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 decorate the facades of low-rise buildings and their premises.
The advantage of the compositions of this variety is primarily considered to be 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 layer created with their use may begin to crack.
It is not difficult to avoid such a problem, using a special kind of such material, elastic plaster, which has recently appeared on the market, to decorate the walls of a country house.
What is it like?
Externally, this type of plaster after application resembles rubber and envelops the walls of the building like a shell. Such material, as the usual finishing agents of this variety, is supplied to the market in the form of dry mixes. To prepare the solution, decorative elastic plaster must be diluted with water.
To date, there are several varieties of such material on sale. The appearance depends on the manufacturing method. If desired, you can purchase plaster:
- silicone;
- mineral;
- silicate.
Also on sale today is elastic acrylic plaster. It is this type of material that is most popular among consumers. With excellent technical and operational qualities, acrylic plaster is somewhat cheaper than other options for such tools.
As usual, flexible plaster comes on the market in three forms:
- base compounds;
- basic;
- finishing.
All these types of products differ mainly in the degree of granularity.
What surfaces can be applied?
One of the undoubted advantages of flexible plaster is its excellent adhesive properties. Just a fine layer of such a finish will hold on any surface. It is possible to apply decorative plaster of this variety on wood, concrete, metal, brick, blocks.
According to the manufacturers, even on the most problematic smooth and dense surface such a layer can last up to 25 years without the need for adjustment. In comparison with ordinary plasters, this, of course, is a lot.
The main advantages of the material
The main advantage of elastic plaster, therefore, is that it does not appear chips and cracks during mechanical shock, shifts of the house during shrinkage, etc. Also, the advantages of this material include:
- environmental cleanliness;
- the ability to use both outside the building and from the inside;
- drying speed;
- ease of application.
The undoubted advantage of this new material is the ability to “breathe”. Due to this, mold never appears on such plaster. Relate to the advantages of this finish and the richness of textures. If you wish, you can choose elastic plaster of any texture to decorate the walls of the house, perfectly in harmony with the design of the interior or exterior of the building.
You can use such plaster for decoration of facades in any regions of Russia. There are good reviews about elastic plaster, including because the material of this type is absolutely not afraid of any serious temperature changes or high humidity.
Cons of plaster
There are practically no shortcomings in this material, judging by the reviews of owners of country houses that have already managed to test it. The only disadvantage of elastic facade plaster is the high price for it. This material costs an order of magnitude more expensive than similar traditional compounds of a similar type on gypsum or cement.
Application technology
According to many experts, working with such plaster is even easier than with ordinary. The technology for applying such products is absolutely no different from the finishing methods of 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 bumps;
- the surface is primed to improve adhesive properties;
- elastic plaster is applied to the walls without the use of beacons;
- facades are painted in the required color.
Apply this plaster on the surface using a spatula, usually. To seal joints and crevices, ordinary putty or a special sealant can be used.
The technology for applying flexible plaster for interior work is no different from the technique for finishing facades. In this case, the walls are also carefully prepared first. Then a plaster is applied to them with a spatula.
Facades and walls inside are painted with similar means, usually in two layers. Judging by the reviews, the paint lays on elastic plasters evenly and lasts a long time.
Application Nuances
In order to increase the adhesion between the wall and the material, before applying the primer and plaster, its surface can be sanded. Align the decorative composition with a spatula as carefully as possible. The layer should ultimately be as uniform as possible.
The texture on the layer of elastic plaster in most cases is created when the spatula moves at an angle. In this way, the wall must be passed at the final stage.
Specifications
The consumption of elastic plaster is usually, depending on the manufacturer, 1.5-2 kg per 1 m 2 . To degree 3 at a temperature of 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 during wall decoration with such compounds is considered to be +5 ° C. Most often, elastic plasters can be applied to the surface with a layer of a thickness of up to 5 mm. Textures such material can have a variety of. But the color of the plaster of this variety is almost always white. That is why, at the final stage of the decoration of facades using a similar tool, painting is required.