Foam plaster

Because of its lightweight and insulating qualities, foam plaster—also referred to as EPS (expanded polystyrene) plaster—is a popular option for finishing exterior walls. The process of making this kind of plaster involves mixing EPS beads with a binding agent to produce a coating that is resilient to weathering.

Foam plaster offers excellent thermal insulation, which is one of its main advantages. The air is trapped by the EPS beads, creating a barrier that lowers indoor temperature regulation and energy usage for heating and cooling. Because of this, foam plaster is a workable solution for raising a building’s energy efficiency.

Apart from its insulating qualities, foam plaster is versatile and simple to apply to fit a variety of architectural designs. It provides design flexibility, enabling various finishes and textures that improve the facade’s visual appeal. Foam plaster is a flexible material that can be used to new construction or renovations to achieve both aesthetic and functional goals.

Foam plaster is a contemporary way to improve the resilience and look of home facades. It offers advantages like better insulation and weather resistance by combining lightweight foam with conventional plaster materials. This kind of plaster is popular among both builders and homeowners because it is simple to apply. Because of its adaptability, it can be finished with a variety of textures and colors, protecting and enhancing the exterior of any house. Foam plaster is a useful material that can be used for both new construction and renovations to achieve both functional efficiency and aesthetic appeal in facade design.

What plaster to choose

The properties of the foam should be the first consideration when selecting a plaster composition. Since the strength of this material is the same, the protective coating should be fairly thick and resilient to mechanical forces. Because the foam has a smooth surface, the plastering mixture should also have a high adhesion to the base. Plaster also needs to be plastic, moisture-resistant, easy to apply, and not prone to crack. The composition’s vapor permeability, however, is irrelevant because the insulation’s steamboat coefficient is extremely low.

These requirements are only partially satisfied by the typical cement-sand mixture, which is why using polystyrene with it is not recommended. This is the most economical composition, of course, but in a year the facade will be covered in tiny cracks and all of this will need to be redone. For polystyrene finishes, it is therefore advised to use only factory plasters that have unique additives.

1. Mineral plasters -The most popular option in price-quality ratio. They are made on the basis of white cement, contain a hydrate of lime and mineral baby as a filler. They enter the sale in the form of dry powder, which before starting work must be diluted with water in a certain proportion. Such plasters perfectly tolerate the effects of precipitation, temperature differences, differ in good adhesion. True, they have a small service life – only about 10 years, and low plasticity, as a result of which the plaster is cracking when the building is shrouded in the building.

Mineral-based plaster

Shades of decorative mineral plaster

Plaster for acrylic facades

Which acrylic plaster is superior?

Although there is a wide variety of plasters for foam, some brands are more in demand than others, including Ceresit, State of State, Esnovit, KNAUF, and ECOMIX. Producers create a variety of compositions:

• for fastening the insulation to the base;
• to create a leveling layer;
• Universal.

The ideal plaster type for a novice master to use is one that is universal and equally effective at every stage of the finish. Even so, if you would rather use different compositions for every process, they should all come from the same manufacturer, ideally from the same line.

Set up the T-117 Kaverplix.

Prices for various types of decorative plaster

The plaster is decorative

Plastic technology

Materials for work

The characteristics of foam plaster are unique. Generally speaking, the heater doesn’t adhere to primer, plaster compounds, or other materials well. However, a reinforcing layer is required to harden the coating; otherwise, cracks will appear very quickly. Use fiberglass grid with different densities that is resistant to alkalis as reinforcement. A grid with a density of 140–160 g/m2 is the most practical for the task; it offers good clutch and readily assumes the required shape when decorating corner zones.

Grid made of fiberglass

In order to improve adhesion between the base and the finish coating, the leveling layer must be primed, which means that primer is also required. Depending on the type of coating to be applied, a composition with quartz filler is required for decorative plaster, while standard waterproof primers are used for painting.

The plaster mixture needs to be purchased in its entirety right away and must be of a single brand. This particularly applies to ornamental plaster. The truth is that every manufacturer uses a different manufacturing process, and as a result, the compositions may vary in terms of structure, color, grasp time, and other attributes. Using different plasters on the same plane will result in visible transitions after drying, which are difficult to completely remove.

