If you are having a wall or ceiling finished, you will quickly hear four terms: smooth plaster, spack, decorative plaster and spachtelputz. They seem alike, because all four are plaster layers on a wall or ceiling, but they differ in how they are applied, what they look like, how long they need to dry, how you clean or repair them later and whether they belong in a bathroom. The tradesperson differs too: for smooth plaster you call a plasterer, for spack often a specialist sprayer, and you end up with a painter as soon as the wall only needs a coat of paint. This article puts the four finishes side by side, so you can assess a quote on more than the price per square metre. If it concerns a ceiling, or old sprayed finishes that may contain asbestos, also read having a ceiling plastered or sprayed.
The four finishes in brief
Smooth plaster is a hand-applied plaster layer with a crisp finish, indoors usually gypsum-based. It is the most neutral finish: a smooth, flat wall that you then paint with emulsion, wallpaper or have sprayed. A plasterer usually delivers it "sausklaar" (ready for emulsion paint) or "behangklaar" (ready for wallpaper); the difference lies in the degree of flatness and in the preparation, and you would do well to have that term stated explicitly in the quote. Smooth plaster requires the most craftsmanship and the most time, and it is the least forgiving: every irregularity in the substrate shows up in the light.
Spack (also called spack spray work or spray plaster) is a thin, fine-grained layer sprayed by machine onto walls and especially ceilings. It is the standard finish of many new-build ceilings: fast, relatively cheap, with a slightly grainy texture that camouflages small imperfections in the substrate. Spack comes in different grain sizes; the finest variants resemble a painted ceiling, the coarser ones a soft texture. It is usually delivered white straight away and does not need painting afterwards.
Decorative plaster is the collective name for decorative plasters with a visible texture that are applied and finished by hand: granol, schuurwerk (rubbed finish), textured plaster and also spachtelputz all fall under it. The texture comes from the grain in the material and from the way the plasterer finishes the layer, for example with a float, a roller or a rubbing board.
Spachtelputz is the best-known decorative plaster: a grained plaster that is rubbed with a plastic float after application, so that the grains form an even, slightly rough texture. It comes in grain sizes from fine to coarse, mineral-based or synthetic resin-based, and in many cases also pre-coloured or ready-mixed in a tub. Outdoors, spachtelputz is widely used as a top coat on external wall insulation; indoors it is a hard-wearing wall finish for hallways, stairwells and living rooms.
Comparison: what does the choice mean in practice?
| Feature | Smooth plaster | Spack | Decorative plaster (general) | Spachtelputz |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appearance | Crisp, flat, neutral; painted with emulsion or wallpapered | Fine grain, soft relief, white straight away | Visible texture, depending on technique | Even grained texture, fine to coarse |
| Application | By hand, several coats | Machine-sprayed | By hand, finished with a float or roller | By hand, rubbed with a float |
| Substrate requirements | High: irregularities remain visible; often a scratch coat first | Low to medium: camouflages small defects, but not cracks | Medium: substrate must be flat and sound | Medium: coarse grain hides more than fine grain |
| Drying time (indicative) | Longest; rule of thumb about one day per millimetre of thickness before you paint | Short; usually habitable again within one or two days | Medium; a few days, depending on thickness and ventilation | Medium; a few days |
| Maintenance | Easy: the paint layer determines how washable it is | Not or only partly washable; dust stays in the grain | Can be wiped with a damp cloth, depending on the binder | Easy to wipe; synthetic resin variants hard-wearing |
| Repair | Good: patch up and repaint | Hard to touch up invisibly; often the whole ceiling is resprayed | Difficult: texture and colour often remain visible | Difficult: grain and rubbing direction must match |
| Wet rooms | Only outside the splash zone, or with special bathroom plaster | Not standard spack; only special moisture-resistant variants | Depends on the binder; never in the shower corner | Synthetic resin variant possible outside the splash zone; tiles in the splash zone |
| Tradesperson | Plasterer | Sprayer (spack spraying company) or plasterer with spraying equipment | Plasterer | Plasterer |
The drying times in the table are indications. How quickly a plaster dries depends on the thickness of the layer, the temperature, the humidity and above all the ventilation. A plasterer who says the gypsum layer should not be painted after a week is usually not slow but careful: painting too early traps moisture and leads to discoloration or peeling paint later on. How the plasterer fits into the schedule of a larger renovation is explained in How long does a renovation take: lead times per job.
