Stucco walls by lighthouses, leveling the plane and corners

Smoothing a wall to perfection is essential for a high-quality finish, regardless of whether you want to paint, apply wallpaper, or use decorative plaster. Using beacons, or guides, while stuccoing is one efficient way to achieve this. By ensuring that the wall is leveled uniformly, these basic tools make the task much simpler and more accurate.

You can regulate the wall’s plane as well as the corners’ alignment by using beacons. By using this technique, common problems that can detract from the final appearance, such as gaps, uneven surfaces, or misaligned edges, can be avoided. When stuccoing by beacons is done correctly, the walls are smooth, straight, and ready for any kind of finish.

We’ll dissect the procedure in this post, going over everything from putting up the beacons to getting crisp, aligned corners. This guide will help you achieve the best possible results with your stucco work, regardless of your level of experience.

Task	Description
Setting Up Beacons	Install guides (beacons) on the walls to serve as reference points for an even layer of plaster.
Applying the Plaster	Spread plaster mix between the beacons using a trowel or plastering tool.
Leveling the Surface	Use a straight edge to smooth out the plaster, moving along the beacons for a flat plane.
Checking Corners	Ensure corners are sharp and even by using a corner trowel or straight edge for alignment.
Finishing Touches	Once the plaster sets slightly, remove beacons and fill gaps, then smooth the entire surface.

Plaster of the internal corners: acceptable deviations.

One of the trickiest parts of wall décor are the corners. The challenge is that, in contrast to plastering walls on beacons, even the smallest deviation—which would go unnoticed on the wall—is conspicuously visible in the corner.

Plastering has very specific requirements.

1. The line must be perfectly straight with a deviation of no more than 1 mm.

If the rule is broken, the corner will curve, hanging furniture will be difficult to fasten, and the finishing will look unappealing from the outside.

1. Absence of slopes: the walls are strictly vertical, the ceilings are horizontal.

It is difficult to hang furniture or decorative elements on a wall that slopes significantly, and placing objects close to the wall is prohibited because there will always be an oblique gap at the top or bottom.

1. Strictly 90 degrees. This is difficult to achieve in old buildings with skewed walls, in houses built with errors.

Complicates the rotary communication element installation process. For instance, laying a pipe is more challenging when installing heating because standard "turns" are limited to 90 and 45 degrees.

The joining of plastic skirting boards is more challenging.

Just 1-2 mm of minor distortions and deviations are acceptable. High-quality results are harder to achieve with a large initial curvature. As a result, plastering wall corners by hand is regarded as a challenging task.

How to make a right angle.

A 15-20 mm slight slope in the wall that can be leveled with mortar. If you adhere to these guidelines, you can complete the task on your own:

1. Plastering walls on beacons. Without correctly placed landmarks, it is difficult to do the work qualitatively. Beacons are installed using a plumb line or level at a distance of 10-15 cm from the corner.
2. Follow the sequence. Plastering of internal and external corners is not laid immediately. First, they throw on a thin solution, let it set, only then apply the main part.

If a thick layer of mortar is required for alignment, the work is done in two stages: first, the first layer is applied, allowed to set, and then the second layer is applied. When plaster is applied thickly to walls near beacons, it falls off the wall and separates from the base due to its own weight, leaving a weak connection between the layer and the base.

1. Take your time. You should not do everything at once. First, level the wall with a rule along the beacons, not reaching the corner by 1-2 cm. Then, using the rule, level the corner itself.

Step-by-step work is an easy way to even out the plaster. Treat one wall at a time and allow it to dry. Next, connect the second one to it and align it. Working is made easier because one wall is already solid and smooth.

Plastering corners with a big metal square is even simpler. Typically, it is employed to guide movement from bottom to top. On beacons positioned close to the corners, the tool rests and slides.

How to align a corner with a significant curvature of the wall.

A wall distortion of 5-7 cm cannot be aligned; extra operations are required if the slope of the walls exceeds 1-2 cm!

"Weighting"

It’s important to determine the walls’ degree of deformation with accuracy. In order to do this, a plumb line—a large metal weight on a rope or a building level fixed to the rule—is used to examine the surface.

Beacon installation.

In order to prevent beacons from interfering with work, it is preferable to prepare too-deep depressions before placing beacons. For shallow but profound distortions, plastering the walls with beacons can be done right away.

Support.

Plaster that is too thick does not stick to the wall very well. As a result, the wall is reinforced where mortar has leveled the curvature of the wall.

Every 40–50 cm, dowel holes are bored into the wall for this purpose. They have reinforcing mesh, which strengthens the reinforcement. Wire segments that have been braided around screws can be used.

The future leveling layer’s thickness should include reinforcement. As a result, it is positioned no closer than 1-2 cm from the plaster’s eventual surface.

Plastering walls on beacons with a clay base, shingles, and leftover lumber are used as reinforcing materials in wooden houses. The slats’ cross-section shouldn’t be larger than 4-5 cm square.

The shingles are just nailed to the wall, spaced three to five centimeters apart, and at an angle of 45 degrees to the floor.

The reinforced leveling inserts are allowed to dry completely before bringing out the corner.

Putting in plaster.

