New Plaster: It's All Falling Apart...!

Netto · 1 May 2007

I did a plaster skim in my spare bedroom the other week. Backing surface is OLD plasterboard - this was scaped of all old wall paper and residues etc, then sealed twice with a watery PVA, then a thicker PVA. As ever, I waited for the second coat of PVA to get 'sticky' before skimming. Plaster went on well (was in date too), and I left it to dry for about a week.

Now, I primed the walls today (watered down emulsion) and it all went well, until I got to the final wall...as I worked accross it, cracks started forming in the plaster, and it bubbled up - so I thought I'd see how bad it was, and the end result is most of that one wall is now back on the floor in a crumbly pile...! Nice....

I have done lots of plastering before, but this is the first time this has EVER happened to me! I suspect it may be the result of high background suction, and the PVA seal drying out too quickly, therefore drying out theplaster too quickly and killing any adhesion...

What do you guys think!? Obviously, I now need to re-skim this wall, but do not want the same thing to happen again!!

cheers!

gcol · 1 May 2007

I think you should ask the mods to move this to the building section - that seems to be where the plasterer types hang out.

+++++++++++++
Done that, and added the word "Plaster" in the title to give them a clue what it's about.

M R
++++++++++++

Netto · 1 May 2007

gcol said:
I think you should ask the mods to move this to the building section - that seems to be where the plasterer types hang out.

+++++++++++++
Done that, and added the word "Plaster" in the title to give them a clue what it's about.

M R
++++++++++++

Cheers MR ... I was trying to be mysterious tho, it draws more punters in...

Nige F · 1 May 2007

not an expert, but did you use new (fresh) multi finish?.......if you did then I haven`t a clue

Netto · 2 May 2007

Wowsers, this must have foxed a lot of people...

Well, I put an undiluted coat of PVA on first, followed by a 2:1, then a 5:1, and touch wood all is now ok ... I guess this wall just needed a lot of PVA!!

Will update when the paint goes on...

coltmanneil · 2 May 2007

I have similar snags to our friend in the above thread.I have just had every wall in the house skimmed ,we started with a bedroom and the stairs and landing using board finish.No cracks have showed here.I was then asked off my Plasterer to buy multi finish to do my living room and dining area.Every wall now has cracks.He did say our lass had ,had the heating on and it had dried to quick,but the dining area has no heating in it.Any ideas as I am a elecky.I am hoping the paint will cover the thin cracks or thats a lot of skimming down the swany.

Cheers

Neil

Nige F · 3 May 2007

a multi/board finish debate is lurking

....what about an estate of houses built in late50`s where many houses have the plaster coming off the ceiling boards in sheets and the skim coming off the walls leaving a surface like pumice stone....still stuck to the render underneath

I unwittingly bought one

but my son`s a plasterer

his Father in Law`s been plastering for 40 years before retiring ........and he don`t know what could cause it

Softus · 3 May 2007

Rather than repeatedly delete what I'm writing here, you might as well just delete the entire post.

operarius · 20 May 2007

When I was a kid and we had moved into a new house we couldn't decorate for at least a year until the plaster on the walls had dried out. That was the standard then, since they reckoned that a standard 3-layers of plaster over bricks took that length of time to lose all its water.

How long had your plaster been drying before it was wetted again?

fitz1 · 21 May 2007

it takes 26 years for plaster to lose all its water.it then needs replastering.re skim the wall with board finish , it has better adhesion qualities.

Softus · 21 May 2007

fitz1 said:
it takes 26 years for plaster to lose all its water.

Surely this can't apply universally, i.e to all plaster on all walls in all conditions on all substrates on all houses in the land?

Nige F · 24 May 2007

and with our cat scent marking it ........I`ll never be free........arghhh

I`m selling up

andrewpartridge · 28 May 2008

i have only had a lot of cracks once in a ceiling i have plastered and thankfully it was mine, the room was too hot and dried out too quick, if a wall is sealed properly with pva you must make sure it is not too strong a mix as you will find you can peel the pva off like a layer of skin, it is not the case of the stronger the better as it doesnt soak in. Then put a tacky coat of pva on that is a stronger mix and skim while it is still tacky.
good luck
Andy

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New Plaster: It's All Falling Apart...!

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