How to hack off internal render and plaster

[Heather2011]

Hi,

Could anyone shed some lights on how to hack off internal render and plaster?

I'm planning to hack off some damp render in a disused fireplace - see picture. Planning to hack off render inside the greenline and leave the brickwork exposed. I have heard that a chisel drill will do the job but have never done it myself.

Is it something easy to do and straight forward? Any tip to make the job a bit easier?

One other thing I'm not sure is what to do with the corner in between the green line and red line. How can I keep the corner look reasonably ok, e.g. not to damage the render around where the red lines are and leave the finish line as straight as possible? Once I start chiselling the render away, do they tend to crack everywhere? Note that the render is fairly new - only put on about 6 months ago.

Thanks in advance!!

Heather

Untitled

• Heather2011
• 5 Oct 2011
• 1

 

[NickB_99]

Hi,

Could anyone shed some lights on how to hack off internal render and plaster?

I'm planning to hack off some damp render in a disused fireplace - see picture. Planning to hack off render inside the greenline and leave the brickwork exposed. I have heard that a chisel drill will do the job but have never done it myself.

Is it something easy to do and straight forward? Any tip to make the job a bit easier?

Are you sure it's render underneath? The fact you're saying it's damp is a initial concern for me - albeit not your original question!

When I've taken stuff off the walls I've just used a hammer and chisel and tried to prise the plaster away from the wall. Easier if it's a bit loose anyway, which mine was.
I think you wish to leave the brickwork exposed, so you'll need to be careful if you go for power tools, that you don't mess up the bricks.
I think the chisel drill you're referring to is an SDS drill with appropriate bit fitted.
When I took the plaster off my dining room, the brickwork underneath I would not say was presentable - not particularly neat and remnants of plaster etc. May have been possible to clean up with appropriate tools, but not something I tried. You may have to consider your expectations of what you may find.

A few comments to start you off.

 

[Heather2011]

Are you sure it's render underneath? The fact you're saying it's damp is a initial concern for me - albeit not your original question!

Yeah, pretty sure. It's been rerendered twice in the last 5 years, both due to dampness. Which is why I want to leave the brickwork exposed until I'm sure the dampness has been sorted then I can rerender it.

When I've taken stuff off the walls I've just used a hammer and chisel and tried to prise the plaster away from the wall. Easier if it's a bit loose anyway, which mine was.

Yeah, if they're loose then it's alot easier to hack off. My husband tried to hack off some render in the bottom wall a few years ago and I remember it took forever to hammer them off! Will a hammer drill make the job a bit easier?

 

[stevethespreader]

Will a hammer drill make the job a bit easier?

if using an sds drill caution must be used as you could end up with cracks in your plaster where you didn't want cracks,to tell the truth its only a small area and wont take that long with a bolster and chisel, if you want to save the area between the green and red lines you could run a disc cutter around the edge to separate the plaster before you start chipping away, again be careful if there are corner beads there you will want to start cutting a couple of inches from the edge also there will be dust everywhere, once the damp is sorted it will be easy to blend back in

 

[Heather2011]

Thanks Steve, that's really useful tips.

Sounds like a hammer and chisel is probably a safer choice for DIY newbees. We (well...it's probably going to be my hubby) will give it a go.