Since the composition of the leveling plaster is the same as that of regular plaster, it is applied in accordance with standard procedures:

• Primer. In order for the solution to have a strong adhesion to the wall, the latter is covered with a layer of primer.
• Splashing – application of a liquid, creamy solution to the wall and reinforcement. For more reliable contact of the solution with the wall, it is thrown with a blow, a kind of "slaps".
• Soil – the main layer of plaster. For very crooked walls, it is better to apply the primer in several (2-3) stages with drying of each layer.

How to make even corners with minimal plastering.

It is not required to level the whole surface when there are only minor wall deformations (1-2 cm). Only the room corners and the joints connecting the walls to the floor and ceiling need to be leveled if a quick and inexpensive fix is required.

The room’s plaster is still uneven, but it is barely noticeable because of the perfectly squared corners.

How to create a smooth wall corner is as follows:

1. Walls. Plaster is applied to the corners and leveled here. But then, along the length of the wall, the layer of mortar is reduced to nothing. In order for the insert to be invisible, it is necessary to avoid creating sharp differences. For inserting thicknesses. 1-2 cm, the width should be about.15-20 cm.
2. Floors. Here, alignment is necessary for installing the baseboard.
3. Ceilings. The leveling layer is applied only to the wall, if this is done on the ceiling, the insert will be noticeable.

But the area next to the wall also needs to have the ceiling surface smoothed out, albeit with a minimum thickness.

This cost-effective alignment technique is only appropriate when tiny inserts, about 1-2 cm, are required. Deeper deformations will make the inserts too obvious.

DIY plastering of rounded corners of walls.

Plastering rounded corners is no more difficult than regular ones:

1. Alignment of walls. Walls are plastered and aligned using standard technology.
2. Reinforcement. An ellipse of a small diameter does not require reinforcement. But when creating significant roundings (with a diameter of. more than 10 cm), they are reinforced with a reinforcing mesh, wire. You can get by by screwing in screws (steps of at least 20 cm).
3. Splash.
4. Applying a template. Apply the solution and remove its excess using the rule. In the case of curves, the role of beacons is played by the surface of both walls, and the rules are a specially made template.

To use this curved rule, simply apply a strong, easily bendable wire to the rounding and press it into the ellipse. You can obtain an accurate drawing of the future template in this way.

The wire is applied to sheet steel, tin, or plywood that is at least 6 mm thick. Use a pencil to trace. Along this line, excess is trimmed. The template is prepared!

Use fine sand (fraction no more than 1 mm) to apply the final covering layer after the plaster of the corners has dried completely. In order to achieve the smoothest wall possible, felt is rubbed over this layer.

It’s important to keep in mind that rounded corners should only be rubbed horizontally.

Stuccoing walls with beacons is a dependable way to level walls because it produces precisely even surfaces and sharp corners. In order to guarantee that the plaster is applied uniformly throughout the plane, this procedure entails putting up guide beacons as reference points. Straight walls and precise angles are achievable by meticulously filling and smoothing the spaces between the beacons, which is necessary for a high-quality finish in any space.

Necessary tools and equipment.

Internal corner plastering calls for a standard toolkit and supplies. While some of them are replaceable, others are not.

Beacons.

The best option is steel profile because the metal components are easily reinforced, perfectly flat, and not "afraid" of water. However, they are not appropriate for performing low-cost, minor repairs.

Wooden beacons are thin, cross-sectioned slats (2.5 x 3 cm and smaller). A wide range of drawbacks make their use challenging:

1. Curvatures. It is difficult to select reliably flat slats, because wood is constantly deformed, absorbing moisture from the air and giving it away.
2. Swelling. Wood increases in size, swells. With regard to beacons, this drawback is most relevant, because plastering is a “wet” work.
3. Dismantling galvanized steel beacons is considered optional. Wooden slats must be removed before leveling the corners with plaster. The resulting voids and grooves are filled with mortar and leveled. This requires additional effort and time.

Plank guides, on the other hand, are significantly less expensive than metal ones and are occasionally utilized when funds are limited for the renovation of the space.

Mortar beacons are mixture fragments that are applied to walls in a way that makes it easy to work with a rule. These landmarks have the benefit of being free and not needing to be taken down. However, working with them is inconvenient, and leveling them is quite challenging. This technique, which is primarily employed by seasoned experts, is appropriate for small walls.

Checking corners with a laser plane builder.

The most accurate and convenient control tool is a laser level. Installing it along the bisector line (approximately) and combining the vertical plane of light with the vertical line under examination is sufficient to determine the angle.

Beacons are a dependable way to achieve smooth surfaces and sharp corners when stuccoing walls. By using this method, you can apply the plaster to the wall precisely and consistently throughout, giving the surface a uniform thickness.

The finished product can improve the room’s look and functionality by carefully leveling the plane and paying attention to the corners. Not only does proper alignment enhance appearance, but it also makes upcoming tasks like painting or tiling easier.

Even those with basic skills can use this approach to achieve professional results with a little practice and attention to detail. To avoid common mistakes, the key is to be patient and follow the process step-by-step.

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Alignment of the wall #painting work #alignment #gypsum stupid #beacons