Not a DIY disaster, but a disaster-ish mess uncovered by DIY

[ban-all-sheds]

The plumber is due next week to install a new bathroom.

The living room is full of bath, WC, tiles, furniture etc.

Part of the plan involved me doing stuff beforehand rather than paying the plumber to do unskilled tasks, like hacking off old tiles.

So there I was, doing that last night, and I found that a stud wall which had formed one part of the airing cupboard was basically being held together by the old tiles.

The builder of this house, let's call him Jerry, used bricks on their sides to cut down on materials, all the mortar has come loose, there is a good 15-20mm of very soft plaster (plus, of course the depth of the frogs) applied to the face of the wall, and it's all a pile of poo.

Not a big job to rebuild - probably only a couple of hours from start to finish for a skilled brickie, but it's probably going to mess up the schedule.

 

[2scoops0406]

Do you need to re-brick it up. Couldn't you re stud it if necessary, and then use something like aqua panel ? Sorry, I don't think it's called aqua panel, but it is basically a bit like plaster board, but made of concrete, and waterproof. They sell it in Wickes.

 

[AdamW]

Do you need to re-brick it up. Couldn't you re stud it if necessary, and then use something like aqua panel ? Sorry, I don't think it's called aqua panel, but it is basically a bit like plaster board, but made of concrete, and waterproof. They sell it in Wickes.

Yes, Wickes Aquapanel is rebranded Knauf cement board. £11 for a 1200x900 sheet if I recall. Smells really nice too. I would recommend getting someone to help you fit it, I did mine by myself but it is too heavy to sensibly lift up and screw in place by yourself.

As you are a spark I hope there is a recessed TV being fitted into the shower and one in front of the throne!

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Well - it's a non-load bearing wall, floor-to ceiling (resting on the floorboards, and not, AFAICT, keyed into the wall it joins), so it wouldn't be rocket science to rebuild it like that. I doubt I'd even need aquapanel, as it'll be completely tiled on the outside (it's purpose is to form one wall of a built-in cupboard), and won't be getting sprayed.

I'm just not sure I've got the time to do it....

In fact, it may not need a 100% rebuild - oddly, it's only the lower part of the wall which is like this - some of the bricks in the bottom metre or so are loose. Again though, it'll b*gger up the schedule - I guess? - How long would we need to wait for the mortar to go off before we could have the plastering done?

I'm going to try and get the plasterer to come in asap and look at the walls, as I've now found others, which although sound (so far ) have been built with the bricks on their side, and which currently have the frogs full of browning which you can pull out with your fingers. If that lot needs rendering with mortar first, then the simplest thing may be to get him to re-fix the loose bricks.

Why didn't I think to remove the tiles weeks ahead of time??

 

[AdamW]

If you were to replace the brick wall with a stud wall, then you wouldn't need it plastered or rendered before tiling, which would be a saving if that was all you were having the plasterer do.

 

[masona]

Can this airing cupboard wall wait until the bathroom finish ? If not a timber stud wall would be much quicker as mention.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Thanks for all the interest!

Sadly, it can't wait, as it needs to be tiled - this should show the general situation:

This one shows which are the loose bricks:

If that was all the plasterer was needed for, I would indeed get busy with timber and board. Sadly the next post of mine, due in the Building Forum soon, (now done - //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17386 ) will show that a number of the walls will need some attention....

 

[2scoops0406]

Obviously depends on how much time you have but I reckon you could have all that out, studded and boarded in less than half a day.

 

[TexMex]

Bas, I can't see your images (darkernet seems to be down at the moment), but when bricks are laid on their side, as you describe, it's usually down to size constraint (ie. only 3 inches thick instead of 4). This was probably done to maximise your cupboard space. (not as a penny pinching exercise). You could opt for 75mm blocks to rebuild. This would maintain the original wall thickness.

Guessing that the cupboard, is about the width of the bath, you'd probably get this up and rendered in less than half a day. As a matter of personal choice, this is probably the way, I'd go (simply because I prefer the solid feel you get from masonary). But you'd probably be looking at about a fortnight before you could tile it

So time being of the essence, stud/plasterboard is probably your only option.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Bas, I can't see your images (darkernet seems to be down at the moment),

Up again now...

but when bricks are laid on their side, as you describe, it's usually down to size constraint (ie. only 3 inches thick instead of 4). This was probably done to maximise your cupboard space. (not as a penny pinching exercise).

I've found other internal walls like that, so I'm sticking to my theory...

You could opt for 75mm blocks to rebuild. This would maintain the original wall thickness.

Guessing that the cupboard, is about the width of the bath, you'd probably get this up and rendered in less than half a day. As a matter of personal choice, this is probably the way, I'd go (simply because I prefer the solid feel you get from masonary). But you'd probably be looking at about a fortnight before you could tile it

So time being of the essence, stud/plasterboard is probably your only option.

Thanks for the cheering thought.....

 

[masona]

A lot depends of the availability of a plasterer which isn't easy these days. The ideal solution would be sand & cement which will strengthen the wall and finish off with top coat of plaster. I has the same problem as you with the bathroom being constant in demand, I ended up doing dots & dabs 9mm plasterboards, a nice warm flat wall ready for tiling in less than 2hrs! You may need to put a rebate beading on the door frame to allow for the thickness of the plasterboard unless you take off the plaster.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

The plumber who will also be doing the tiling, and who has organised and knows the plasterer, is coming for a shuftie this evening, so I guess we'll have a plan.....

 

[pipme]

A lot depends of the availability of a plasterer which isn't easy these days. The ideal solution would be sand & cement which will strengthen the wall and finish off with top coat of plaster. I has the same problem as you with the bathroom being constant in demand, I ended up doing dots & dabs 9mm plasterboards, a nice warm flat wall ready for tiling in less than 2hrs! You may need to put a rebate beading on the door frame to allow for the thickness of the plasterboard unless you take off the plaster.

Warm wall is a bonus... And when time comes to replace .... just tear it down, rather than trying to protect the base while removing tiles.
P

 

[planenut]

I reckon you could have all that out, studded and boarded in less than half a day.

Wow, what a worker, your diary must have filled up with jobs on this comment.

Ban-all...... i'd go along with the dab and slap theory, but just architrave the door-way.....Good luck

 

[pipme]

I reckon you could have all that out, studded and boarded in less than half a day.

Wow, what a worker, your diary must have filled up with jobs on this comment.

Ban-all...... i'd go along with the dab and slap theory, but just architrave the door-way.....Good luck

Edward did strike his head, hard, on a boiler .. not so long ago ........