Hi,

I've removed the skirting board and a radiator in my lounge.

Behind the skirting is just bare brick and behind the radiator was
plaster but the whole lot fell off so there is now bare brick here too.
The walls are to be skimmed in a few weeks time but I'd like to cover
the brickwork up now. The depth to bring in line with the existing
plaster is about 10-15mm.

Would it be OK to fasten plasterboard to the brickwork? The reason I'd
like to do this is that when the new skirting board is fitted it should
have a nice, flat surface to attach to so would be easier to install
and would be a better finish. I'm concerned though that when it is
skimmed the plaster will react differently to the original plaster and
the plasterboard and that this may cause cracking.

Also, has anyone any ideas on the reason for the plaster blowing behing
the radiator? I'd expect it's just because of the age and the heat it's
had from the radiator but if anyone knows of anything else which may
have caused it I'd be eager to know.

Thanks,
Matt

Buy a bag of bonding plaster about 6GBP and have a go yourself. Leave it
down about 3mm for the skim and run it down below the top of the skirting.
It's really not that difficult as the plaster wants to stick to the wall and
smooth itself out without too much input from you.
The plaster has come away because of the weak bond it has to the substrate
and also some very minor movement in the walls, nothing to be alarmed at.
The purchase of a float would perhaps be worthwhile as if this plaster has
blown then there is probably plenty more of the same in your house.
Good luck if you try it ,theres not that much to lose.
"Lunny" wrote in message
ps.com...
Hi,

I've removed the skirting board and a radiator in my lounge.

Behind the skirting is just bare brick and behind the radiator was
plaster but the whole lot fell off so there is now bare brick here too.
The walls are to be skimmed in a few weeks time but I'd like to cover
the brickwork up now. The depth to bring in line with the existing
plaster is about 10-15mm.

Would it be OK to fasten plasterboard to the brickwork? The reason I'd
like to do this is that when the new skirting board is fitted it should
have a nice, flat surface to attach to so would be easier to install
and would be a better finish. I'm concerned though that when it is
skimmed the plaster will react differently to the original plaster and
the plasterboard and that this may cause cracking.

Also, has anyone any ideas on the reason for the plaster blowing behing
the radiator? I'd expect it's just because of the age and the heat it's
had from the radiator but if anyone knows of anything else which may
have caused it I'd be eager to know.

Thanks,
Matt

Dr Wu wrote:
Buy a bag of bonding plaster about 6GBP and have a go yourself. Leave
it down about 3mm for the skim and run it down below the top of the
skirting. It's really not that difficult as the plaster wants to
stick to the wall and smooth itself out without too much input from
you.
The plaster has come away because of the weak bond it has to the
substrate and also some very minor movement in the walls, nothing to
be alarmed at. The purchase of a float would perhaps be worthwhile as
if this plaster has blown then there is probably plenty more of the
same in your house.
Good luck if you try it ,theres not that much to lose.
"Lunny" wrote in message
ps.com...

£6.00, thats dear where are you?

£3.75 in my builders yard.

--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

In message om, Lunny
writes
Hi,

I've removed the skirting board and a radiator in my lounge.

Behind the skirting is just bare brick and behind the radiator was
plaster but the whole lot fell off so there is now bare brick here too.
The walls are to be skimmed in a few weeks time but I'd like to cover
the brickwork up now. The depth to bring in line with the existing
plaster is about 10-15mm.

Would it be OK to fasten plasterboard to the brickwork? The reason I'd
like to do this is that when the new skirting board is fitted it should
have a nice, flat surface to attach to so would be easier to install
and would be a better finish. I'm concerned though that when it is
skimmed the plaster will react differently to the original plaster and
the plasterboard and that this may cause cracking.


It's quite likely there will be some cracking at the joins between the
plasterboard and the plaster due to differential movement over time.

not sure about the bit about putting plasterboard along the bottom, if
the walls aren't flat already then the plasterboard will have to follow
the finished surface anyway.

Personally I'd leave it to the plasterer to do. Probably not take very
long or cost much/any more
--
Chris French

On 25 Jan 2006 05:04:29 -0800, "Lunny" wrote:

Hi,

I've removed the skirting board and a radiator in my lounge.

Behind the skirting is just bare brick and behind the radiator was
plaster but the whole lot fell off so there is now bare brick here too.
The walls are to be skimmed in a few weeks time but I'd like to cover
the brickwork up now. The depth to bring in line with the existing
plaster is about 10-15mm.

Would it be OK to fasten plasterboard to the brickwork? The reason I'd
like to do this is that when the new skirting board is fitted it should
have a nice, flat surface to attach to so would be easier to install
and would be a better finish. I'm concerned though that when it is
skimmed the plaster will react differently to the original plaster and
the plasterboard and that this may cause cracking.

