Should I be worried?

Is this a problem?

  • Total voters
    4
A

Andrew Hoyle

New Member
Hello all,

I hope you can help.

I have had some plastering work done in my attic on the 19th and 20th December. I had a part of the wall taken back to the brick, a salt neutraliser applied to the brick and then a scratch coat applied and left to dry overnight. This was then plastered the following day (With gypsum plaster I believe) and the whole of the chimney wall had a skim coat applied after.

When this was first completed I was happy with the work and had no problems at first. However the more it has dried it has began to show the mortar lines of the bricks in one particular area so you can see full brick outlines. These are fading but taking a lot longer than the rest to dry.

This area is on part of the wall where it was taken back to brick but most of that area is now completely dry.

Is this something I should be worried about?

See attached pictures:

When the plastering was first completed.

Should I be worried?


On New Years Eve (Showing the mortar lines).

Should I be worried?


This morning after using dehumidifier since New Years Day(Looks to have improved but still lines are clearly visible).

Should I be worried?


A picture taken of more of the wall from this morning.

Should I be worried?


I have tried contacting the plasterer to discuss this but he is not returning my calls since the work was completed.

Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
 
U won't see them when painted. He should have not skimmed the sand and cement the next day. But I have done it and had no problems. The skimming looks like a bad finish but hard to see on my phone.
 
Andrew Hoyle said:
Hello all,

I hope you can help.

I have had some plastering work done in my attic on the 19th and 20th December. I had a part of the wall taken back to the brick, a salt neutraliser applied to the brick and then a scratch coat applied and left to dry overnight. This was then plastered the following day (With gypsum plaster I believe) and the whole of the chimney wall had a skim coat applied after.

When this was first completed I was happy with the work and had no problems at first. However the more it has dried it has began to show the mortar lines of the bricks in one particular area so you can see full brick outlines. These are fading but taking a lot longer than the rest to dry.

This area is on part of the wall where it was taken back to brick but most of that area is now completely dry.

Is this something I should be worried about?

See attached pictures:

When the plastering was first completed.

View attachment 15577

On New Years Eve (Showing the mortar lines).

View attachment 15578

This morning after using dehumidifier since New Years Day(Looks to have improved but still lines are clearly visible).

View attachment 15579

A picture taken of more of the wall from this morning.

View attachment 15580

I have tried contacting the plasterer to discuss this but he is not returning my calls since the work was completed.

Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Click to expand...
Let it dry then hopefully quick flick over with some scratch watered down first coat white then you will see if its horrific or not, paints great it will either cover what you thought was wrong or show up all that is :sisi:
 
Did you have a leak prior to this work being done?? Brickwork isnt normally that wet. I think your plasterer (i use this term loosely) should have knocked the existing off and leave the wall for a coupleof weeks (obviously the ingress problem should be addressed first and observe on the bare wall if the damp is still getting thro before any re plastering takes place) i guess this option was not given or you may havebeen in a "has to be done for Christmas " mode i do not know?? The work looks rushed to me and not the best i have to say but so long as the leak has been sorted it should dry out in time but i bet it will leave a watermark stain or salts will come thro? You say a salt neutraliser was applied??? I hope so for your sake
 
Marshy said:
Did you have a leak prior to this work being done?? Brickwork isnt normally that wet. I think your plasterer (i use this term loosely) should have knocked the existing off and leave the wall for a coupleof weeks (obviously the ingress problem should be addressed first and observe on the bare wall if the damp is still getting thro before any re plastering takes place) i guess this option was not given or you may havebeen in a "has to be done for Christmas " mode i do not know?? The work looks rushed to me and not the best i have to say but so long as the leak has been sorted it should dry out in time but i bet it will leave a watermark stain or salts will come thro? You say a salt neutraliser was applied??? I hope so for your sake
Click to expand...

Hello,

We had a leak earlier in the year which was resolved and we saw no further problems with after this point, however this area was not affected by the leak as this was only the ceiling and the right side of the wall, not the left where its taking longer to dry. Also I asked the plasterer to check if the brick was dry when it was taken back which he confirmed it was and showed me before going ahead. I had said I am happy to leave it to dry if required before the work was started and he advised if it was wet at all he would have to leave it to dry.

