo' these do not need skimming.The edges are skimmed and than you can apply paint or a enduit on direct. The finish is very good.

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Thanks for those comments. I'm looking also for views on the durability of the finished work - is French plaster softer and prone to "knock" damage than UK pink plaster for eg? Are there any particularly good or bad things about it - other than the frequently encountered problems with application? If some of you really like using French plaster, what are the benefits for you? We're plastering over placo, btw, walls and ceilings - my OH can skim-coat plaster and tbh, it's faster for him to skim than to do all the preparation and sanding required by alternative finishing methods.

Edit:

highlighting the fact we're plastering over plasterboard, not stone. Which would have been a whole different discussion.

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 A really useful book is 'How to Renovate a  House in France' by David Ackers. It has a section with lots of info on walls and deals with French plaster or Chaux. He really favours the use of chaux for many reasons.

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French plaster never dries hard, hence the reason why many waiting rooms have a piece of wood sticking out six inches from the skirting to stop chairs rubbing against the walls. Removal of wallpaper from plaster walls(french) can do a lot of damage too. Its a specialised metier here in France, hence why most artisans use placo.
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If your walls are stone it is imperative that you use chaux and not the "pink" English plaster, otherwise you will be trapping in the moisture in your walls.  Pink English plaster is ideal for cavity walls in UK but on the old buildings out in France it is an entirely different story.  The same applies to pointing - cement as opposed to lime with cause problems also.

It is more difficult to use and does come off on clothes when rubbed against it and is obviously not as hard but that is the whole point.

Using UK plaster on old stone walls out here is storing up future problems with damp - the stone needs to breathe - especially tuffeau.

I have seen the chaux being applied and it does seem much more difficult but obviously it can be done!

Good luck.

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Hi

We had the same problem as you with the "French white plaster".  My husband didn't even manage to get the stuff off a trowell before it set, let alone get it onto a wall!  We also have a large stone house where the walls should "breathe" and after taking lots of advice - from French and English "experts", we were told about Lutec/Lutex 2000 which has the same properties as chaux but glides onto a wall like English plaster, lets the wall/ceiling breathe and gives you about 20 minutes "playing" time before it sets.  Available from all builders merchants, Bricomarche etc.

Good luck - its a pain to do but the finish is good!

Dee&Tom

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I agree with Wendy. Also I am not sure why you are applying  plaster to placo boards. Its unnecessary. The finish on the Placo is factory smooth. All you need to do is skim on the joints.We used placo for

partition walls installed onto a metal  frame. The paint finish was very good.

  

Its true you can obtain various products as chaux alternatives from bric stores.

The brillance of Chaux for me is that you can add colour to it. The pigments and effects cannot easily be matched with paints. Their is a UK chaux  website www.lime-green .co.uk.

Chaux is dififcult to apply and its best to use an artisan to do it.

    

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Personally I can recommend Lutece 2000 for several reasons:

1/ as a complete novice to plastering I managed to plaster a room and achieve a reasonable effect, albeit a bit rustic as I finished with a damp sponge!

2/ A friend who is competent at skimming did a second room for us and achieved a beautiful smooth finish with the stuff.

3/ As you are supposed to put it on between 8 and 12 mm thick it hides a multitude of sins when the plasterboard isn't perfect, which was certainly the case with ours!

4/ the long working time is great - and apparently you can add water to the bucket if it starts to go stiff

5/ the finish is hard, resistant to knocks, and doesn't come off on you if you brush against it. Not sure about removing a 4-yr-old's drawings in permanent marker but then that would've been a problem on any surface!!
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[quote user="Altan"]I am not sure why you are applying  plaster to placo boards. Its unnecessary.

[/quote]

I explained in an earlier post but don't worry if you still don't get it. It's unnecessary. It wasn't the original question.

Thanks Hoverfrog - TOH is going to try Lutece 2000. If he gets on with it, he reckons he'll do the walls with the French plaster but do all the ceilings in pink. I'm happy with a more "rustic" finish on the walls but an uneven ceiling - in artificial light - irritates me. Although, we are staying French and only using 40 watt bulbs or less so it shouldn't be much of a problem... [:P]

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