Looking for some advice as I'm stuck between two workmen confidently telling me opposite things.
I'm have an in-the-wall electric fire installed in the chimney breast. I have my own guy that is going to board and skim the whole chimney breast once it's in situ. The shop-supplied fitters have knocked out the hole and wired the fire in, and they've left instructions for the plasterer to board up to the edge of the fire (line A on the attached photo) and then apply skim directly to the metal up to the window (line B). The fitters will then return to fit granite slips around the fire.
The plasterer, who is very good at his job, has point blank refused for the following reasons:
1 - plaster won't key to metal
2 - the water in the plaster will eventually rust the metal.
3 - with a poor fix between the plaster and the metal, the granite slips will eventually fail
4 - to get the perfectly flat finish the fitters have requester, the plasterer will have to apply pressure which will push wet plaster in between gaps in the metal panels of the fire directly into the electricals
5 - as the metal is an electric fire, the constant expansion and contraction will inevitably cause cracking down the road.
The fitters, meanwhile, work on behalf of a reputable small company with many good reviews. They assure me that this is the way they do things and they never have any problems.
My concern is that if I ask the plasterer to do what they ask, against his better judgement, and six months down the line the wall cracks/fails, the fitters will say it's the plasterers fault, and vice versa.
Thoughts?
I'm have an in-the-wall electric fire installed in the chimney breast. I have my own guy that is going to board and skim the whole chimney breast once it's in situ. The shop-supplied fitters have knocked out the hole and wired the fire in, and they've left instructions for the plasterer to board up to the edge of the fire (line A on the attached photo) and then apply skim directly to the metal up to the window (line B). The fitters will then return to fit granite slips around the fire.
The plasterer, who is very good at his job, has point blank refused for the following reasons:
1 - plaster won't key to metal
2 - the water in the plaster will eventually rust the metal.
3 - with a poor fix between the plaster and the metal, the granite slips will eventually fail
4 - to get the perfectly flat finish the fitters have requester, the plasterer will have to apply pressure which will push wet plaster in between gaps in the metal panels of the fire directly into the electricals
5 - as the metal is an electric fire, the constant expansion and contraction will inevitably cause cracking down the road.
The fitters, meanwhile, work on behalf of a reputable small company with many good reviews. They assure me that this is the way they do things and they never have any problems.
My concern is that if I ask the plasterer to do what they ask, against his better judgement, and six months down the line the wall cracks/fails, the fitters will say it's the plasterers fault, and vice versa.
Thoughts?
