What to do with this wall surface in a bathroom

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Andyca

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Hello all,

I've come across this wall in a bathroom and I'm wondering what to do, hoping someone can help. The wall consists of approx 2"/50mm semi-compressed wood strands/chips. with lining paper each side and a skim of plaster, i've never seen this construction material before, so it's a new one on me.

It's got wet in the past but the bathroom was redone about 15 years ago and another layer of plasterboard and stud work was placed on top of this which showed no signs of damp so it's been drier than Gandhi's flip-flop since.

The other side of the wall is finished and decorated and I've confirmed there is just a skim and paint on the other side, so removal would mean re doing the adjoining room.

What would you do in this situation? would it be possible/advisable to bond coat straight to this?

It's getting tiled but I need a stronger surface to mount the cement board to.
 

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Hello!

That looks mad. It looks like chips of wood/weird lath. No idea!

Surely there are joists on this wall. I wouldn’t mount cement board to that. I would take it back to the joist. This shouldn’t have to affect the wall on the other side, just don’t throw a hammer through it lol!

I was taking down walls last week with no affect to the other side
 
Hello all,

I've come across this wall in a bathroom and I'm wondering what to do, hoping someone can help. The wall consists of approx 2"/50mm semi-compressed wood strands/chips. with lining paper each side and a skim of plaster, i've never seen this construction material before, so it's a new one on me.

It's got wet in the past but the bathroom was redone about 15 years ago and another layer of plasterboard and stud work was placed on top of this which showed no signs of damp so it's been drier than Gandhi's flip-flop since.

The other side of the wall is finished and decorated and I've confirmed there is just a skim and paint on the other side, so removal would mean re doing the adjoining room.

What would you do in this situation? would it be possible/advisable to bond coat straight to this?

It's getting tiled but I need a stronger surface to mount the cement board to.
Hello!

That looks mad. It looks like chips of wood/weird lath. No idea!

Surely there are joists on this wall. I wouldn’t mount cement board to that. I would take it back to the joist. This shouldn’t have to affect the wall on the other side, just don’t throw a hammer through it lol!

I was taking down walls last week with no affect to the other side

Yes, expose the structure and start again.

Doesn't matter a f**k if you damage next door. Worry about that then

Most likely, you'd only have to reskim it...or worst, strip that wall too and board it. It's not a big job.
 
It's almost like straw inside and it is literally lining paper and 1-2mm of skim on the other side, exactly the same as you see this side.

There are no vertical studs in the wall, I've gone all the way along the wall. (it's only 2m) if I take out what is there it will be entirely removing the wall between the two rooms,

It just seems to be framed on the bottom (and presumably the top too), I'll have another look when I go back tomorrow.

The adjacent room has just been finished, so I'm not keen on messing it up. it's just a very weird building material, really good noise insulation though.
 
Once you strip and expose the wall level out the joists by fixing some strips of thin ply to the sides of the joists at each end of the wall makings pair of vertical guides and every 4' or so in between
Score with Stanley knife and apply board adhesive , rule off with a straight edge let it harden , knock off any high spots
Then when you fix the cement boards put a bead of no nails on these areas to bed in perfectly
 
As people know, I mostly do renovations.

Makes me laugh when people have been tiptoeing round a problem for weeks months or even years.

Enter stevieo with his plastering hammer.

Oh, let me see... SMASH. How I love to see them jump.

OP ... Don't try to save the wall. That's what the last dozy b*ll***s did. Get it smashed off and put it back on right.
 
So I was curious and she was in, so I just had a quick look in the loft...

These are compressed straw panels sandwiched between two top plates in the ceiling and resting on the bottom plate on the floor, they are approx. 600mm wide and are butted together, the whole house is built like this, every internal wall.
there is nothing wrong with this section other than the lining paper having fallen off and it being slightly discoloured.

