WALL FINISHES

- A wall finish may consist of plastering, rendering, jointing, pointing, tyrolean application, dry lining
with plaster boards, painting etc.

Purposes of wall finish

1. Provide resistance to moisture penetration.
2. Give a more pleasant appearance.
3. Protect the structural wall from driving rain and storms.
4. Increase the fire resistance of the wall.
5. Increase sound and thermal properties of the wall.

Types of wall finish

1. Bag wash
 Bag wash is a thin finish made of medium wet cement and sand (1 : 3) which can be applied
internally or externally.
 It is applied by brushing it over the wall with a rag (cotton or a bag).
 It is much cheaper than plaster or render and it is usually used to finish block walls externally or
internally, giving the wall a nice appearance, while the blocks are still vaguely visible.

2. Plastering
 It is a traditional internal to wall surface usually applied in two coats of mortar in specified
ratios.
 The second coat provides the very smooth finish, which can be easily cleaned.
 The first coat should be allowed to dry out at least 24 hours before applying the second coat.
 The total thickness of the plaster should not be less than 12 mm.
 Mortar mixes recommended are:
First coat – 1 : 5 (cement mortar) or 1 : 1 : 5 (Gauged mortar - cement : lime : sand).
Second coat – mortar mix is 1 : 1 (cement : lime).

Purposes of plastering
(i) Conceal defective workmanship.
(ii) To increase the strength and durability of a wall.
(iii) Protect the wall from rain water and other atmospheric agencies.
(iv) Provide a good look or attractive appearance.
(v) To protect the wall surfaces against varmints (pests).
(vi) Provide a plain smooth surface for painting, wall hanging and other wall finishes.
(vii) To improve on sound and thermal insulation properties.
(viii) To give a smooth surface that will avoid settling of dust.

Requirements of a good plaster

(i) It should adhere to the background.
(ii) It should be hard and durable.
(iii) It should prevent penetration of moisture.
(iv) It should be cheap.

Plastering tools.
 A bucket to carry the plaster mixture
 Mixing board
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Construction Technology Notes © John Kiranga
  Shovel/spade
 A hawk – a small board to hold plaster while applying it on a wall
 A wooden float to apply plaster and smooth render coats
 Steel float to smooth the final coat
 Trowel
 Builder’s level or plumb bob
 Trestles and scaffolds to make a platform
 Straight edge to strike off excess mortar and check straightness
 Internal and external angles

Preparing the surface to be plastered

- Clean the surface to be plastered by cutting protruding debris e.g. excess mortar. Concrete block
surfaces are sufficiently rough to provide a good key and no special preparation is required. If
the blocks are dense and close textured, the joints should be raked to a depth of 13 mm during
the process of plastering commences.
- Old work should be hacked and cleaned before the plastering coats are applied.
- A spatter-dash coat is often applied to dense blocks and to walls that absorb moisture quickly.
- Minor irregularities e.g. crevices, deformation on blocks, open joints etc are first made good.

Procedure of plastering a wall.

(i) Clean the surface thoroughly.
(ii) Put moulds or dabs of cement and sand mortar across the wall in columns of three about 1200
mm apart. Check the moulds are in a straight line to a thickness of about 10 mm. Leave them to
set hard.

(iii) Apply 75 mm vertical strips of plaster (called screeds) over the mortar dabs and leave to set.

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Construction Technology Notes © John Kiranga
 (iv) Mix the plaster by hand or with a small mixer.
(v) Spray the background with water and apply a rough to the wall (cement slurry spatter dash)
between the screeds by spreading it on with an upward sweeping movement.
(vi) Move the screed board (straight edge) in a sawing motion to smooth and level the plaster.
(vii) Scratch the first coat before it sets to provide a key for the second and leave it to dry.
(viii) Apply a finishing coat of 2 mm neat plaster with a steel float to produce a thick smooth finish.

Assignment: Write notes on Defects in plastering.

3. Rendering
Definition: Rendering is the application of wet mixes of fine cementing material and sand or mortar
on the external surface of a wall.
- The procedure for rendering is much the same as has been described for plastering.
Purposes of rendering
(i) Improve the appearance of the wall surfaces.
(ii) Provide a waterproof finish to porous blocks such as landcrete and sandcrete.
(iii) Provide a base for a colour finish.

