ᐅ Textured plaster on drywall instead of fiberglass mesh?

Hello everyone,

Our gypsum plaster (Q2 ready for wallpapering) on the ground floor is drying slowly. The screed will be installed soon, and the drywall installers will close off the walls on the upper floor in a few weeks. So, of course, we are now thinking about how to proceed with finishing the walls.

According to the plasterer, it is best to simply paint the walls, without putting up wallpaper. That suits our taste very well since we like the natural texture of the plaster.

The only concern is the delicate ceiling as well as the gypsum plasterboard (drywall) on the upper floor.
I’m great with a paintbrush, but just thinking about applying some kind of fleece is already giving me a headache.

While browsing in the hardware store, I came across this roll-on plaster from Kna.f.

Has anyone had experience with how this looks on walls? Could this be an alternative to using painter’s fleece on the gypsum plasterboard? We don’t want to create any texture, just a smooth surface that can be nicely painted. Or will there be movement cracks?

Why didn’t you have the drywall installed to at least Q3 or Q4 standards? It usually costs very little extra (typically from Q2 to Q3 about 50 cents per square meter). Otherwise, you will at least see the outlines of the drywall boards under the textured plaster (speaking from personal experience). I have no experience with fleece/filigree ceilings.

nordanney schrieb:
Why didn’t you have the drywall done in Q3 or Q4? It usually costs hardly any extra (typically about 50 cents per sqm (0.5 sq ft) from Q2 to Q3).

We didn’t research it beforehand, and it wasn’t even suggested or offered. The Q2 plaster also turned out very well; the plasterer even gave me tips on how to quickly smooth out any spots with a trowel, but so far, we haven’t noticed any.

nordanney schrieb:
Otherwise, with textured plaster, you will at least see the outlines of the drywall sheets (from my own experience).

Do you mean the joints that are filled? That would of course be unfortunate.

Yes, in our roof you can see the joints. We applied textured roller plaster from ??? (it’s been a few years since we applied it) and then painted it white. It’s not really a problem, but when you look at it from the side in daylight, you can see the filling.

We also struggled for a long time with the question of what to do. I originally wanted to leave the plaster exposed. But somehow, I was reluctant to have 20 layers of paint on the walls after 50 years. So, we chose a very thin fleece wallpaper and filled the seams with joint compound. Now, you can no longer see any seams anywhere. Luckily, I didn’t have to do it myself.

nordanney schrieb:
Why didn’t you have the drywall installed in Q3 or Q4? It usually costs very little extra (typically about 0.50 € per sqm from Q2 to Q3). Otherwise, with textured plaster you will at least see the outlines of the drywall panels (I know from personal experience). I have no experience with fleece/filigree ceilings.

The price would have been acceptable, but for us, they quoted almost 4 € per sqm... with 600 sqm (6458 sq ft) of surface area, that’s a significant amount.

Our plasterers were top-notch, but painting directly at Q2 level is definitely not an option. We tested it. You can still see the joints when light hits the walls. With wallpaper, you also see the seams, but it looks more natural. Whether I would wallpaper 600 sqm (6458 sq ft) again... probably not.
Those were two tough weeks of work... not physically, more mentally.