Next...the Kitchen!!

[sergeantash]

Thanks again John, just a few more questions

Once you have battened the walls you can sheet the walls with ply or OSB before plasterboarding, if you want to do an awesome job you could apply D4 glue to the battens before you nail/screw up the plywood.

I'm confused as to the benefit of sheeting the walls with ply? I prefer the other option that you and Joe suggested, buying some of those polystyrene boards with the foil backing to put between the battens?

I then use low expansion foam to fill the voids.

Expanding foam is a bit too permanent for my liking, particularly if in the future I want to do maintenance work or add sockets, plus it would attach itself to all of the wiring.

Another question with regards to mounting of kitchen cabinets - on one of the walls I'll be hanging cabinets, am I better off on this wall using battens but attaching Concrete Board to the wall to give a stable firm backing? Or alternatively attaching the concrete board directly onto the wall?

Thanks again all for your brilliant advice, I really appreciate it.

 

[charlescaz]

Sorry for the late reply ( work and things ) i prefer rendering then plastering a kitchen (when you go back down to bare brick ) for one main reason , when fitting the kitchen cabinets etc you have a "solid" hold to the wall . For me the batten plasterboard etc is easy great and make "pretty" but with the weight of cabinets etc i do have my doubts as the distance through to get a firm fixing . Call me old school but from experience in fitting many a kitchen i feel the cabinets etc have a solid support this way .

 

[sergeantash]

Sorry for the late reply ( work and things ) i prefer rendering then plastering a kitchen (when you go back down to bare brick ) for one main reason , when fitting the kitchen cabinets etc you have a "solid" hold to the wall . For me the batten plasterboard etc is easy great and make "pretty" but with the weight of cabinets etc i do have my doubts as the distance through to get a firm fixing . Call me old school but from experience in fitting many a kitchen i feel the cabinets etc have a solid support this way .

Thanks Charles, I see your point. I'll try and get some quotes for plastering the kitchen/cabinet side of the room, the rest I could batten I guess.

 

[joe-90]

Cold rendered walls stream with condensation - that's why I suggested insulation.

 

[1john]

Ply or osb on the walls where the kitchen units are going is so you can get a good fixing for all the units.

Low expansion foam is for the void between the battens and the wall, it takes any flex out of the battens beween fixings, NOT for the whole wall!!

 

[sergeantash]

Ply or osb on the walls where the kitchen units are going is so you can get a good fixing for all the units.

Low expansion foam is for the void between the battens and the wall, it takes any flex out of the battens beween fixings, NOT for the whole wall!!

Ahhhhhh ok, that makes sense! Thanks for all the help guys, I'm sure that I'll have more questions but for now everything that you have all provided has been great.

 

[sergeantash]

Few more questions, sorry guys:

1. When attaching the battens to the walls, am I ok to secure them into the morter between bricks or rather into the bricks (red solid Victorian bricks!)?

2. Do I buy 'tapered edge' plasterboard?

3. When mounting the plasterboard sheets, do I butt the tapered ends up as close as I possibly can or is it good to leave a minimal gap?

4. Once all of the plasterboard is up, would the plasterer simply tape the tapered joints and skim just along the lines or would he skim absolutely everything in the room?

5. Is there anything special about external corners? Do I simply butt up the tapered ends and then attach corner beads? Does the plasterer then only need to skim the corners and blend in up to the start of the taper?

Thanks again everyone!

 

[Richard C]

1. When attaching the battens to the walls, am I ok to secure them into the morter between bricks or rather into the bricks (red solid Victorian bricks!)?

As long as the mortar is sound & you use deep enough fixings, that’s fine.

2. Do I buy 'tapered edge' plasterboard?

Square edge if your having plastered, taper edge gives the plasterer more work.

3. When mounting the plasterboard sheets, do I butt the tapered ends up as close as I possibly can or is it good to leave a minimal gap?

but the boards close, no gaps.

4. Once all of the plasterboard is up, would the plasterer simply tape the tapered joints and skim just along the lines or would he skim absolutely everything in the room?

If your having the boards plastered use square edge as above; spread will tape the joints & skim the entire wall.

5. Is there anything special about external corners? Do I simply butt up the tapered ends and then attach corner beads? Does the plasterer then only need to skim the corners and blend in up to the start of the taper?

Overlap the boards at external corners, spread will fix angle bead prior to skimming. Again if you’re having the boards plastered, use square edge boards not tapered.

 

[sergeantash]

1. When attaching the battens to the walls, am I ok to secure them into the morter between bricks or rather into the bricks (red solid Victorian bricks!)?

As long as the mortar is sound & you use deep enough fixings, that’s fine.

2. Do I buy 'tapered edge' plasterboard?

Square edge if your having plastered, taper edge gives the plasterer more work.

3. When mounting the plasterboard sheets, do I butt the tapered ends up as close as I possibly can or is it good to leave a minimal gap?

but the boards close, no gaps.

4. Once all of the plasterboard is up, would the plasterer simply tape the tapered joints and skim just along the lines or would he skim absolutely everything in the room?

If your having the boards plastered use square edge as above; spread will tape the joints & skim the entire wall.