Different finishes in external rendering

a) Smooth render
- Consists of cement and lime mixed with sand in the ratio 1 : 2 : 9.
- The mixture is applied as a finishing coat and trowelled to a smooth finish. If an undercoat is
needed, the proportions should be reduced to 1 : 1 : 6.
- This is the least satisfactory finish because the trowelling can bring too much cement to the
surface which causes cracks.

b) Roughcast render
- It is a top coat of cement, lime and sand mortar in 1 : 2 : 9 mix over a 1 : 3 cement and sand
backing coat.
- When the top is still soft, 6 – 13 mm cement coated aggregate is thrown on it.

c) Scraped render
- This is 1 : 1 : 6 or 1 : 2 : 9 mix of cement, lime and sand render scraped at the top about 2 mm off
with a saw blade just before it hardens to remove the smooth skin.
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Construction Technology Notes © John Kiranga
 d) Pebbledash render
- Consists of a final coat in a 1 : 1 : 6 cement, lime and sand render with 6 – 12 mm pebbles lightly
pressed into it so that the aggregate is exposed.

e) Tyrolean render
- It is a popular finish in which has a rough pleasing appearance applied in the natural grey colour
of ordinary portland cement or coloured according to taste.
- A wall which is to receive tyrolean finish is first rendered with one or more coats depending
upon how flat and even the wall was built. If the background is fairly flat and unrendered, the
joints are filled flush and two or three coats or tyrolean applied.
- Tyrolean finish is produced by a machine that throws a 1 : 3 cement and sand mixture onto the
wall for a deeply textured finish.
- The finish is recommended for public buildings such as schools, hospitals, offices and all block
walls in densely populated areas.
- The reasons for applying tyrolean finish on the surfaces of walls include:-
i) Does not require periodic renewal.
ii) Driving rain and sand storms do not affect the surface texture.
iii) The rough, ragged appearance discourages vandals and children from defacing the wall.
iv) Fairly easy to apply and cheap if ordinary cement is used.

Defects in rendered surfaces

The main defects in rendered surfaces are:
(i) Cracking caused by
 The mix being too rich in cement which causes shrinkage cracks when the render dries.
 The mix drying out too quickly.
 The background wall moves or settles.
 The finishing coat being stronger than the background or render coat.
(ii) Crazing – fine cracking on the top surface of the render and also known as hair cracks. Causes of
crazing or hair cracks include:
 Too much trowelling which brings cement to the surface.
 Too much suction in the backing coat, which draws water out of the top coat.
 The render drying too quickly in the sunlight.
(iii) Loss of adhesion
- Loss of adhesion is clearly heard if a hollow sound is produced when the surface of the render is
tapped.
- Adhesion is lost when:
 The key is inadequate.
 The surface is dirty or oily.
 The background is too porous or is not wetted before rendering.

4. Jointing and Pointing

Jointing – This is the name given to the treatment of joints as the building of the wall proceeds OR
the finish given to the joints of the as work proceeds.
Pointing – This is the name given to the finish of wall joints after the wall has been built OR the
finish given to the joints of a wall has been built to prevent the penetration of moisture
through the mortar joints and to form a neat appearance.

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Construction Technology Notes © John Kiranga
 Advantages of jointing
i) The work is faster and one worker does the job of wall construction and jointing at the same
time.
ii) An even colour is obtained as the same mortar mix is used for laying and jointing.

Types of mortar joint finishes

i) Flush or flat joint – a joint where the mortar is levelled off with the masonry surface.
ii) Weather struck joint – a joint where the mortar is levelled off with w trowel at an angle that slopes
down and out.
iii) Overhung struck joint – a joint where the mortar is levelled off at an angle that slopes up and out.
iv) Square recessed joint – a vertical joint that is set back 4 – 5 mm. This joint is formed with a square
rod.
v) Half round or keyed or concave recessed or bucket handle joint – a semi-circular concave joint
that is formed with a circular steel rod drawn along the joint.
vi) Tuck joint – a joint finish that protrudes on the surface of the wall and is used for decorative
purposes.

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Construction Technology Notes © John Kiranga