Soft external plaster?Bad job...

awishawash

It seems its hit and more often miss with the eastern euro's, got 2 guys out to plaster an extension for me a few months ago and its rubbish. Couldnt tell with the lack of good weather up until a few days ago with the sun shining on it theres trowel marks all over it and its scarily bumpy and uneven. More scary even is that its very very soft. Like there was minimal cement in it and its sand. If you rub your finger off it it comes away.
Can anyone tell me what my options are. Scutch the lot and re-plaster?Paint with a pva mix then paint a few thick coats?:o

johnnyrotten

Sounds like a re-plaster if its falling away like that

cormacmccann

We had a similar problem with Dry dashing that was done on our house, whole lot had to be stripped off. Dashing was very soft and powdery so it was coming off in the winter storms.

I heard that some plasters mix washing up liquid in to the plaster as it helps it stick initially, it does however make it soft when it drys if there is too much added. This may be the cause, or there could have been a problem with the cement which the builder claimed was the cause of our problems.

10-10-20

I have this in patches on the corner of my house. It seems that the sand mix was too high and the rain washed out what remained of the cement.
It's causing blistering and loss of rendering and the sublayers down to the brick.
At least it's contained and facing south is all I can say.

2 stroke

These eastern euros as you call them are doing what the irish did abroad a few years ago. Get a bit of experience then pretend they are builders. If you arent qualified to supervise pay to get the job done properly.

awishawash

Well the thing is 2 stroke these guys werent just your semi skilled labourer type they have costly ads around the place for plastering services..so it wasnt completely blind. Maybe their skills are indoors. Anyway I would have usually been there to supervise other than something that happened personally. So I just decided to post it up and see if anyone could shed light and help out, not reply arrogantly as if they've never had a problem in their whole life.

Elfish

It sounds like a replaster to me ... hopefully you might get away with just a portion of the wall as it is possible that it was just one gauge of plaster that was off. Need to investigate further - does the whole finish appear to be the same consistency?

I've a pal who got two polish so called plasterers to skim a room, it was a disaster - lumpy, gouged holes, shockingly uneven. Reckon they saw it done and thought that's easy I can do that - plastering isn't like that unfortunately.

There is a plasterer on here - at the moment I can't be of help in sourcing one.

awishawash

Thanks elfish I'm gonna have a look and see if its consistent, i was talking to another guy and he said I need to paint on a hardener of some type and then give 3 coats of paint. The q is what is this hardener he's on about?Cement based?

cormacmccann

There is some kind of coating which can be applied to harden up the cement, our builder wanted to use it on our houses (as he was paying for it) but we forced him to go the more expensive route and do the job properly again.

There is conflicting opinions as to wither it works or not, check with your local builders providers they'll probably stock it or know about it. It might be worth considering given it seems you'll be paying for getting the work done.

hiscan

Elfish wrote:

It sounds like a replaster to me ... hopefully you might get away with just a portion of the wall as it is possible that it was just one gauge of plaster that was off. Need to investigate further - does the whole finish appear to be the same consistency?

I've a pal who got two polish so called plasterers to skim a room, it was a disaster - lumpy, gouged holes, shockingly uneven. Reckon they saw it done and thought that's easy I can do that - plastering isn't like that unfortunately.

There is a plasterer on here - at the moment I can't be of help in sourcing one.

im a plasterer
it can be one of two reasons for your problem
1 not enough cement in the finish coat
2 enough cement in the finish coat but too much waterproofer which kills the cement in a mix
i would say replaster

plasto

You will have to hack it all off and start from scratch, it shouldnt be a big job takin it off, if its as bad as you say!

Dont try and dickie it up....it will never look right. Do it proper, ask around, get a recommendation.....u will find that you get what you pay for(sorry to say)!!!

I'm in the dublin area if you want me to take a look?

Good luck:)

2 stroke

If the job is as bad as you say a good plasterer would have scraped it off and done it again. Also good plasterers don't need to advertise, they get work by word of mouth.
If however these guys are running a professional operation, claim on their insurance to get the job done properly.

hiscan

i agree totally with the last two replys the cheapest quote is not always the best job you should have checked out these guys previous work

jetlagged

Why not paint the lot down with a very watery mix of sand cement. That should harden it up? Or paint on a textured finish? To have to take off the lot would be a heart attack.

tradesman

Theres only one thing to do. Hack off the lot and replaster and get a qualified plasterer to do the job. Check out his previous work before employing him. I am a plasterer of years experience and don't try to repair as it will not look right.