5. Is there anything special about external corners? Do I simply butt up the tapered ends and then attach corner beads? Does the plasterer then only need to skim the corners and blend in up to the start of the taper?

Overlap the boards at external corners, spread will fix angle bead prior to skimming. Again if you’re having the boards plastered, use square edge boards not tapered.

Thanks Richard, so would you have the entire wall plastered it use tapered and just the joins plastered?

 

[Richard C]

I would definitely have the whole lot skimmed; it’ll create less mess, look much better, be easier to decorate & last longer.

I dislike tape & fill even more than my mother-in-law , it’s OK in commercial office blocks as partitioning & show boarding but it has no place in a domestic environment IMO.

 

[sergeantash]

I would definitely have the whole lot skimmed; it’ll create less mess, look much better, be easier to decorate & last longer.

I dislike tape & fill even more than my mother-in-law , it’s OK in commercial office blocks as partitioning & show boarding but it has no place in a domestic environment IMO.

Sounds fair, so would I expect the plasterer to charge far less for a minor skim (using square edge boards butted up tight) than if he were plastering the entire room on top of old plaster? He quoted me £500 to do the entire room over the old plaster with two coats, so for just a light skim could I expect that figure to half?

 

[Richard C]

Sounds fair, so would I expect the plasterer to charge far less for a minor skim (using square edge boards butted up tight) than if he were plastering the entire room on top of old plaster? He quoted me £500 to do the entire room over the old plaster with two coats, so for just a light skim could I expect that figure to half?

Er no, that’s not logical; although skimming over new boards will invariably be easier & sometimes old plaster work needs a bit more prep, the time taken & materials used in the plastering process will be more or less the same for both. For a spread working on their own, (usually the case with this type of work) each skim process will take around 2 hours from start to finish, so an average day would be made up of 4 sets but this can be more than one wall depending on the size of the room. Weather its new boards or old plaster, I would expect to skim an average 12ft x 12ft room with one door, one window reveal & not requiring any major prep work in one day excluding the ceiling. Just a few years ago, £230/day was not uncommon but now even the very best will struggle to get £180/day; do the math!

 

[sergeantash]

Quick question, possibly a silly one...

I'm putting up battens now, the ceiling's are just less than 3m and the only battens I can get locally are 2.4m, so I have centralised the battens vertically (leaving about a foot top/bottom) - does it matter if the battens don't form a sealed frame, i.e. the tops/bottoms of the frame join to the verticals?

My plan is to centralise all the vertical battens vertically - I will then add cross member battens every 500mm but the very top/bottom batten I will have right at the top/bottom so that it gives me a good support when fitting coving, also I'll have a piece of batten directly behind the skirtings.

I've attached a diagram to show what I'll end up with...I'll also pack the gaps between battens with polystyrene insulation...these are external facing walls.

Untitled

• sergeantash
• 31 Jan 2012
• 1

p.s. ignore the grey batten...not sure why it's grey lol!

 

[Richard C]

I always prefer a full base coat & skim rather than plaster boards & I can’t remember all the detail but why are you using battens as opposed to dot & dab? What type of external walls are these, cavity or solid brick? Have you considered using direct fix insulated plasterboard such as “Thermaline”? You can get these with an integral vapor barrier which you will need if the external walls are solid brick.

Not too sure if I’m interpreting your sketch correctly but the battens must fully support the edges of the boards. I’d also fully batten even if it means putting in infill pieces, you can leave small gaps at the top but I wouldn’t leave any at the bottom.

You should also provide support around any light/power sockets, what are you doing about those? If the ceilings are 3m are you going to use full height boards, if not how are you proposing to join them?

 

[sergeantash]

I always prefer a full base coat & skim rather than plaster boards & I can’t remember all the detail but why are you using battens as opposed to dot & dab? What type of external walls are these, cavity or solid brick?

Unfortunately they're non-cavity 1927 brick walls, they're so uneven that dot/dab would be hard work.

Have you considered using direct fix insulated plasterboard such as “Thermaline”? You can get these with an integral vapor barrier which you will need if the external walls are solid brick.

My plan is to put up framing, insulate between the battens using polystyrene insulation, then use thermal lined barrier plasterboard (like this: http://www.wickes.co.uk/vapourshield-plasterboard/invt/220230/)

Not too sure if I’m interpreting your sketch correctly but the battens must fully support the edges of the boards. I’d also fully batten even if it means putting in infill pieces, you can leave small gaps at the top but I wouldn’t leave any at the bottom. You should also provide support around any light/power sockets, what are you doing about those?

Sorry about the diagram, it was only a 5 second job ;o) I'll mount the battens as close to the ends of the wall as I can so that the boards do sit neatly/flat without overhang. I'll also frame around sockets as you suggest.

If the ceilings are 3m are you going to use full height boards, if not how are you proposing to join them?

For the first wall (an inset on one side of the chimney) I was considering using two pieces, starting at the top full width, then attaching the next piece below. My plastered suggested using square edge, butting close together, scrim-taping the joins and then he'll put a skim over both boards. Is that the best approach?

Here's a pic of the first battening that I'll attempt with two verticals in place so far:

Untitled

• sergeantash
• 31 Jan 2012
• 1