What do you make of this plaster, pics attached...

[Andy.T]

Hi there,

We are going through some works modernising and redecorating our house with a well regarded and generally helpful local building company.

While we were on holiday last week our bedroom was replastered (having been stripped back to the render as the old plaster was quite badly blown).

Having read a bit on here my uneducated guess is that the plastered was either out of date or dried too quickly due to the old, sandy render behind not being PVA'd properly and soaking up the moisture from the plaster too quickly (as it was cold and wet last week so I doubt it was the conditions in the room!).

The builder has agreed to come out and see the problem and chat about it but what do you think we should say/ask to be done?

I'm not really up for getting these cracks just surface sealed as I doubt the integrity of the plaster now and suspect that it might be weaker than if it had been done properly. We are paying (quite a bit) for it to be done properly, sealing these cracks would feel like a bit of a bodge job.

Do you think we should ask for it to be completely stripped off and replastered?

What would you guys do/ask to be done?

Any advice would be very gratefully received!

Cheers,

Andy

P.S. You can click to make the images bigger, these cracks (which don't photograph very well) are all over the wall.

 

[marshman]

wow, someone was caught out, yes its crazing by drying out to quick,
wait till the builder is there then stick a small screw driver in one of the cracks and try to leaver one of the bits out,
if the hole bit flicks off easily then it might be best to have it all chopped off.
what I think will happen is just a small edge will chip meaning the skim is still bonded to the backing and you would be safe
just having it p v a and reskimed.

 

[Andy.T]

Thanks Marsh, I guess we'll see what the builder says. He's seemed very fair and helpful so far so I'd like to think he'll want to do the right thing by us especially as we've loads more work yet to do that we are hoping to be able to use him for.

Cheers,

Andy

 

[Andy.T]

Oh, do you reckon it was lack of PVA on the old render or just a bad batch/bad storage of the plaster mix?

 

[jbonding]

It could be the lack of pva or key, its dried to quick and crazed. I wouldnt have him get the same plasterer back for a start. the fact you had to bring this to the builders attention and the plasterer didnt. Ive plastered walls in the past and sometimes this can happen especially if the sun is shining on the wet plaster. Is this the full wall or is this a foot wide section that you have blown up into a full picture that looks like the full wall?

 

[Andy.T]

Hiya J,

The two photos are just from small sections of one wall but it's like it (to varying degrees) on most parts of the walls that they did.

Interestingly some bits they plastered were on top of new plasterboard and over an old artex ceiling and those are absolutely fine. It's the bits that were on the old, exposed, sandy render that have crazed like this.

As I say I don't think it will be a sun thing as the weather was pretty appalling for the days following the plastering.

Cheers,

Andy

 

[jbonding]

Its definetly a suction problem, and would of shown up before they left. If your paying good money i would expect them to reskim each wall effected, you could get away with patching but its not what you payed for.
Like you say theres plenty of work for them to go at so sorting this out shouldnt be a problem.

 

[Peadee]

It looks as though the walls were not properly bonded before being skimmed. The fact that the boarded walls are OK would appear to back up this theory.
I was doing some work last week and had to keep to the smaller ares of the job for a day and a half due to how warm it was. Not sunny summertime but overcast and muggy. This is still a mare for plasterers cos it's the temp that affects the setting times. Add to that very dry walls that are going to suck the moisture out of the other side of the skim and you have a recipe for disaster. That's why your boarded walls are fine, they haven't sucked the moisture out of the skim at the same time as the atmospheric temp.
Have a word and get it re-done.

 

[Andy.T]

Thanks guys.

So is the consensus to just let them reskim or make them strip it back to the render and do the plastering from scratch?

Or do you think that I should just see (with the builder) how bad it flakes off and decide then?

Cheers,

Andy

 

[jbonding]

A reskim should be sound the suction should be the same for the whole wall now.

 

[Andy.T]

The builder (well owner of the building company) came back today and looked at the walls with the wife and I.

We were all prepared to argue our corner but we really didn't need to, he said straight away that it wasn't right and is getting the plasterers back this week.

We had a go at scraping some of the crazed bits off and it really would not shift, it looks like it's on there for life, just crazed on the surface so they are going to reskim the affected walls.

Thanks for all the advice,

Andy