Hi,
I’m not a plasterer but I was a bricklayer in a previous life before a couple of prolapsed discs ended that. So I’ve got some knowledge of mortar but not in the spreading department.
Anyway.....I’m currently having my bungalow renovated and the external render is being renewed by a plasterer. The old dashing was hacked off back to the common concrete bricks, a 4:1 (with water proofer) mix was used for the scratch coat and that’s as far as we’ve got so far (there’s other works ongoing).
I was in work myself while most of the work was going on but I did catch some of the work at the end of the last day they were scratching and in my opinion the walls weren’t damp enough to start with and the resulting hot sunshine that was hitting the walls (it was during the hot period we had a few weeks back) has caused the mortar to dry too quickly.
There are hollow patches which obviously need to come off, but what isn’t hollow can be scored with a fingernail and pulled off and crumbled between my fingers. Surely after 2 weeks of curing I shouldn’t be able to do this, or have I got it wrong? Please tell me I’ve got it wrong otherwise I guess it all needs to come back off!
Any guidance will be appreciated and as you can guess I’m in a rush to get some help before they get on with the fining down top coat.
Thanks
I’m not a plasterer but I was a bricklayer in a previous life before a couple of prolapsed discs ended that. So I’ve got some knowledge of mortar but not in the spreading department.
Anyway.....I’m currently having my bungalow renovated and the external render is being renewed by a plasterer. The old dashing was hacked off back to the common concrete bricks, a 4:1 (with water proofer) mix was used for the scratch coat and that’s as far as we’ve got so far (there’s other works ongoing).
I was in work myself while most of the work was going on but I did catch some of the work at the end of the last day they were scratching and in my opinion the walls weren’t damp enough to start with and the resulting hot sunshine that was hitting the walls (it was during the hot period we had a few weeks back) has caused the mortar to dry too quickly.
There are hollow patches which obviously need to come off, but what isn’t hollow can be scored with a fingernail and pulled off and crumbled between my fingers. Surely after 2 weeks of curing I shouldn’t be able to do this, or have I got it wrong? Please tell me I’ve got it wrong otherwise I guess it all needs to come back off!
Any guidance will be appreciated and as you can guess I’m in a rush to get some help before they get on with the fining down top coat.
Thanks