Substrate: where the real work lies
With all four finishes, most of the risk lies not in the top layer but in the substrate. Old wallpaper, loose paint, salt efflorescence, cracks and damp must be dealt with first; otherwise the new layer comes loose within a few months or cracks show through again. A good plasterer or sprayer therefore starts by assessing the substrate and includes the preparation (cleaning, priming, raking out and reinforcing cracks, applying a scratch coat) as a separate item in the quote. If the wall is damp, plastering makes no sense until the cause has been removed. How to recognise a damp problem and which tradesperson goes with it is explained in Recognising damp and mould in the home.
Spack is the most forgiving in this respect: the grain camouflages small pits and slight irregularities, which explains why it is used so much on new-build ceilings. But spack does not hide cracks or wavy walls, and a poorly prepared substrate will show through a sprayed layer too, especially in raking light. Smooth plaster demands the most: on an uneven wall a scratch coat must go on first before the smooth finishing coat can follow, and that doubles both the labour and the drying time.
Wet rooms: what tolerates moisture and what does not
Gypsum plaster, the basis of most smooth interior plasterwork, is sensitive to prolonged moisture: it softens, loses its strength and comes loose. In a bathroom, smooth gypsum plaster is therefore only an option outside the direct splash zone, so not in the shower corner and not around the bath, and preferably with a cement- or lime-based plaster made specifically for wet rooms. In the splash zone itself, tiles or a seamless, waterproof finish remain the norm. Spack is not moisture-resistant as standard; manufacturers do supply special bathroom variants, but those too require a well-ventilated room. Decorative plasters and spachtelputz based on synthetic resin tolerate moisture better than mineral variants and can be wiped clean, but they do not belong in a shower cubicle either.
Whichever finish you choose: in a wet room, the ventilation determines whether the plaster holds up. A bathroom in which high humidity lingers for hours after showering will eventually get mould on any finish. A working extractor fan that keeps running for an hour after showering is the cheapest protection for your plasterwork.
VAT: 9% for plastering, and what about spray work?
For homes older than two years, the reduced VAT rate of 9% applies to plastering. According to the Belastingdienst (the Dutch Tax Administration), this covers not only the labour, but also preparing the plasterwork, the pre-treatments and the materials used. The same applies to painting. Work that, according to the Belastingdienst, is too far removed from plastering remains at 21%: installing plasterboard walls, fixing wall tiles and laying floors. So if a plasterer first installs a plasterboard lining wall and then plasters it, the invoice should be split.
Decorative plaster and spachtelputz are simply plasterwork and fall under the same rule for a home older than two years. With spack it is a little more subtle. The Belastingdienst does not mention spray work separately; in practice the industry treats spack as plastering or painting work and invoices it at 9% for homes older than two years, but you would do well to ask the sprayer which rate they apply and why. For new builds and for a home less than two years old it is always 21%. How the two-year threshold is determined and what a split invoice should look like is explained in 9% or 21% VAT on renovations.
Which tradesperson do you call?
- Plasterer: for smooth plaster, scratch coats, decorative plaster and spachtelputz, for repairing cracks and damaged plasterwork and for assessing the substrate. A plasterer who is a member of the trade association NOA works with the general consumer terms and conditions for the finishing trades and offers an accessible route via the Geschillencommissie (the Dutch Disputes Committee) in case of a dispute.
- Sprayer or spack spraying company: for spack on ceilings and walls, often in a whole home at once, and for latex spray work. Many plastering companies have their own spraying equipment; ask about it, because then you can have smooth work and spray work done by one firm.
- Painter: as soon as the plaster layer is on and dry. A painter paints smooth walls with emulsion, coats ceilings in latex and advises on washable paint systems for the kitchen and bathroom. A painter will repair small spots in plasterwork, but larger repairs are a job for the plasterer.
Finally, two practical tips. Have the finish set out in the quote using the terms the tradesperson uses themselves (sausklaar, behangklaar, grain size, fine or coarse spack), so you have something to fall back on at handover. And for spack or decorative plaster, ask for a test patch on your own wall in advance: texture and grain look different on a sample in the showroom than on a four-metre wall in raking light. If you take the substrate seriously and choose the finish based on the function of the room, you will enjoy it the longest.