alternatives to sand and cement?

[niklas]

ive just moved into a 3 bed housing asc property and what a bloody mess!most of the rooms you can see outlines of very uneven boards on the ceiling thru some interesting artex patterns,and nearly all the walls need taking back to brick.gonna look into buyin it before i start chucking time and money at it that i havent got,however my missus is due to drop in couplo months so ive got to sort out the bairns room as a priority. i cant decide wether or not to dot and dab the whole room with board, then skim OR wether to render instead, then skim.im still fairly new to this game and i want to know what the alternatives to sand and cement are?i heard someone mention 'browning' in a different chat?im fairly confident in using sand and cement but what else is there?grateful for any advice guys,cheers

 

[dpbeds]

If you want to float and set then I'd use Hardwall. It works well on higher suction areas and rules off well.
You could use bonding although I've never used it on large areas. I just use it to fill and for low suction areas where a key may be an issue.
You can get Browning but when it dries it's quite soft so dents.
Another alternative could be one coat but I don't think you get the same finish.

IMHO if you want to float it use hardwall, devil it, and skim.

That said I'd probably D&D and skim cos it's easier.

Hope that helps.

 

[niklas]

certainly does,cheers for that.think im gonna d&d that room, like you said you would, as i can board the ceiling out at the same time come to think of it.when i start hitting the other rooms,im gonna try hardwall n skim tho, as theres gonna be more fixtures(shelves,heavy mirrors etc) going up.one more thing tho,what would you recommend for bathrooms?gonna aqua panel n tile 2 walls,but was wondering if multi finish would do for the other 2,can it handle the humidity ok?at the moment its got polystyrene tiles on all 4 walls,i expect they were the height of fashion once upon a time,like 40 years back!

 

[dpbeds]

Yep multi'll be fine