How should I plaster this wall?

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sauac

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Hi all,

I'm about to plaster/repair a significant portion of a bedroom wall around the door space and at a later date part of the adjacent wall (once it’s been checked out by a builder/surveyor) as its quite bowed up to about 3cm out of plumb in the middle. Once the door wall is finished, I will install a new door frame (already cut to size and rebated) and a new solid core door.

I had already noticed that the plaster around parts of the door was blown as there were a few cracks and also a lot of movement if you applied slight pressure to the wall.
I also noticed for the first time that the wall was not straight along the horizontal so much so that a long piece of wood placed horizontally on the wall would rock back and forth. The wall was also quite out of plumb around the door area (much more so than the rest of the wall).
I worked out the point where the wall went off at a tangent and also where it began to go out of plumb and cut the plaster back past these point so that I would have a good run up to create a straighter wall.

This following image shows the task at hand:

WP_20140317_033_zps1e99ed90.jpg
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The wall depth back to the brick is: 2.6cm on the left side and around 2cm on the right side.
I built a frame around the door opening for the plaster to run up to and cut the wood accordingly so it is 2.6cm deep on the left and around 2cm on the right. (frame will be covered by architrave once walls plastered)
A spirit level shows that the finish coat should meet the edge of this frame fairly accurately. (I hope! :RpS_laugh:)


When I stripped the plaster back, the places where it had blown, were where the wooden studs are.
Do I need to cover the wooden studs with strips of plasterboard or would EML (expanded metal lath) be better?
I spoke to British gypsum and they said Victorian homes were decorated with lime based plasters.
Here is a close-up of the exposed plaster as it is all the way back to the brick:


WP_20140317_038_zps9a0b57a2.jpg
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Is this lime or gypsum plaster? The top painted layer was done about 14 years ago so is probably gypsum?

Before I heard about EML, I was planning to cover the wooden parts with strips of plasterboard and then building up with 2 keyed layers of bonding or hardwall and finishing off with 2 skim coats of multi finish.

Or should I just cover the entire area (brick and wood) with EML and then 2 keyed layers of bonding or hardwall and finishing off with 2 skim coats of multi finish.

Or does this look like lime plaster and another product is needed?

This is my first stint at plastering and I'm sure with the right advise, I'll do a fairly decent job.

I have a lot more pics if needed :)

Thanks for your time and advise :)
 
You could use either board or eml. If you use board though scrim the edges and use bonding.

Looks like render and gypsum finish to me, hard to tell. Get your door casing in first and use that to rule off.
 
Just seen that you have cased it. You have enough depth to also dot and dab it, feathering into the existing with bonding. Many ways to skin that kitten.
 
DannyMac said:
Just seen that you have cased it. You have enough depth to also dot and dab it, feathering into the existing with bonding. Many ways to skin that kitten.
Click to expand...

I was thinking about using plasterboard but I wanted the maintain the solid feel and acoustic properties which would change if I use plasterboard?
 
DannyMac said:
You could use either board or eml. If you use board though scrim the edges and use bonding.

Looks like render and gypsum finish to me, hard to tell. Get your door casing in first and use that to rule off.
Click to expand...

Can you put bonding directly onto the type of brick I have in the pictures or do I need to prepare the surface first with Thistle GypPrime/PVA or should I be using Thistle browning. I ask because the British Gypsum site says bonding is not compatible with "common brick" whereas apparently browning is. I just want to make sure I get the right materials
 
Browning may be better for you , when its set you can scrape it back quiet easily if you have any bumps before skimming :RpS_thumbup:
 
eml the small strips of wood. Plasterboard the vertical piece of wood on the right hand side. but make sure you board over the crack to stop it reappearing. The rest is up to you but I would just bond it. PVA the fek out of it change the carpet and your set.
 
cooptaza said:
eml the small strips of wood. Plasterboard the vertical piece of wood on the right hand side. but make sure you board over the crack to stop it reappearing. The rest is up to you but I would just bond it. PVA the fek out of it change the carpet and your set.
Click to expand...

Oi!!...leave my carpet Alone!! :glare:

Seriously though, thanks for the advise :RpS_laugh:
 
cooptaza said:
...but make sure you board over the crack to stop it reappearing.
Click to expand...

Which crack are you talking about?

cooptaza said:
The rest is up to you but I would just bond it.
Click to expand...
Spoke with British Gypsum yesterday and thats the advice they also gave i.e to use bonding

cooptaza said:
PVA the fek out of it......
Click to expand...

Do you mean PVA the brick? British Gypsum said I shouldn't need to use PVA. They said I should brush some water on the wall and if the wall doesn't instantly suck it up then I can put bonding directly onto the brick otherwise I should use PVA or GypPrime?

I've just done a test. I brushed some water on the wall about 5 minutes ago and the wet patch is still visible. Or do you say just PVA it anyway?

Just to clarify this is victorian brick! (personally I have no idea what that means in terms of suction or adhesion:confused:)

I would always go with the advise of someone who has experience plastering walls of this age and brick type which is why I joined this forum.
So if you've got any advise, please fire away :RpS_thumbup:
 
Mesh the timbers dampen the bricks plenty, lay the bonding on and rule off to the door lining then skimm to finish is what I'd do
 
On closer inspection around the exposed plaster area I can see hairs. (horse hair perhaps?)

So does that mean the original plaster was lime mixed with horse hair which was commonly used in victorian building for its breathability and flexibility which in turn made it less prone to cracking?

As I see it I've got 2 options:

1. Use the plasterboard I already have to board the whole wall (+ bonding coat if needed for depth) then 2 multi-finish skim coats.


2. Use a lime based backing and finishing plaster. (more expensive)

Any advise will be really appreciated on this.

Thanks
 
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