Additionally, prepare your tools before beginning work:

• A roller with a short pile for priming;
• metal spatulas, narrow and wide;
• plastic grater with an sandpaper;
• construction mixer;
• plastic corners with a reinforcing mesh.

Tool for wall plastering

The price of a construction mixer

Construction mixer

Preparation of the base

Once the facade lining is finished, you must thoroughly inspect the workspace and remove any small flaws. Sandpaper must be used to clean the empty seams and replace any excess glue with mounting foam. The surface ought to be level, devoid of lumps and nooks, and dust-free. Skilled builders advise lightly processing foam slabs with a skin or rolling them with a specialized needle roller if they are overly smooth. As a result, the coating will remain stronger and the plaster’s adhesion will increase.

Insulating a wall with polystyrene

Fastening of the reinforcing grid

Because it determines the coating’s quality and longevity, this step is the most crucial. Plaster exfoliates from the wall and breaks off in pieces if the grid is fixed incorrectly and then processed again.

Step 1: Begin by getting the solution ready. Fill a bucket with water that is between 15 and 20 degrees, and then add a dry mixture. Here, you should follow the manufacturer’s instructions to the letter regarding the proportions. Use a mixer to blend the mass until it’s smooth. Then, let it sit for five minutes before blending it once more. After that, you are unable to add water or dry ingredients, which could reduce the plaster’s strength. In the event that the completed composition is utilized, particle settling only requires mixing.

Step 2: The first to complete the areas with intricate configurations, slopes, and corners. Perforated corners are designed with fiberglass net fixed on them for this purpose.

Bolstering

Some only cost the net itself, bending it in half and slicing it into strips 30 cm wide. It is better to use the corners because the savings are negligible and the coating strength is significantly reduced there.

They then gather a solution on the spatula and apply it to the entire height on both sides of the corner.

Prepare the mixture using a wide spatula.

As of right now, nothing is required; what matters is that a continuous strip covers the angle. Next, insert a corner, push it a little toward the top, and verify the vertical level. Using the spatula, carefully smoot the grid from the corner to the sides after pressing the profile into the solution all the way through. To ensure that the mesh and the profile are equally sunk into the solution, add a little extra mixture if needed. Using a spatula, remove any extra mass.

Step 3. After reinforcing the corners, they begin to slopes. First, the corner is applied to the opening, measure the desired length and cut off the excess. Then apply the solution and fasten the profile described above in the way. If the width of the slopes is too small, it is more convenient to use the corners and the grid separately. So the net will not puff at the joints and interfere with the work. For this, one slope is completely covered with a solution, the inner and outer corner is attached, the excess of the mixture is removed with a spatula. Cut the glass of fiberglass 10-15 mm wide than the width of the slope and neatly applied to the surface. The side edges of the grid should not reach the edge of the angles of about 5-7 mm. Make smoothing along the length of the strip, then to the sides.

Affixing the grid to every angle, even those that slope

Step 4: After processing every corner zone, you can reinforce the planes. It is challenging to fix the grid with a single weblet because of the height of the outer walls. As a result, cutting the material into 1-1.5 m-long pieces is advised. Beginning at the wall’s edge, a continuous strip of plaster solution is applied to the surface. This strip should be 5 centimeters narrower in width and the same height as the grid. The layer has a thickness of roughly two to three millimeters.

Take a section of the grid, smooth the edges, and apply it to the wall. After that, the grid is smoothed out with a wide spatula from the center outward and downward until all of the material is submerged in the solution. The mesh’s lateral edge ought to stay unobstructed for a minimum of 5 cm in width. This is required to prevent the material from forming awkward joints after the overlap is laid.

The method by which the foamis joined to the foam

Advice: It is advised to fix the mesh so that its edges do not fall on the foam’s stove seams when reinforcing the surface. For the coating to be as strong as possible, all joints must fully overlap with a reinforcing canvas.

