Dob and Dab Or Not?

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IanM

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Hi Everybody,

Found this forum by chance and am looking for some advice.

I have a large room that needs plastering in a Victorian house.
Rectangular room; chimney breast on one wall; bay window to the front and small window to the rear; single door. Only the walls from floor to ceiling need doing. All the original plaster has been taken off and it is back to bare bricks.

I have got a couple of people round to give quotes and both want to plasterboard then skim the walls. I just want the the walls done without plasterboard; straight plaster on bricks to approx the original depth (about 25mm).
Both don't seem interested in doing that.

Am I asking for something strange? Or have I just asked the wrong plasterers?

Thanks for looking

Ian
 
The vast majority of so called plasterers (skimmers IMHO) can only skim, therefore they want to dot & dab your walls mate. You pay the price you ask for what you want. When you phone other plasterers up ask them if they can float & set before they come to save yours and their time.
 
IanM said:
Hi Everybody,

Found this forum by chance and am looking for some advice.

I have a large room that needs plastering in a Victorian house.
Rectangular room; chimney breast on one wall; bay window to the front and small window to the rear; single door. Only the walls from floor to ceiling need doing. All the original plaster has been taken off and it is back to bare bricks.

I have got a couple of people round to give quotes and both want to plasterboard then skim the walls. I just want the the walls done without plasterboard; straight plaster on bricks to approx the original depth (about 25mm).
Both don't seem interested in doing that.

Am I asking for something strange? Or have I just asked the wrong plasterers?

Thanks for looking

Ian
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yep they cnt plaster. if you want plaster then they should give you plaster and not boards. dab and skim is a crap job n e ways. in my opinion
 
agree wigan, and if it's an old building you should really stick to proper methods.

where are you anyway Ian? few of the lads on here might be close enough to come and quote you.
 
IanM said:
Hi Everybody,

Found this forum by chance and am looking for some advice.

I have a large room that needs plastering in a Victorian house.
Rectangular room; chimney breast on one wall; bay window to the front and small window to the rear; single door. Only the walls from floor to ceiling need doing. All the original plaster has been taken off and it is back to bare bricks.

I have got a couple of people round to give quotes and both want to plasterboard then skim the walls. I just want the the walls done without plasterboard; straight plaster on bricks to approx the original depth (about 25mm).
Both don't seem interested in doing that.

Am I asking for something strange? Or have I just asked the wrong plasterers?

Thanks for looking

Ian
Click to expand...

If you want a real plasterer mention it on the phone also it should be written on the back of their CSCS card preferably GOLD. The advantage of Dot and Dab is the drying time but if you want a proper job done Get it floated with sand and cement then skimmed.
 
ignore flynny mate theres 16 year old school leavers with cscs cards there a money making scheme invented by the government ;)
sounds like the walls are pissed mate of course you can do solid plastering will cost prob twice as much though
 
Dotting and dab is as good a method as float and skim, you ask any ceiling or stud wall.

However most plasterers prefer to d&d because its easier, cheaper, faster, cleaner and dries quicker.
 
when ringng plasterers ask them, can they do solid plastering then you'll get the right guy's, as already mentioned there's probably guy's on this forum in your area who can quote you
 
i'd be wanting to render it anyway, its likely to be a solid wall, prone to pentrating damp..
either that or insulate it and board...
 
Its a Victorian house so to do it properly it should be lime render and finish which will cost a fortune, you can do it with sand and cement and gypsum plaster but expect some cracks as these modern materials can be to rigid for a flexible Victorian house, the guys who have quoted for plasterboard may not be able to render and set but there is nothing wrong with plasterboard in this situation, there is more to it but for starters, better insulation. flat walls, no cracks.Where is the job?
Lucius
 
Cheers for all the replies.

My only concern with d&d is how thick will that be (adhesive+board+skim). Anything over 25mm will cause problems at the ceiling with the original cornice. It may sound mad but d&d just doesn't seem right in an old house ???
Yes, it should be lime but I'm only an average working bloke!

On price, surely most will be labour. Is there much time/money saved with d&d taking into account the cost of board and time spent putting it up?

Although I wouldn't say money is no object, I would much rather pay a fair price for a good quality finish than try and save a few bob and end up with a botch job.

I'm in the Sheffield/Chesterfield area.
 
hi ian well origanal plaster has blown and failed for some reason so you need to establish why? could be a number of things probably just time and had its day but need to make sure their is not a damp issue or anything that made it fail in the first place or you could get job done only for it to cause you problems again. lime or sand and cement would be the only route i would go down personaly,and you definitely dont want to dab any external walls.
 
give us some idea of dimensions etc mate and youll probably be able to get a rough idea of prices
 
IanM said:
Cheers for all the replies.

My only concern with d&d is how thick will that be (adhesive+board+skim). Anything over 25mm will cause problems at the ceiling with the original cornice. It may sound mad but d&d just doesn't seem right in an old house ???
Yes, it should be lime but I'm only an average working bloke!

On price, surely most will be labour. Is there much time/money saved with d&d taking into account the cost of board and time spent putting it up?

Although I wouldn't say money is no object, I would much rather pay a fair price for a good quality finish than try and save a few bob and end up with a botch job.

I'm in the Sheffield/Chesterfield area.













sand and cement shouldnt be a problem to a real plasterer, dont listen to all these tales, it wont cost any more in materials probably a lot cheaper. Its not rocket science to a proper plasterer just what is expected and if thats what your ringing a plasterer to get and they come back with they cant do it delete their number from your phone coz guarantee they will be full of more excuses once the job messes up, also it shouldnt crack unless the mixes are all wrong. There are advantages to Dot and Dabbing, the only real one over sand and cement is the drying time.
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IanM said:
Hi Everybody,

Found this forum by chance and am looking for some advice.

I have a large room that needs plastering in a Victorian house.
Rectangular room; chimney breast on one wall; bay window to the front and small window to the rear; single door. Only the walls from floor to ceiling need doing. All the original plaster has been taken off and it is back to bare bricks.

I have got a couple of people round to give quotes and both want to plasterboard then skim the walls. I just want the the walls done without plasterboard; straight plaster on bricks to approx the original depth (about 25mm).
Both don't seem interested in doing that.

Am I asking for something strange? Or have I just asked the wrong plasterers?

Thanks for looking

Ian

It seems like you are at a good point in time to decide where you wanna go with this house. Do you want to refurbish it with traditional materials and techniques which are more costly or do you just want the job done with modern materials and techniques which can be cheaper. There is a lot of controversy about using cement and gypsum in older houses that were constructed with lime materials because cement/gypsum does not allow the building to breathe and move like lime does - this can cause damp and cracking problems. There doesn't seem to be a definitive answer on which way is the best but its worth doing some background reading so at least you make an informed choice. As for d+d or solid plastering - there are pros and cons for both - d+d has really been driven by the new build industry because on long runs of work it was/is thought that it is quicker and cheaper to put up and quicker to dry out. In my opinion, anyone who knows what is what will be able to do both (or know someone that does) and for the size of your job which is the way to go. Hoping that this is helpful.
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theres a good day at least dependant on the size of the room scratch coating maybe the scrim fairies might turn up ;D
 
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