Wallrock thermal liner - coming off the wall

[KayA]

Hi,
I hired a decorator to hang my wallrock thermal liner kv600. Unfortunately, it did not go so well. Immediately after he left it became obvious that the liner was coming off the wall at almost all of the seams. What's more worrying is that there are very clearly some quite large bubbles underneath the liner as well (many at least 0.5m wide and some at least 1m long as well). It seems that the glue was not applied thickly enough or dried before the liner was stuck to the wall (walls were sized + PVAed before the liner was applied).

The thing has not come off the wall as yet but I am worried that in might in due course - as well as creating cavities for the mold to grow...

Do you have any advice on how to proceed? The decorator has the intention of sticking the seams back on with the left over the glue but I am worried about the bubbles under the liner. Should he strip it all and start from scratch? How would he do that? Any advice appreciated!
Cheers

 

[Bosswhite]

I am guessing that the PVA has sealed the wall, should have left it at just sizing the walls.

 

[misterhelpful]

I've used a lot of this in the past and have to admit that on my first attempt I encountered similar issues.

My problem then was that, as you suggest, I hadn't applied the adhesive thickly enough. It is a bit tricky to get it on as thick as necessary but I find that applying one quick coat to each area with a roller followed by another will build it up sufficiently to get good adhesion. Another problem can be trying to re-position the liner because once it comes into contact with the adhesive it soaks up the moisture which dries it out quickly, causing it to unstick and bubble. I'm not sure if the PVA has caused an issue as I've never applied the liner to it.

Assuming the adhesive has now dried, you might find that pulling the edges back will damage the liner and/or cause bubbles to move further under each piece. Cutting through the bubbles with a knife and trying to apply adhesive into the opening may be an option but, because the liner and adhesive are so thick, it may make a mess of it altogether.
Hopefully your decorator will be able to repair it without stripping it off, as the liner may become to damaged to rehang - the paper facing does crease relatively easily could look bad even when papered over. It will be an expensive mistake if he has to redo it all from scratch so fingers crossed he can salvage the situation.

EDIT:

Just noticed the time of your post - has the issue been solved today?

 

[milky55]

wallrock thermal liner is rubbish had same problems ,ended up ripping it down and had walls re skimmed now they look loads better ...

 

[misterhelpful]

wallrock thermal liner is rubbish had same problems ,ended up ripping it down and had walls re skimmed now they look loads better ...

I disagree with the first part of your statement as I have seen it make a huge difference to houses that were suffering from serious condensation. I will agree that it can be a bit difficult to use and that a skimmed wall will give a better all round finish, but that doesn't solve the problem of cold walls.

 

[emilybronte]

I know another decorator who has used it extensively in his own house and is very impressed with it. It's certainly improved the energy efficency of his very old stone cottage (no cavity walls).

I'll ask him if he has any tips for hanging it.