Plaster thickness and mix as specified, on a wetted surface
Why — act while you have leverage
Plaster laid too thick in one coat cracks; laid on a dry wall it debonds and sounds hollow when you tap it. Both are found after painting, when correcting them means doing the room twice.
What to look at
- Wall visibly damp at the moment plaster is applied
- Thickness checked with a gauge at several points per wall
- A hollow-sounding sweep before painting begins
How to check it yourself
The background is cleaned and thoroughly wetted before plastering. Thickness follows the specification — internal and external faces usually differ — and thick areas are built up in coats rather than in one pass. Tap the finished surface with a knuckle across the wall: a hollow note is a debonded patch.
Where this comes from: IS 1661:1972 — Code of Practice for Application of Cement and Cement-Lime Plaster Finishes (indian standard or building code)
More plastering checks
- Photograph before this is covered
- Plaster cured before any finish goes on it
- Plastering sand is plastering sand, not concrete sand