Also, has anyone any ideas on the reason for the plaster blowing behing
the radiator? I'd expect it's just because of the age and the heat it's
had from the radiator but if anyone knows of anything else which may
have caused it I'd be eager to know.

Thanks,
Matt
If the plaster is not attached in other places maybe its not worth
skimming over. Does it sound hollow when you rap your knuckles on it?

If its just this one area, phone the plasterer and explain. If you did
a bad job of patching it yourself he'd charge you extra for repairing
your repair.

Cheers for the help. Just got a few questions about your replies....


Dr Wu
----------

"Leave it down about 3mm for the skim and run it down below the top of
the skirting."

Wouldn't I level it up with the existing plaster? The whole lot is to
be skimmed over.




Chis French
-----------------

"not sure about the bit about putting plasterboard along the bottom, if

the walls aren't flat already then the plasterboard will have to follow

the finished surface anyway."

Was thinking that the plasterboard would give a more "forgiving"
surface because of it's rigidity or would the skim be able to sort that
out?


"Personally I'd leave it to the plasterer to do. Probably not take very

long or cost much/any more"

I'd love to but he's weeks away from being able to come round and would
like to cover the exposed brickwork ASAP. Unfortunately the skirting
has had to be removed to level the floor.



Marbles
------------


"I the plaster is not attached in other places maybe its not worth
skimming over. Does it sound hollow when you rap your knuckles on it?"

No all the loose plaster in the area has been removed. The rest of the
wall is sound. There are other areas in the room which are loose but
the plasterer will sort this out. You say it may not be worth skimming
- is the other option to remove all of the plaster and start again?

"If its just this one area, phone the plasterer and explain. If you did

a bad job of patching it yourself he'd charge you extra for repairing
your repair."

It would be easier to get in touch with Elvis! I know the contributors
on here are very helpful and knowledgable so thought I'd check on the
best way to do it on here before starting.

Cheers again,
Lunny



..

marble wrote:
On 25 Jan 2006 05:04:29 -0800, "Lunny" wrote:

Hi,

I've removed the skirting board and a radiator in my lounge.

Behind the skirting is just bare brick and behind the radiator was
plaster but the whole lot fell off so there is now bare brick here too.
The walls are to be skimmed in a few weeks time but I'd like to cover
the brickwork up now. The depth to bring in line with the existing
plaster is about 10-15mm.

Would it be OK to fasten plasterboard to the brickwork? The reason I'd
like to do this is that when the new skirting board is fitted it should
have a nice, flat surface to attach to so would be easier to install
and would be a better finish. I'm concerned though that when it is
skimmed the plaster will react differently to the original plaster and
the plasterboard and that this may cause cracking.

Also, has anyone any ideas on the reason for the plaster blowing behing
the radiator? I'd expect it's just because of the age and the heat it's
had from the radiator but if anyone knows of anything else which may
have caused it I'd be eager to know.

Thanks,
Matt
If the plaster is not attached in other places maybe its not worth
skimming over. Does it sound hollow when you rap your knuckles on it?

If its just this one area, phone the plasterer and explain. If you did
a bad job of patching it yourself he'd charge you extra for repairing
your repair.

There is supposed to be a gap between the floor and the plaster to stop
rising damp. There are bare stones behind my skirting boards. Not sure
if this still holds true with newer houses that have damp proof
courses built in. My house was built around 1900. When I had a couple
of rooms replastered, the plasterer left a reasonable gap between the
floor and the plaster all the way round.

In message .com,
Lunny writes

Cheers for the help. Just got a few questions about your replies....


Personally I think it's better to reply to the original messages, not to
put them all in one message.

"Leave it down about 3mm for the skim and run it down below the top of
the skirting."

Wouldn't I level it up with the existing plaster? The whole lot is to
be skimmed over.


Yes, I think they were thinking you were just talking about skimming the
patched bits.

"not sure about the bit about putting plasterboard along the bottom, if

the walls aren't flat already then the plasterboard will have to follow

the finished surface anyway."

Was thinking that the plasterboard would give a more "forgiving"
surface because of it's rigidity or would the skim be able to sort that
out?

TBH, I'm not sure what you mean here.


"Personally I'd leave it to the plasterer to do. Probably not take very

long or cost much/any more"

I'd love to but he's weeks away from being able to come round and would
like to cover the exposed brickwork ASAP.


shrug Presumably the room is in a bit of a state anyway, can't see
the problem with bit of exposed brickwork myself.


"If its just this one area, phone the plasterer and explain. If you did

a bad job of patching it yourself he'd charge you extra for repairing
your repair."

It would be easier to get in touch with Elvis!


Hmm, I'd be very wary of tradesperson you have difficulty getting hold
of....
--
Chris French

Plasterboard adhesive from B&Q or Wickes is less than £4

I've just done some similar work. Stick bits of plasterboard onto the brickwork, then fill in any gaps. Bring this new plaster up to the SAME LEVEL AS EXISTING (since its best to skim the whole wall anyway).

