ᐅ Do not plaster any rooms in the attic.

Hello everyone,

A small room was converted in the attic above our bedroom.

The rafters are insulated with loose-fill cellulose insulation. The other part of the attic is separated by a wall, and there the ceiling of the upper floor is insulated.

On the partition wall and on the sloped ceiling, drywall panels (plasterboard) have been screwed in and filled.

Now the window has been replaced, and I want to focus on the gable wall.

I first roughly removed the old plaster around the window and primed the surface.

Now I am considering which plaster to use.

Rotband (a gypsum plaster) or something lime-based? The room will later be used as a bedroom. The wall area is about 8 sqm (86 sq ft).

I don’t want to use drywall panels again, as I would like to try plastering a wall myself.

The wall and the roof were and still are dry.

Normally, a gypsum plaster should be sufficient, right? I’m just a bit concerned about condensation possibly forming on the walls since the window is now completely sealed.

Air can only circulate downward.

To sum up:

- Converted attic
- Bedroom
- Gable wall
- Gypsum plaster (Rotband) or lime-cement plaster?

P.S. Is it normal that the bricks on the gable are laid in a random pattern? With my limited plastering skills, I have quite a job to level the wall and make it straight.

Best regards,
Jan

jan2110 schrieb:

P.S. is it normal for the bricks at the gable to be laid in a random pattern?

What exactly do you mean by that?

It is normal that where the wall has to follow the slope of the roof at the top, the brick bonding pattern is arranged somewhat differently than in the straight vertical sections of the wall; it is also common to use smaller-sized bricks in these areas, whereas the rest of the wall is mainly built with larger bricks.

It is also normal that the appearance (evenness of the surface) of non-exposed masonry is given less attention in areas where no living space is planned (such as basements or garages), since saving time is a factor.

Two or three millimeters (about 0.1 inch) of unevenness between adjacent bricks are more common in places where no one usually looks.

However, outright sloppy work is not typical, and creating random brick patterns from colorful leftover bricks would not be acceptable either.

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Exactly, there is an offset of about 4-5 mm (0.16-0.20 inches). At the top of the gable, where it narrows to a point, the workmanship is somewhat uneven and has been evened out with plaster.

The attic was never previously used as living space.

jan2110 schrieb:
There is roughly a 4-5 mm (0.16-0.20 inch) offset. At the top of the gable, where it narrows to a point, the work was a bit imprecise and was compensated with plaster.

This is a tricky area anyway, where spending extra time on precision is usually considered unnecessary. It’s almost common practice not to be too exact there.

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Yes, that doesn’t really bother me. I could have glued drywall there, but as I said, I wanted to try plastering a wall.

My wife says I should practice where only we will see it later.

With Rotband, you could also even out this 5mm (0.2 inch) step?

jan2110 schrieb:
My wife says I should practice where only we will see it later

Wise women are never a disadvantage

jan2110 schrieb:
Could you use Rotband to even out this 5 mm (0.2 inch) offset?

No idea, but I tend to say yes. Bausatzco has a YouTube video called "Smooth Walls – Goodbye Blemishes with Rotband." After watching it, I think this product is the right choice.

Where there really is a 5 mm (0.2 inch) gap, I would consider carefully breaking the edges with a hammer or first embedding fiberglass mesh there. Otherwise, after drying, cracks might develop as if the area were "prepared" for them.

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