Prices for building reinforcing nets

Construction reinforcing mesh

Step 5. Having fixed the first piece, they start the following. Here everything is exactly the same, only the edge of the mesh protruding from the solution must be slightly bend, and apply the solution under it too. The new segment is on the overlap by 3-5 cm, smoothed with a spatula. After reinforcement, the surface should remain smooth, without influxes, stripes and recesses. The excess solution in the smoothing process is removed with a spatula and applied where it is not enough. The grid shines in certain areas, as well as voids under the reinforcing layer, is not allowed. Any defects made at this stage lead to a decrease in the quality of the finish.

Affixing a plaster grid

The reinforcing mesh is glued.

Surface grout

Even with your best efforts, minute imperfections may still show up beneath the finish layer when reinforcing. There is a grout that can be removed with a plastic grater that has an emery cloth attached to it. The choice of skin granularity is contingent upon the type of finish coating: small-grained paint is used, whereas large-grained structural plaster is used.

They move on to the grout when the plaster layer has dried, which is usually a day or two later. After slightly pressing the grater against the wall, it starts to move in a counterclockwise circle. You cannot rub on one area for an extended period of time; the pressure force should remain constant throughout the work process. You will occasionally need to replace the canvas because it is quickly erased. A brush is used to clean the wall after the entire surface has been processed.

Finish alignment

This time, the solution needs to be more liquid in order to freely flow out of the tool and leave a continuous, translucent trace. A broad spatula is used to gather the mixture, which is then carefully applied in a thin layer—roughly 1-3 mm—to the wall. To avoid the solution solidifying, it is most convenient to work with the surface in squares and knead small amounts of the mixture. After finishing the procedure, you must let the plaster dry before wiping the base once more.

The next step involves priming and dust removal from the facade. Use a painting roller and a short pile for priming. Where working with a roller would be inconvenient, coarses, protrusions, slopes, and other areas are handled with a brush. Applying the primer in one or two layers depends on the climate.

Application of decorative plaster

Complete the ornate plaster walls.

Now that the primer has set, you can begin applying decorative plaster. As directed, prepare the solution by mixing the dry ingredients with water or, if the completed composition is to be used, by simply stirring. Utilizing a broad spatula, apply it to the wall starting from the bottom and paying attention to how uniform the layer is. Information about this must be found on the mixture’s package. Generally, the thickness of the application matches the size of the filler grains in the plaster. Apply squares or vertical stripes to the plaster.

Suggestions. It is necessary to plaster the plane one piece at a time, only pausing to prepare the next portion of the solution, in order to achieve homogeneity throughout, free of spots and transitions.

After distributing the composition across the surface, move on to the relief’s formation. Typically, this is done with specialized graters, but other tools like a sponge, hard-bristled brush, or spatula can also be used to create a design. The fact that there are no changes in texture between the various sites and that the texture is consistent throughout is crucial. A layer of paint can still conceal different colored plaster, but a relief pattern cannot be covered up.

Roller-powered wall décor

The price of structural rollers

Structural rollers

How to use a spatula to make a relief

This can be regarded as the finishing step being finished. If the plaster used was not tinted, you can paint the facade if you’d like.

Two-toned decorative plaster painting

A flexible choice for improving your home’s exterior is foam plaster. Its ease of application and lightweight nature lessen the strain on structures while offering efficient insulation. This material provides useful advantages like moisture resistance and temperature control in addition to enhancing the facades’ visual appeal.

The ability of foam plaster to adapt to different architectural styles is one of its main advantages. Foam plaster can be customized to fit your home’s aesthetic, whether it is modern or traditional. It provides a uniform and clean appearance, improving the facades’ visual appeal with a smooth finish.

In addition to being aesthetically pleasing, foam plaster acts as a weather barrier. It serves as a barrier, protecting the supporting structure from inclement weather, wind, and temperature swings. Over time, this barrier of protection lowers maintenance costs by extending the facade’s lifespan.

In summary, foam plaster shows up as a useful and aesthetically pleasing way to improve home facades. It is a good option for homeowners wishing to enhance the appearance and usability of the outside of their homes due to its lightweight, adaptable design, insulation, and protective qualities.

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