I've used britich gypsum Multi-finish from B+Q £3.75 to fill bits in. its very strong when set, mixes well, cheap, easy to apply. Only thing with this is that it does shirnk a bit when drying, so if you put it on thick it can crack. BUT this will not effect its strength as it does bond well to plasterboard/brick. (if this concerns you, then use 'browning' plaster)

Buy some PVA glue (general purpose pva will suffice) and water this down a bit and apply to the wall before you start. This will seal in any brick dust and help the plasterboard adhesive (or multifinsh) to set.

The existing plaster on my walls was very absorbsive, so use plenty of water or the plaster will dry too quick and crack.

When the final skim coat of plaster is put on it will dry out different depending on its background.

chris French wrote:
In message .com,
Lunny writes

Cheers for the help. Just got a few questions about your replies....


Personally I think it's better to reply to the original messages, not to
put them all in one message.

Oh. Sorry!


"Leave it down about 3mm for the skim and run it down below the top of
the skirting."

Wouldn't I level it up with the existing plaster? The whole lot is to
be skimmed over.


Yes, I think they were thinking you were just talking about skimming the
patched bits.

"not sure about the bit about putting plasterboard along the bottom, if

the walls aren't flat already then the plasterboard will have to follow

the finished surface anyway."

Was thinking that the plasterboard would give a more "forgiving"
surface because of it's rigidity or would the skim be able to sort that
out?

TBH, I'm not sure what you mean here.


"Personally I'd leave it to the plasterer to do. Probably not take very

long or cost much/any more"

I'd love to but he's weeks away from being able to come round and would
like to cover the exposed brickwork ASAP.


shrug Presumably the room is in a bit of a state anyway, can't see
the problem with bit of exposed brickwork myself.

Me neither, SWMBO won't have any of it though! So the question is "how
do you do this?" and not "would you bother or not?"



"If its just this one area, phone the plasterer and explain. If you did

a bad job of patching it yourself he'd charge you extra for repairing
your repair."

It would be easier to get in touch with Elvis!


Hmm, I'd be very wary of tradesperson you have difficulty getting hold
of....

Thanks.


--
Chris French

There is supposed to be a gap between the floor and the plaster to stop
rising damp. There are bare stones behind my skirting boards. Not sure
if this still holds true with newer houses that have damp proof
courses built in. My house was built around 1900. When I had a couple
of rooms replastered, the plasterer left a reasonable gap between the
floor and the plaster all the way round.


Yeah, It's had a damp proof course but I'll be leaving a bit of a gap
anyway

So can anyone please tell me the best way to do this?

One coat plaster?
Bonding plaster?
Dot and Dab?


Cheers all!
Lunny

Lunny wrote:
There is supposed to be a gap between the floor and the plaster to stop
rising damp. There are bare stones behind my skirting boards. Not sure
if this still holds true with newer houses that have damp proof
courses built in. My house was built around 1900. When I had a couple
of rooms replastered, the plasterer left a reasonable gap between the
floor and the plaster all the way round.


Yeah, It's had a damp proof course but I'll be leaving a bit of a gap
anyway

So can anyone please tell me the best way to do this?

One coat plaster?
Bonding plaster?
Dot and Dab?


Cheers all!
Lunny

Use one coat plaster and it'll be fine. One coat is very flexible,
doesn't shrink like bonding and it sticks really well.

On 26 Jan 2006 07:08:19 -0800, "Lunny" wrote:



There is supposed to be a gap between the floor and the plaster to stop
rising damp. There are bare stones behind my skirting boards. Not sure
if this still holds true with newer houses that have damp proof
courses built in. My house was built around 1900. When I had a couple
of rooms replastered, the plasterer left a reasonable gap between the
floor and the plaster all the way round.


Yeah, It's had a damp proof course but I'll be leaving a bit of a gap
anyway

So can anyone please tell me the best way to do this?

One coat plaster?
Bonding plaster?
Dot and Dab?


Cheers all!
Lunny
Dont dot and dab, because you want a solid wall to re attaching the
radiator if its a heavy one. Maybe you could put a big dollop of
adhesive behind where the brackets will go if you can be sure of that.

Bonding coat is good for repairs because it, err bonds, but it will
not give you a smooth finish if thats important while you await the
plasterer. Even if you decide to use One Coat, I'd still use 2 coats
if its 15mm deep scoring a key on the 1st coat.

Use a straight edge, a piece of straight timber long enough to span
the patch, then using the existing plaster as a guide pull the
straight ege over the patch to make it all level with the old stuff.

I reckon I'll go with the one coat. Cheers to everyone for the advice!

Let us all know how it turns out
"Lunny" wrote in message
oups.com...
I reckon I'll go with the one coat. Cheers to everyone for the advice!