A modern country house should not only be comfortable for living, but also have an attractive facade. Very often, such modern material as decorative plaster is used to finish the facades of low-rise buildings and their premises.
The advantage of the compositions of this variety is considered primarily that they give a smooth, textured, aesthetically attractive surface. However, conventional decorative plasters made on the basis of gypsum and cement have one serious drawback. Over time, the finish created using them may begin to crack.
It is not difficult to avoid such a problem by using a special kind of such material for decorating the walls of a country house - elastic plaster, which has recently appeared on the market.
What is it?
Outwardly, this type of plaster after application resembles rubber and envelops the walls of the building like a shell. Such material is supplied to the market, as well as conventional finishing products of thisvarieties, in the form of dry mixes. To prepare the mortar, decorative elastic plaster must be diluted with water.
Today, there are several varieties of such material on sale. The type depends on the method of manufacture. If desired, you can purchase plaster:
- silicone;
- mineral;
- silicate.
Elastic acrylic plaster is also on sale today. It is this type of material that is most popular with consumers. With excellent technical and operational qualities, acrylic plaster is somewhat cheaper than other options for similar products.
Like ordinary, elastic plaster is supplied to the market in three types:
- basic compositions;
- basic;
- finishing.
All these types of products differ mainly in the degree of graininess.
Which surfaces can be applied?
One of the absolute advantages of elastic plaster is its excellent adhesive qualities. Just fine, a layer of such a finish will stick to any surface. You can apply decorative plaster of this variety on wood, concrete, metal, brick, blocks.
According to manufacturers, even on the most problematic smooth and dense surface, such a layer can last up to 25 years without the need for adjustment. Compared to ordinary plasters, this is, of course, a lot.
The main advantages of the material
The main advantageelastic plaster, therefore, is that it does not appear chips and cracks under mechanical shock, house movements during shrinkage, etc. Also, the advantages of this material include:
- ecological cleanliness;
- possibility of use both outside and inside the building;
- quick drying;
- easy to apply.
The ability to "breathe" is also considered an absolute advantage of this new material. Thanks to this, mold never appears on such plaster. Refer to the pluses of this finish and the richness of textures. If desired, to decorate the walls of the house, you can choose an elastic plaster of any texture that is in perfect harmony with the design of the interior or exterior of the building.
You can use such plaster for finishing facades in any regions of Russia. Reviews of elastic plaster are good, including because this type of material is absolutely not afraid of either serious temperature changes or high humidity.
Cons of plaster
There are practically no drawbacks to this material, judging by the reviews of country house owners who have already tried it. The only disadvantage of elastic facade plaster is its high price. This material costs an order of magnitude more expensive than similar traditional compositions of this type on gypsum or cement.
Applying technology
According to many experts, working with such plaster is even easier than with ordinary plaster. The technology for applying such productsabsolutely no different from the method of finishing with traditional materials. The work on the design of facades with elastic plaster consists of several stages:
- walls are thoroughly cleaned of dirt and dust;
- grinding chips and irregularities in progress;
- surface primed to improve adhesive properties;
- elastic plaster is applied to the walls without the use of beacons;
- facades are painted in the desired color.
Apply such plaster on the surface with a usually spatula. To seal joints and cracks, ordinary putty or a special sealant can be used.
The technology of applying elastic plaster for interior work is no different from the method of finishing facades. In this case, the walls are also carefully prepared first. Then plaster is applied to them with a spatula.
Facades and indoor walls finished with similar means are painted, usually in two layers. The paint, judging by the reviews, lays evenly on elastic plasters and lasts for a long time.
Nuances of application
In order to increase the adhesion between the wall and the material, the surface can be sanded before applying the primer and plaster. It is necessary to level the decorative composition with a spatula as carefully as possible. The final layer should be as uniform as possible.
The texture on a layer of elastic plaster in most cases is created by moving the spatula at an angle. This is how the wall must be passed in the final stage.
Specifications
The consumption of elastic plaster is usually, depending on the manufacturer, 1.5-2 kg per 1 m2. Up to grade 3 at 20°C, this material dries in most cases in 5-8 hours.
You can work with such plaster from the side of the street only in warm weather. The maximum air temperature when decorating walls with such compositions is considered to be +5 ° С. Most often, elastic plasters can be applied on surfaces with a layer up to 5 mm thick. The textures of such material can be very different. But the color of the plaster of this variety is almost always white. That is why at the final stage of finishing facades using such a tool, painting is required.