I know there was definitely something applied to the brick before the scratch coat but I didn't see what ( I can't see why something else would be applied or am I being naïve?). Is this a case of waiting and seeing or would it be recommended to have this re done or have another plasterer come and check the wall to offer opinion/advice?

Thanks for replying and the advice.
 
theclemo said:
U won't see them when painted. He should have not skimmed the sand and cement the next day. But I have done it and had no problems. The skimming looks like a bad finish but hard to see on my phone.
Click to expand...

Does this need to completely fade and dry before painting?

Also how long did it take to dry when you did this? (I know a lot of factors can affect this).

Thanks for the reply and advice
 
Andrew Hoyle said:
Does this need to completely fade and dry before painting?

Also how long did it take to dry when you did this? (I know a lot of factors can affect this).

Thanks for the reply and advice
Click to expand...
Yes has to be fully dry. Going by the picture I'd say an other week or so
 
Andrew Hoyle said:
Hello,

We had a leak earlier in the year which was resolved and we saw no further problems with after this point, however this area was not affected by the leak as this was only the ceiling and the right side of the wall, not the left where its taking longer to dry. Also I asked the plasterer to check if the brick was dry when it was taken back which he confirmed it was and showed me before going ahead. I had said I am happy to leave it to dry if required before the work was started and he advised if it was wet at all he would have to leave it to dry.

I know there was definitely something applied to the brick before the scratch coat but I didn't see what ( I can't see why something else would be applied or am I being naïve?). Is this a case of waiting and seeing or would it be recommended to have this re done or have another plasterer come and check the wall to offer opinion/advice?

Thanks for replying and the advice.
Click to expand...
Ok. definitely leave it to dry before attempting to do any painting.
 
Airflow.....don't forget that you need an air change to shift moisture. "Let it dry, let it dryiyy, the damp never bothered me anyway....":fuckyou:
 
Andrew Hoyle said:
Hello all,

I hope you can help.

I have had some plastering work done in my attic on the 19th and 20th December. I had a part of the wall taken back to the brick, a salt neutraliser applied to the brick and then a scratch coat applied and left to dry overnight. This was then plastered the following day (With gypsum plaster I believe) and the whole of the chimney wall had a skim coat applied after.





I think people have misread.
It sounds like they scratched with render, then put bonding or hardwall on to float out then skimmed it?

So this is where your problem lies.
The moisture in the wall is being soaked up by the gypsum backing coat. This will cause you problems down the line as it will now act like a sponge to the moisture in the chimney wall.
It depends on how well the chimney is vented and the moisture build up is prevented to how much it shows through in the colder wetter months.

If your using render as a scratch you should use render as a top coat before skimming I believe.
You won't achieve nothing with just a render scratch coat as the chances are very high that although it may help the wall to breathe the thickness of the gypsum backing coat will counter this and absorb all that moisture resulting in the mortar lines showing up in the winter.











When this was first completed I was happy with the work and had no problems at first. However the more it has dried it has began to show the mortar lines of the bricks in one particular area so you can see full brick outlines. These are fading but taking a lot longer than the rest to dry.

This area is on part of the wall where it was taken back to brick but most of that area is now completely dry.

Is this something I should be worried about?

See attached pictures:

When the plastering was first completed.

View attachment 15577

On New Years Eve (Showing the mortar lines).

View attachment 15578

This morning after using dehumidifier since New Years Day(Looks to have improved but still lines are clearly visible).

View attachment 15579

A picture taken of more of the wall from this morning.

View attachment 15580

I have tried contacting the plasterer to discuss this but he is not returning my calls since the work was completed.

Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Click to expand...




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Don't understand why not finish on sand/cement the next day?, done it for years with Siriphite and that was site and refurb work.
 
^^I've always skimmed s+c the following day when it's still green without issue. I know other spreads say there's a danger of crazing but I've yet to have it happen to me.
 
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