I'm not sure I'd be fixing anything by ripping it out, i'd just have to completely remake the wall, I'm going to remove any of the really discoloured straw, spray some mould stop, stick some fresh lining paper where it's come away, and bond coat it.

I might look at replacing the bottom plate if it looks compromised but as the wall above it is made of straw I think the little piggies will be safe.
 

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Hello all,

I've come across this wall in a bathroom and I'm wondering what to do, hoping someone can help. The wall consists of approx 2"/50mm semi-compressed wood strands/chips. with lining paper each side and a skim of plaster, i've never seen this construction material before, so it's a new one on me.

It's got wet in the past but the bathroom was redone about 15 years ago and another layer of plasterboard and stud work was placed on top of this which showed no signs of damp so it's been drier than Gandhi's flip-flop since.

The other side of the wall is finished and decorated and I've confirmed there is just a skim and paint on the other side, so removal would mean re doing the adjoining room.

What would you do in this situation? would it be possible/advisable to bond coat straight to this?

It's getting tiled but I need a stronger surface to mount the cement board to.
House built in the 80s? I would say it's a kind of prefab wall made of condensed wood chipping/hay. Horrible stuff
 
Don't know how much truth there is to it,
But we used to rip this out of ceilings in the Midlands my old boss used to tell me it was fibre board used to take the impact of anti-aircraft artillery fire during the war.
 
if my memory serves me correctly i think they used to be call stramit panels f**k**g heavy horrible things but warm as f**k

Could be there is no original joists and you will have to add more to bring the wall out a bit from new stud on other side if necessary
 
Could be there is no original joists and you will have to add more to bring the wall out a bit from new stud on other side if necessary
Tbh I've just remembered this stuff is an absolute dream in that screws bite into it without needing to plug it. If I was you I would simply board over the wall with some 38-50mm screws. Aslong as the wall is pretty flat of course
 
Been rambling on , sorry didn't see your second post, @Andyca
My posts currently require mod approval to prevent spam, thanks for all the replies, problem solved, this is OSSB.

Looks like I will be fine with my original plan new lining paper and adhesive, then bond coat to adhere and screw the tile board to.
 
My posts currently require mod approval to prevent spam, thanks for all the replies, problem solved, this is OSSB.

Looks like I will be fine with my original plan new lining paper and adhesive, then bond coat to adhere and screw the tile board to.
Stick to carpet fitting.
 
My posts currently require mod approval to prevent spam, thanks for all the replies, problem solved, this is OSSB.

Looks like I will be fine with my original plan new lining paper and adhesive, then bond coat to adhere and screw the tile board to.
What? You're going to lining paper the wall, then bond over it then screw tile board to it?
 
Tbh I've just remembered this stuff is an absolute dream in that screws bite into it without needing to plug it. If I was you I would simply board over the wall with some 38-50mm screws. Aslong as the wall is pretty flat of course
Actually the rusty ones were a bugger to remove, I thought you might have been joking here but this was true for the bits that still had lining paper.

Wall is pretty flat, other than the chunks of missing plaster. I'm still considering making a new stud in front, but whatever happens I'll post results, if people are interested.
 
What? You're going to lining paper the wall, then bond over it then screw tile board to it?
is there a problem with that plan?
More specifically I'm going to use adhesive to stick the tile board to the bond coat and use screws to hold it in place
 
Actually the rusty ones were a bugger to remove, I thought you might have been joking here but this was true for the bits that still had lining paper.

Wall is pretty flat, other than the chunks of missing plaster. I'm still considering making a new stud in front, but whatever happens I'll post results, if people are interested.
I'd say you'd be completely wasting your time and making the bathroom smaller for no reason. As I say screws bite straight into it so if you wanted to baton the wall that would be an option but I'd personally level it with abit of bonding and screw the tile boards straight to it. I've currently got a 40inch TV hanging off the stuff in my bedroom with 2 screws and no plugs. Solid as a rock
 
Why on earth would you lining paper over a wall to the then cover it with bonding and tile board? Lol
This is where my lack of experience in plastering might be showing through, or it might just be because I never have any incentive to finish jobs quickly... my though was that the bond coat might be more difficult to apply or react badly when being applied directly to the straw? maybe I'm over thinking that though. Plus i didn't know it was straw when I came up with the plan. :)

I figured I have lining paper I have all the adhesives so I'll just repair the bits that are missing before I bond coated.

