Builder plastering over old plaster - smooth down or re-skim?

[Daniel Betts]

I would like to tap into your collective knowledge to find out if my builder is doing the correct job and not cutting corners.

We have a builder in who is replastering one of our bedrooms. We have taken the wallpaper of the walls and stripped it back to the old plaster, a lot of which was coming off. So far I think builder has done a great job. He’s taken off as much of the old plaster that would come off, leaving patches of plaster on the wall. Where there has been patches of exposed brick he's added wall hardener and then plastered over that, skimming up to the old plaster that’s still on the wall, leaving the wall flat, but not totally smooth, as you can feel where it meets the old plaster.

I asked when he’s going to do the final skim. but he said he's not as he can’t plaster over the over plaster that’s still on the wall. Instead he says he’s going to give it a white wash, see where there are imperfections and then smooth/sand it down. Is this a standard, proven method that will produce a perfectly smooth wall or am I being fobbed off?

Please let me know if I can provide more info.

Many thanks

 

[JessThePlasterer]

That's weird. Can you post pics? Just sounds like he's not going to skim it because he can't plaster to me! It's always the better job to re skim. The only reason really that you couldn't skim over existing plaster would be because it's blown or damp issues. If all the plaster was too old and blown to be re-skimmed you'd hack it all off and dry-line or float ready to skim. Sounds like he's used bonding to plaster the bits back to brick and thinks he can sand this down?!!

 

[Stevieo]

I would like to tap into your collective knowledge to find out if my builder is doing the correct job and not cutting corners.

We have a builder in who is replastering one of our bedrooms. We have taken the wallpaper of the walls and stripped it back to the old plaster, a lot of which was coming off. So far I think builder has done a great job. He’s taken off as much of the old plaster that would come off, leaving patches of plaster on the wall. Where there has been patches of exposed brick he's added wall hardener and then plastered over that, skimming up to the old plaster that’s still on the wall, leaving the wall flat, but not totally smooth, as you can feel where it meets the old plaster.

I asked when he’s going to do the final skim. but he said he's not as he can’t plaster over the over plaster that’s still on the wall. Instead he says he’s going to give it a white wash, see where there are imperfections and then smooth/sand it down. Is this a standard, proven method that will produce a perfectly smooth wall or am I being fobbed off?

Please let me know if I can provide more info.

Many thanks

It would help if there were universal meanings for words like 'plaster'.

Do you mean that he's used sand and cement to come flush with the existing finished 'plaster' that he didn't knock off?

From what you say, I can't think of a reason why the old 'plaster' can't be gone over. Or if there is one, why he couldn't go back to the brick and do it again.

 

[Lastlaff]

Post some photos - this always helps

 

[Nicm]

Two sides to every story.Was a reskim in the deal or making good?.Pictures would indeed help.

 

[superspread]

It sounds like he's capable of doing patch repairs ( although by the sound of it he's not) but not capable of resetting the whole wall and gonna rely on a bit of filling and sanding. Not ideal really

 

[Stevieo]

It sounds like he's capable of doing patch repairs ( although by the sound of it he's not) but not capable of resetting the whole wall and gonna rely on a bit of filling and sanding. Not ideal really

Dunno about anyone else, but I find patching harder than just doing the fcuking thing again and having done with it.

 

[superspread]

Dunno about anyone else, but I find patching harder than just doing the fcuking thing again and having done with it.

He's someone who thinks he can do plastering , thinks he can handle an 18 inch sq patch but not a whole wall

 

[algeeman]

Dunno about anyone else, but I find patching harder than just doing the fcuking thing again and having done with it.

i find it hard waking up in the mornings.........usually because im horny.

 

[ChrispyUK]

i find it hard waking up in the mornings.........usually because im horny.

Me too algeemate, I feel f**k*d in the mornings

 

[Daniel Betts]

Thank you for your replies. it's appreciated. He has taken the vast majority of the old plaster off and the stuff he's left on seems totally solid. We are doing it on a bit of a budget (but not crazy tight) so can understand him wanted to keep any solid plaster that is there.

In some parts, when I've ran my finger over it, I can't tell where the plaster blend is, and he's basically plastered two walls and they look good to me, hence my confusion at his reluctance to skim a small area between the windows! I was pretty sure it's possible to skim over old paster, I just wasn't sure of the method exactly but pva seems to be the general MO so thanks for that.

My other concern is the ceiling. I've attached some pictures. Previously there were some horrid
polystyrene tiles attached. They've been removed to reveal plaster board with green paint on top. He says plaster wouldn't stick to this now. But surely PVA or a grit would make new plaster stick? He plans to polyfill the small holes - of which there are a sh*tload and sand it down but that sounds mental to me given the state of the plasterboard.

It's worth mentioning that in our original scope of work he agreed to skim all-over where necessary where required on walls and ceiling.

Thoughts on the ceiling much appreciated - Surely it'll need to be skim to achieve a smooth finish.

Thanks