ᐅ Is a fine plaster finish (Q2 lime-cement or gypsum) sufficient for living spaces?

Addition: The rework done by my husband took several hours, certainly 20+ hours.

The secret is: deliberately incorporate the unevenness as a design feature.
My tip: apply Sto Sil Structure medium indoors using a brush or roller, followed by touch-ups with a ceiling brush.

We have upgraded from Q2 to Q3 plus fleece or non-woven wallpaper. Only the utility room remains at Q2, and I am very glad we don’t have this throughout the entire house. The additional cost totals 11,000 EUR for 285 m² (3065 sq ft) of living space. (I don’t know the wall surface area.)

We painted the basement with Q2 finish directly, and in the rest of the house with Q3 plus fleece, and the differences are very clear. I also wouldn’t know how to incorporate that into a design. For a loft-style charm, much coarser textures are needed.

Nordlys schrieb:
... Embrace the unevenness as a deliberate design feature. My tip: Sto Sil Structure medium ...

77.willo schrieb:
... Q2 ... For a loft-style charm, you really need much coarser textures.

Thank you very much for the suggestions! We are currently deciding whether to do or have done the interior walls (sand-lime brick masonry with dry-mixed lime cement plaster Q2) and the interior side of the exterior walls (smooth precast concrete elements, as well as the ceiling) of our new basement in a reinforced concrete building. We have received an additional quote from the painting contractor for the lime cement plaster walls of about 26 euros per square meter (including surcharges for silicate paint and Q3 level filler with fleece reinforcement and mineral materials), which might be a bit too elaborate for basement rooms.

For the intended better basement rooms ("hobby/guest"), the applied lime cement plaster still does not seem smooth enough to achieve a nice appearance with just paint or non-woven wallpaper.

On the other hand, as mentioned above, the walls are already too smooth for an effective coarse texture (and since we are designing a basement in a suburb of Hamburg rather than an Eppendorf loft, we want it to feel more cozy and homely...).

We will follow up on the tip regarding StoSil Structure Medium. According to the technical datasheet from Sto, "For plastered surfaces, a skimmed finish quality level Q3 - Q4 is required." This probably refers to finish requirements in standard living areas. Maybe for a start, we will try it in the utility room or storage room to see how it turns out.

We can easily live with Sto Sil on Q2. Honestly, even our visitors don’t notice anything negative. As I said, we didn’t just roll it on lightly; my brother went ahead with the nap roller and applied a generous coat. I followed behind with a ceiling brush, wiping large semicircular patterns. Since the product contains grains, the finish intentionally looks uneven. My brother says architects love this look, often specifying it in their plans, and painters then charge a premium for a job that any skilled tradesperson with an apprentice can handle. Try it out in the basement, and I’m telling you, it will catch on all the way up the stairs.