Incompetent Plasterer?

[WaveyDave]

Hello

Just had my house reskimmed internally, and the extension re-rendered with stucco. First attempt at stucco failed when the render blew. Plasterer hacked off, replaced (inc scratch coat). This was 1 month ago, checked yesterday, render has blown again in similar places.

I've phoned the plasterer, he says his van is off the road for a couple of days but he will come and look during the day next weekend.

My big concern now is - is he just a crap plasterer, or is there an excuse for render blowing twice? I know he got caught by some heavy rain downpours when finishing off. Inside, his work seems ok, even though he left one hell of a mess.

My big concern is that we only had the whole extension re-rendered because we blocked up some doors and knocked through a window. We didn't want a patchy appearance, so decided to get the whole thing done. I suspect he's not going to want to redo it all again at his own expense (for the second time), so will suggest hacking off the failed sections and patching He's already been paid, so I can't use that particular motivation!

Can anyone offer any advice/pearls of wisdom?

 

[brist]

Not seen his work he seems like a cowboy ,plastering is a dirty job but if you know what you are doing and keep on top of things there is no way he should have left your house in such a state. give him a threat with the small claims court or most of your money back.

 

[Micilin]

Should not have blown - especially not twice.

Have you checked for "live" areas by knocking on them for a hollow sound?

Patching will not look good.

You could knock off all loose stuff (must be all) , fill these patches out flush and then SBR/OPC slurry, scratch and float again to give even surface.

Outside work is different to internal plastering - I know quite a few lads who can float and set inside but can't render. There is a bit more to it than slapping o a bit of sand and cement, especially if you come across problems with too much suction. This can be a cause of render blowing - eg thermalite blocks suck all the water out of the render , so it dries out quicly but does not set or cure. Dust on the back ground - render sticks to dust but not the wall, PVA or SBR gone over when dry, so acts as a shiny surface that render won't stick to rather than a wet glue.

 

[WaveyDave]

Definitely live areas, that's how I've noticed it, sounds very hollow in several patches. No thermalite, its an old extension built from single brick. Same general area has gone twice now.

Guy is coming Sat, I'm going to try and inisist he does it all again, but I suspect as he was paid in December, he's going to tell me to whistle.

 

[clout stench]

Could be any number of reasons but rendering this time of year isn't ideal. How long did he leave between coats?

Before Saturday ask him what ratio of mix he used for scratch and floating, what additives he used in the mix and how he prepped the area?

With this info we might be able to work out what went wrong and then he might be happy to re-do it!

 

[Micilin]

Might have used too much plas or left it in the mixer too long and killed it.

 

[marshman]

does the plaster come off clean, right back to the brick ?

 

[WaveyDave]

Thanks for the replies.

He came out Friday to have a look, said his son had done it, and he'd "played about with it too much". When he started hacking the hollow spots, he said it was "dusting". He said its only the top, and scratchcoat is fine. He's going to hack out some pieces and cut back to a window on another section. He's assured me I won't see the joins by the time its painted....

 

[clout stench]

any chance of posting some pics. I'd like to see his work!!!

good luck