Decorative plaster: mosaic and textured finishes

What the price depends on

Labour is priced per square metre. The rate depends on the type of plaster, the area, the condition of the wall and the height: a plinth or a corridor wall is done from the floor, while a façade needs scaffolding. Lots of windows, reveals and corners add time too. Current labour rates are in the table.

The plaster, primer, masking tape and sheeting are paid for separately. Scaffolding hire, removing old coatings, levelling the wall and taking waste away are separate as well, as listed in the handyman’s offer.

What it costs and how to book: tiling services in Warsaw.

Mosaic or textured: the difference

Mosaic plaster is coloured quartz or marble grains in a clear resin-based binder. It feels smooth, can be washed and stands up well to knocks and wear. That is why it goes on plinths, stairwells, corridors and walls by the entrance. It doesn’t need painting, and painting it would hide the very grains you chose it for.

Textured plaster gives the wall relief. The fine-grain finish Poles call baranek looks evenly granular. The one called kornik leaves grooves, because the grains roll under the float and score lines into the surface. Both are used on façades and indoors. The binder can be acrylic, silicone, silicate or mineral, and the choice depends on the substrate: external insulation, concrete and damp rooms each need different products.

Polished Venetian plaster is a separate technique, and you would look for a different specialist for it.

Safety first

Façades and tall stairwell walls are done from scaffolding or a platform, not a ladder: both hands are busy with the trowel and the bucket, so there is nothing to hold on to. Scaffolding has to stand firm and go up according to the manufacturer’s instructions. In a stairwell, neighbours need a safe way past while the work is going on. Sanding old walls raises dust, so a mask and goggles are needed.

How the job goes

1. The wall is checked for cracks, loose patches, damp and how flat it is.
2. The substrate is repaired. Cracks are filled and uneven areas levelled, which is a separate job.
3. Windows, doors, floor and sockets are covered with sheeting and tape.
4. The wall is primed, often with a sanded primer tinted to the plaster colour so nothing shows through.
5. The plaster goes on with a stainless steel trowel, as thick as the grain.
6. Textured plaster is worked with a plastic float until the pattern appears; mosaic plaster is smoothed.
7. Each wall is finished in one go from corner to corner, or the edge of a dried section will show.

Common mistakes

• Plaster applied to a crooked wall in the hope that the texture hides it. It doesn’t.
• No primer, leading to blotches, uneven colour and poor adhesion.
• Stopping halfway across a wall, so a join shows once it dries.
• Material from different batches, so neighbouring areas differ slightly in colour.
• A façade done in full sun, in rain or in frost.
• Mosaic plaster overworked, so the grains settled unevenly.

What to prepare

• Photos of the walls in full and close up: cracks, corners, reveals, the bottom near the floor.
• Rough area and height, and whether the wall has windows or doors.
• What the substrate is: old plaster, plasterboard, concrete, insulation.
• The colour or code from the manufacturer’s chart, if you have chosen one.
• For a façade or a shared stairwell you need consent from the wspólnota or housing cooperative.
• Clear access to the wall, with furniture moved out or pushed to the middle.

Frequently asked questions

How to order

Describe in the app which wall you want covered and with what kind of plaster, and add photos and a rough area. Tradespeople near you will send offers with their own price and timing. Pick one by reviews; only that person sees your address.

You pay the handyman directly and they issue the invoice. They answer for their own work and will redo it if joins show or the plaster comes away because of how they applied it. Cracks in the wall itself, damp and old coatings underneath are not on them.

Do mosaic or textured plaster for a living? With a tradesperson profile, jobs from your town come straight into the app. You work for yourself and pick the business form that suits you.