Browning cracking

[CortinaV8]

Hello,

Just a quick question, I suspect I am doing something daft.

I've got quite a few holes in the plaster in a room I am working on, I removed all the loose stuff back to the brickwork, I PVA'd the brickwork then applied the browning, however the browning has crazed in places.

I'm just wondering why, i've used it before and not had the same issues, although i've never done such a large area before. I filled the patch in one go with the browning, the plaster wasnt really thick enough to be able to apply it in two coats.

It seems to be strong enough, but if its not right I would rather redo it.

 

[Alastairreid]

sounds as though its dried out too quickly, maybe you didnt seal it well enough.

 

[CortinaV8]

I did wonder, but the wall was pretty damp and well coated.

Is this an issue with regards to the finishing coat? i.e should I attempt to remove it and ty again, or if its solid enough just leave it?

 

[Richard C]

Either you put it on too thick in one hit or, as Alistair says, too much suction; you need to give the wall a good soak first, particularly if it’s highly absorbent blocks. If it’s stuck on there pretty well & just crazed you will probably be OK to skim over it but if any of it sounds hollow when tapped, I wouldn’t risk it. It will suck like hell if you’ve let it dry out though so you need to seal it well or you’ll have the same problem with the skim; always best to base & skim the same day if you can.

I never use Browning; on new block walls I will use either a render base or Hardwall, it’s good to use but more expensive than render so it depends how much I have to do. On old walls where the condition is not so good, I prefer to use Bonding to help bind it all together but it’s primarily for low suction backgrounds so it needs a PVA sealer coat the day before, preferably 24 hours or, again you’ll have suction problems; give it a double dose of PVA just before skimming.

 

[CortinaV8]

Cheers for the advice, I think i may have not put enough PVA on the wall prior to browning.

The wall in questions is a 1930's brick wall, the biggest hole is probably a metre across.

I know what you mean about the doing it all in one hit, however my mate is doing the plastering for me and asked if I would do all the boarding, repair, scrimming and cornerbeads before he does the scim.

As I said weve worked under this arrangement before and i've never had an issue with the browning, I can only assume I didnt PVA the surface well enough.