Again with the tileboard with glue and screw method, just going for the belt and braces approach, as I didn't think OSSB would offer a reliable mechanical fixing.
 
I've fitted my fair share of carpets, what's your point?

The point that's already been made... there's no room in the job for lining paper.

You could smash it back and use something to straighten the uprights, then board it.

Or you could bond it and tile - maybe.

Or you could overboard it.

Or you could counterbatten it and board it.

Or you could stud it and board it.

But you can't paper it
 
This is where my lack of experience in plastering might be showing through, or it might just be because I never have any incentive to finish jobs quickly... my though was that the bond coat might be more difficult to apply or react badly when being applied directly to the straw? maybe I'm over thinking that though. Plus i didn't know it was straw when I came up with the plan. :)

I figured I have lining paper I have all the adhesives so I'll just repair the bits that are missing before I bond coated.

Again with the tileboard with glue and screw method, just going for the belt and braces approach, as I didn't think OSSB would offer a reliable mechanical fixing.
How about forcing some metal straps down from the loft , then you have some weight bearing fixings for full moisture plasterboard that's dabbed
15728927524528002390962473816745.jpg
 
The point that's already been made... there's no room in the job for lining paper.

You could smash it back and use something to straighten the uprights, then board it.

Or you could bond it and tile - maybe.

Or you could overboard it.

Or you could counterbatten it and board it.

Or you could stud it and board it.

But you can't paper it

Straighten the uprights? I don't think you have been paying attention :)
 
Straighten the uprights? I don't think you have been paying attention :)

Oh but I have. You haven't exposed them yet.

Anyway, the point was paper. You can't plaster over paper. The water gets into it and it all comes off.
 
How about forcing some metal straps down from the loft , then you have some weight bearing fixings for full moisture plasterboard that's dabbed
View attachment 41354
That is not a bad plan, I'll have a look, i seem to remember the plasterboard on the ceiling is water damaged so i'll probably replace that too, and if so I'll either put some metal straps down or thin ply strips to add some regidity to the fixing points as you suggested earlier.

Thanks for the suggestions bof.
 
Oh but I have. You haven't exposed them yet.

Anyway, the point was paper. You can't plaster over paper. The water gets into it and it all comes off.
See the pictures from the loft... there are no uprights

If you can't plaster over paper, why do they cover plasterboard with paper?
 
That is not a bad plan, I'll have a look, i seem to remember the plasterboard on the ceiling is water damaged so i'll probably replace that too, and if so I'll either put some metal straps down or thin ply strips to add some regidity to the fixing points as you suggested earlier.

Thanks for the suggestions bof.
Moisture plasterboard is fine, cheaper than cement boards ( which may cause problems due to many joints )
Don't skim as skim holds less weight of tiles and adhesive
 
This is where my lack of experience in plastering might be showing through, or it might just be because I never have any incentive to finish jobs quickly... my though was that the bond coat might be more difficult to apply or react badly when being applied directly to the straw? maybe I'm over thinking that though. Plus i didn't know it was straw when I came up with the plan. :)

I figured I have lining paper I have all the adhesives so I'll just repair the bits that are missing before I bond coated.

Again with the tileboard with glue and screw method, just going for the belt and braces approach, as I didn't think OSSB would offer a reliable mechanical fixing.
Oh but I have. You haven't exposed them yet.

Anyway, the point was paper. You can't plaster over paper. The water gets into it and it all comes off.
There are no uprights with this stuff. It's one big slab of compacted hay. It's bloody solid stuff
 
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