Using and setting ground for float & set

[bsr]

Hello

This will be my first time floating a big chunk of wall (4m2), as opposed to filling in chases or patches. I need to set grounds on the bare blockwork.

1. What do you use for grounds? Is this stuff about right?
https://www.diy.com/departments/smooth-square-edge-pine-stripwood-l-2-4m-w-36mm-t-6mm/1793527_BQ.prd

2. Is it better to set the grounds left and right, or top and bottom?

3. How do you set them - is it in blobs of hardwall, the same way as setting skim beads?

Thank you for the novice questions!

 

[roughcaster]

Is there a "ground", (piece of timber), running along the length of the bottom of the wall for fixing the skirting board to?

 

[bsr]

Nope, no grounds. I just infilled a doorway.

There is plaster for the top 4 inches above the old doorframe so I could set plumb from that.

 

[darrington]

Nope, no grounds. I just infilled a doorway.

There is plaster for the top 4 inches above the old doorframe so I could set plumb from that.

Perfect, that's all you need. Just bed each timber "dot" into a blob of plaster, plumb it up to the plastered area above then tidy up around each dot. It's alway better to remove these dots, as soon as the wall has been filled out/coated with Bonding. Once you've coated the wall and removed the "dots", it's ready for the multi finish. I would also put PVA onto the strip of original strip of plaster, and skim over that with the rest of the wall.

 

[darrington]

When you remove the "dots, just remove the strips of wood, NOT the "blob" of plaster. Just fill in the area where the wood was, fill it out flush, with any Bonding coat you have left from coating out the wall.

 

[bsr]

Great, thank you. I'll give it a go. I won't be skimming as I can't get a decent finish (I will wait until lockdown finishes and get a pro in for that).

 

[NickB_99]

Don’t know if you’ve done the job yet, but I found to get the dots out, it was useful to cut round them with a Stanley knife first, helping to ease them away from the ‘blob’ of plaster they were sat on.
It makes a bit of a mess to get them out whilst the bonding is still wet, but it could be tidied later no problem, before skimming.

 

[roughcaster]

Everytime I use dots on a wall, once the screeds and the levels are formed using a straight edge, I always remove them whilst the undercoat plaster is still wet. That way, there's no need to fill anything in after the Bonding or render has set. The very same applies when setting levels for screeding floors etc.

 

[bsr]

I did it yesterday. I wetted the turbos down with a water spray. The first side I did is fine. The second side I mixed up a bit wetter. It has cracks. It seems to be well stuck to the wall. It's also gone white already (less than 24 hours).

Is it worth me misting it or anything like that?

 

[Alastairreid]

Turbos, like that word. Just leave as is and your plasterer will prep and skim.

 

[bsr]

Thanks. I was concerned that drying too fast and cracking might mean it would fall off. So far it's OK