By skimming (in thier job advertisements) they only skim the joins in the plasterboard eg. all drywall!! they do something called white-set (not premixed like multifinish) which is a lime and gypsum based mix. You have to grade your gypsum, slake your lime (your plasticiser) the night before in a tub and idealy add a pozinene of sorts like talc or mica. Its's an old way of plastering out here which is generally not used anymore - I have to get the exact properties right myself. I have heard of useing coving cement/adhesive (knocked up thinner) which has most of the properties of multifinish but sets quicker than than you could ever imagine regardless of the heat. But yes all plaster products are heat affected and will react much the same way as plastering on a hot day in the U.K. just times that by constant good weather and plastering becomes more tricky. You have to reduce your set sizes by a third at least! (that applies to taping and joining too) I believe you can slow down mixes with size water eg. gelutin powder much like wall paper paste. Again I suggest guaging the time in setting with different amounts of size water but you can only slow it so much. A lot like sizing Class A casting plasters. I am yet to experiment myself. Will keep you posted on the white-set properties/quantities. As for dry wall products I have used a tub of pre-mix top coat and added extra water for ease of spreading and skimmed complete walls (only) with it on primed surfaces. You get it as flat as you can and stay as tight as you can - they sand it down much the same way as joins in dry-wall to get a fine finish.
Rendering is the same internal/external but hardly use a poly/wood float on external just a sponge float with 5mm depth max on external and 10mm on internal (use wood float on internal works to get a closed finish and then its just painted I believe they used to white-set on that but they have lost the skill over the years due to Dry-Wall coming in - not even sure white-set is suitable for use on plasterboard?)
To my knowledge there are no other light weight rendering products out here either eg. Hardwall or Bonding coats
Australia have embraced polymors eg. plastic based compounds on external rendering as well much like Germany - Sto-kit systems etc (lots of different aggregates with lots of different finishes)
Tilers do all the floor screeding out here too........
I am a City & Guild Qualified Solid and Fibrous Plaster with over 8 years commercial experience - mostly my experience consisted of refurbishment and new build works within existing homes and new builds on site. The descriptions for skilled workers here in Australia are: "Solid work" is sand cement rendering but we include skimming in the U.K - like i mentioned they used to do something similar and still do (I'm told!? - regionaly eg. W.A. or Victoria) generaly old style buildings!! "Fibrous" is basicly Dry-Wall out here - stud wall wood or metal, sheeted out and then joined only.
"Fibrous" in the U.K. is running moulds and casting with class A plasters - like making decorative coving and ceiling roses etc.
Things get lost in translation between the two - it's not a wrong description as it is not right one as Fibrous is exactly that, using "fibers" to join, reinforce and finish plaster constructions.
Fibrous plasterers (U.K) can make thier own plasterboard for ceilings and walls and join them much the same way as modern Dry-Wallers do. The Dry-Wall technique actually comes from that.
Also traditionaly trained plasterers all used to tile too - anything that got stuck or used adhesion as such fell inside the plasterers duristriction to do, knowing that you can see why tilers do screeded floors in Australia.
My Advise, If your thinking of coming to Oz - Brush up on Dry Wall techniques, metal frame partioning and suspended ceilings.
I hope that helps - need any other advise email me at
djlp4life@hotmail.com
Regards,
Chris Le Port.
Skimming Info
