A
Anonymous
Guest
Hi Dean. Not quite sure how this site works but I got an email about roughcast.
I am uncertain if roughcast or scat (as we call it in Devon) sheds rainwater more effectively. I have heard theories that the extra surface area allows more drying to take place. However, being a simple soul, I wonder if the extra surface area is just more to get wet?
We apply scat finish with a ping pong bat minus it's rubber coating. Knock up a slurry of unhaired muck and throw it at the wall. The art is to keep the bat in the same plane as the wall when releasing the slurry. An abrupt stop is necessary to propell the stuff forward. The other art is not to get swirls on the wall as this can look horribly like artex. The consistency of the sluury is altered to get different surface textures - experiment. So there you are on the scaffold - bucket of slurry under one arm and bat in the other. You will need the following attire - disposable boiler suit, rubber gauntlets and ideally a chain saw visor (goggles tend to mist up). All this is very hard work and even more miserable than cleaning out a live drain. Thank God I don't have to do it any more!!!!! The best way to do scat finish is to find someone enthusiastic to learn a traditional technique and teach them how to do it. The trouble is you need to keep finding these enthusiasts!
The good news is that, properly done, it looks good.
Please don't ignore the safety gear. I did once and spent 2 hrs in A&E having my left eye irragated. It took that long before the litmus paper showed neutral. Mike.
I am uncertain if roughcast or scat (as we call it in Devon) sheds rainwater more effectively. I have heard theories that the extra surface area allows more drying to take place. However, being a simple soul, I wonder if the extra surface area is just more to get wet?
We apply scat finish with a ping pong bat minus it's rubber coating. Knock up a slurry of unhaired muck and throw it at the wall. The art is to keep the bat in the same plane as the wall when releasing the slurry. An abrupt stop is necessary to propell the stuff forward. The other art is not to get swirls on the wall as this can look horribly like artex. The consistency of the sluury is altered to get different surface textures - experiment. So there you are on the scaffold - bucket of slurry under one arm and bat in the other. You will need the following attire - disposable boiler suit, rubber gauntlets and ideally a chain saw visor (goggles tend to mist up). All this is very hard work and even more miserable than cleaning out a live drain. Thank God I don't have to do it any more!!!!! The best way to do scat finish is to find someone enthusiastic to learn a traditional technique and teach them how to do it. The trouble is you need to keep finding these enthusiasts!
The good news is that, properly done, it looks good.
Please don't ignore the safety gear. I did once and spent 2 hrs in A&E having my left eye irragated. It took that long before the litmus paper showed neutral. Mike.