Saturated bricks and wet plaster

Hike · 9 Oct 2015

Hi all,

Long story short, I discovered a water pipe leaking during some work I'm doing / having done. The pipe has now been repaired and the wall(s) re-plastered. The plaster however is taking a long time to dry due to the soaking the brick wall must have had. I did try to get as much moisture out of the bricks before plastering by using a dehumidifier etc. I am currently keeping all windows open and I'm using a fan to keep the room well ventilated. Is there anything else I can do to safely speed up the drying of the plaster?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Hike

joe-90 · 9 Oct 2015

Not really.

Hike · 20 Oct 2015

Since my last post, I have noticed salt and staining has started to appear on the surface of the plaster, mainly around were a galvanized steel edge has been used. Will this require the use of a stain blocker or will another product be required due to the salt. Many thanks in advance.

ree · 20 Oct 2015

The leaking pipe could have been leaking into the brickwork for who knows how long?

Saturated brickwork would need all plaster removing back to bare brick.

Any beadings to be removed and replaced with new plastic or SS beads.

Are these angle beads or stop beads?

Post pics - but, typically, if you have re-plastered on a damp wall with gypsum plaster then its going to be a case of hacking off the plaster and beads. And allowing more drying time.

Best remedial practice is to re-plaster with a sand and lime mix at 3:1 or 4:1 when the wall is more dry.

Perhaps you could do well to read up on how to best use a dehumidifier? Maybe u-tube has examples?

There could be other factors but we dont know if the property is rendered, cavity wall or old?

Hike · 21 Oct 2015

Thanks for your reply ree.

The burst pipe was discovered as I was about to start having my kitchen replaced. The wall in question is an outside rendered wall. The old plaster was removed and a dehumidifier set to work. The builder (a plasterer by trade) and his plasterer both felt that the wall was ready to have it's new plaster applied and so that's what they did. The steel edge I referred to are angle beads. This is where the salt has started to come though. The staining around the angle beads could still be damp plaster. There are areas on the wall where the plaster is still very wet. I will attempt to get some pics put up to illustrate the issue. I have just put a dehumidifier back in there today just to try and speed things up. I know it isn't necessarily advisable to do this but I am desperate to complete this job as it is preventing the kitchen from being installed. It's already been over 2 months now.

Thank you again,

Hike

ree · 21 Oct 2015

Can you also post pics of the outside render - full elevation and at ground level?

Is it a cavity wall etc?

What kind of plaster was used?

Do you have a solid floor?

stevethespreader · 21 Oct 2015

ree said:
Can you also post pics of the outside render - full elevation and at ground level?

Is it a cavity wall etc?

What kind of plaster was used?

Do you have a solid floor?

I'll add another question how long ago since it was replastered?

Hike · 21 Oct 2015

Yes I can get those pics taken. It is a solid brick wall. The floor is currently OSB board laying across the joists. It has been about 3 - 4 weeks since it was re-plastered. The plaster they used I believe was Thistle Multi-finish gypsum plaster.

Thank you guys.

stevethespreader · 21 Oct 2015

Hike said:
Yes I can get those pics taken. It is a solid brick wall. The floor is currently OSB board laying across the joists. It has been about 3 - 4 weeks since it was re-plastered. The plaster they used I believe was Thistle Multi-finish gypsum plaster.

Thank you guys.

What was the undercoat?

Hike · 21 Oct 2015

Undercoat? Do you mean what type of plaster was applied first? I'm sorry, I'm not too clued up on plastering. I will find out though.

stevethespreader · 22 Oct 2015

Hike said:
Undercoat? Do you mean what type of plaster was applied first? I'm sorry, I'm not too clued up on plastering. I will find out though.

Yes best undercoat for kitchen is render and even more so as its an outside solid wall, its going to be bad news for you if they have used bonding or another gypsum undercoat , cold solid walls +humid kitchen = condensation= disaster

Hike · 22 Oct 2015

stevethespreader said:
Hike said:

Undercoat? Do you mean what type of plaster was applied first? I'm sorry, I'm not too clued up on plastering. I will find out though.

Click to expand...

Yes best undercoat for kitchen is render and even more so as its an outside solid wall, its going to be bad news for you if they have used bonding or another gypsum undercoat , cold solid walls +humid kitchen = condensation= disaster

I'm almost certain that no render was applied first. If they were to render over the brick work whilst it was still wet, would it not trap the moisture in? Or does it not work like that?

Thank you all for you help so far. This forum is ace!

stevethespreader · 22 Oct 2015

No it wouldent did you know that to render a wall you would give it a good soaking first? Even with bonding you would wet the wall or PVA it , a newly float and set wall can take a while to dry out but I wouldent float and set a damp wall it needs treating first, take the cause of the damp away let it dry out before any work takes place , you have taken away the cause of the damp but if the bricks was still sodden with water it will take ages to dry out tbh if no render was used I would hack the lot off dry the bricks out and float and set with render

Hike · 22 Oct 2015

stevethespreader,

I'm afraid I know nothing about plastering. It's one of those trades that is just best left to the pros imo.

If hacking it all off is what is needed then I will certainly have it done. Would the whole of the wall need rendering first? As in floor to ceiling? Or does it only have to go up to a certain height?

Thanks very much for your help on this guys. I don't know what I'd be doing otherwise.

stevethespreader · 22 Oct 2015

First of all ask the other plasterer what he used , also was it the whole wall that he float and set or was it patch and skim? If its the later you can get away with chopping the patch out and leaving the rest ,so find out what he used where and how much, if he done the whole wall with gypsum because its an outside solid kitchen wall take it off

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Saturated bricks and wet plaster

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