I an currently renovating a 1930's detached house which has damp issues due to the heating being disconnected for about 6 years. We have been drying the house out by keeping the radiators on and on dry days the windows open.
The external rendering was in a fair condition but had a lot of hairline cracks. I tapped the render all around and none of it was blown. I decided to get a decorator in to repair and paint the walls. His solution was to skim the walls and then paint with weathershield paint.
After about a week he had finished the job and to be honest I am very dissapointed with his finish which he thinks is good. After a few dissagreements I gave up and just wanted him to go away.
I did notice he was mixing Touprelith F exterior filler with Tetrion All Purpose filler and using that to skim the walls. When I questioned him about this he said in his experience this was a better mix and stopped the walls from cracking. The problem was when he was sanding down the walls, scratches were being created where the course particles created grooves in the fine filler.
I called the manufacturer and they said he shouldn't be mixing their products with other products and that he should have been using Toupret's Planirex exterior skim. I spoke to my decorator about this but didn't get anywhere. He just made every excuse under the sun and even said Toupret didn't know what they were talking about. He had done most of the house already so I just let him get on. I would normaly have asked him to get off site but needed to get the job done for a mortgage revaluation in a few weeks time.
Now 2 weeks later the paint and skim is starting to bubble in certain places. I contacted him and he came up with the excuse the walls are still too damp and is causing the bubbling. He gave me the impression the walls would still be able to dry out with the skim coat as it was porous and the paint was breathable.
I think it comes down to the fact he was mixing 2 different products, not prepping the walls properaly and maybe skimming damp walls wasn't a good option. Please have a look at the pictures and tell me what I should do. He suggested we let the walls dry out a bit more which I do agree. I am expecting him to come back at a later date to repair. What's your opinions please.
The external rendering was in a fair condition but had a lot of hairline cracks. I tapped the render all around and none of it was blown. I decided to get a decorator in to repair and paint the walls. His solution was to skim the walls and then paint with weathershield paint.
After about a week he had finished the job and to be honest I am very dissapointed with his finish which he thinks is good. After a few dissagreements I gave up and just wanted him to go away.
I did notice he was mixing Touprelith F exterior filler with Tetrion All Purpose filler and using that to skim the walls. When I questioned him about this he said in his experience this was a better mix and stopped the walls from cracking. The problem was when he was sanding down the walls, scratches were being created where the course particles created grooves in the fine filler.
I called the manufacturer and they said he shouldn't be mixing their products with other products and that he should have been using Toupret's Planirex exterior skim. I spoke to my decorator about this but didn't get anywhere. He just made every excuse under the sun and even said Toupret didn't know what they were talking about. He had done most of the house already so I just let him get on. I would normaly have asked him to get off site but needed to get the job done for a mortgage revaluation in a few weeks time.
Now 2 weeks later the paint and skim is starting to bubble in certain places. I contacted him and he came up with the excuse the walls are still too damp and is causing the bubbling. He gave me the impression the walls would still be able to dry out with the skim coat as it was porous and the paint was breathable.
I think it comes down to the fact he was mixing 2 different products, not prepping the walls properaly and maybe skimming damp walls wasn't a good option. Please have a look at the pictures and tell me what I should do. He suggested we let the walls dry out a bit more which I do agree. I am expecting him to come back at a later date to repair. What's your opinions please.
