Hi guys, i am currently renovating and early 1900 property in Adelaide, South Australia.
With out a doubt plastering has been the hardest obstacle for me to tackle so far. I am currently on my 6th attempt and after seaching hi and low on the internet and this forum still have not found the answers i am looking for.
I replaced the mortar in the bricks using 1;3;16 (cement;hydrated lime;sharp sand). nailed chicken wire in and rendered over with 1;1;6 - 1;1;7 .
left to dry 4 -5 days, then started the fun part... skim coating.
I am using a mix of boral hardwall and hydrated lime 50;50. i soak the lime over night. thouroughly wet the render 4-5 times over 40 mins until water is running off.
mix up the batch of plaster apply it in 1 - 2 passes with the trowel it takes me maybe 5 mins to do 1 area of about 2 metres, by the time i get to the top i start back down the bottom and mist it generously with a spray bottle and work the plaster by this time small cracks have started to appear but are eaisly worked out. it appears to be bonding with the wall at this stage and after about 10mins total i would be finished. and left with a very nice looking repair until i return with my scraper a couplpe of days later. the plaster appears ok on top but when u get underneath it. it is relitively easy to scrape chunks off.
you can see from my prevous attemps some has stuck and other areas and some has not. i scraped it back previously and really key'ed up the surface but it still wont grab once dried.
Before everyone has a chance to say use PVA and hire a professional. etc...
I am trying to keep the repair as close to the original as possiple so i dont have dramas down the track, as much as i would love to use PVA i keep finding contradicting infromation about its performance on effecting the breathability of the wall.
some questions i would like some help with are could it be possible that the lime is drying it out and pulling the plaster away with it??? maybe ambient temperature could be affecting it??? it has been maybe 30*C average over the last week or so with a few hot days or is there some part of the technique i have missed or overlooked??? any help would really be appreciated. thanks guys. Josh
With out a doubt plastering has been the hardest obstacle for me to tackle so far. I am currently on my 6th attempt and after seaching hi and low on the internet and this forum still have not found the answers i am looking for.
I replaced the mortar in the bricks using 1;3;16 (cement;hydrated lime;sharp sand). nailed chicken wire in and rendered over with 1;1;6 - 1;1;7 .
left to dry 4 -5 days, then started the fun part... skim coating.
I am using a mix of boral hardwall and hydrated lime 50;50. i soak the lime over night. thouroughly wet the render 4-5 times over 40 mins until water is running off.
mix up the batch of plaster apply it in 1 - 2 passes with the trowel it takes me maybe 5 mins to do 1 area of about 2 metres, by the time i get to the top i start back down the bottom and mist it generously with a spray bottle and work the plaster by this time small cracks have started to appear but are eaisly worked out. it appears to be bonding with the wall at this stage and after about 10mins total i would be finished. and left with a very nice looking repair until i return with my scraper a couplpe of days later. the plaster appears ok on top but when u get underneath it. it is relitively easy to scrape chunks off.
you can see from my prevous attemps some has stuck and other areas and some has not. i scraped it back previously and really key'ed up the surface but it still wont grab once dried.
Before everyone has a chance to say use PVA and hire a professional. etc...
I am trying to keep the repair as close to the original as possiple so i dont have dramas down the track, as much as i would love to use PVA i keep finding contradicting infromation about its performance on effecting the breathability of the wall.
some questions i would like some help with are could it be possible that the lime is drying it out and pulling the plaster away with it??? maybe ambient temperature could be affecting it??? it has been maybe 30*C average over the last week or so with a few hot days or is there some part of the technique i have missed or overlooked??? any help would really be appreciated. thanks guys. Josh
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