Hi, I'm currently getting quotes to have our kitchen plastered and tiled and it seems that half of the 'quoters' tell me how important it is for the plaster to dry for a few days/week before tiling, and the other half tell me that its no problem and can be tiled the next day... how do i know whats right??
The plastering is for a few smallish sections where the old plaster has come off the wall as the old kitchen was removed - patches maybe a foot or so in diameter and an inch or so deep?
thanks :-)

It dpends on what type or repair was done. if the plaster is rapid setting finishing repair plaster it should be ok to tile the day after. If it is normal plaster, it does take some time to dry properly.

You may get a more definative response later from some of the Tiler/Plasterers on here. I am just a mere tiler.

Originally Posted by grumpygrouter

It dpends on what type or repair was done. if the plaster is rapid setting finishing repair plaster it should be ok to tile the day after. If it is normal plaster, it does take some time to dry properly.

You may get a more definative response later from some of the Tiler/Plasterers on here. I am just a mere tiler.

There is nothing mere about you grumpy

If it's patches/making good usually a week should be enough

In my experience, the plaster should be ready for tiling/painting/ect, when it has turned a nice like pink colour, assuming they used a multifinish. Not a useful guide though if they used a white plaster, it will never turn pink!!! The length of time before tiling will depend on how thick the new plaster is and how warm the room/house is and the level of humidity, but 3-5 days is a reasonable guide to work to for a re-skim.

forgive me if im wrong here but should you not leave fresh skimmed plaster for about 28 days, after only 3 days is nowhere near enough , you would be lucky if the whole room looked pink by then, let alone dry enough to tile over. 3-4 weeks is more like it i think

3-4 weeks seems a little excessive. You can usually see when plaster has gone off, as it changes colour from dark pink to a very light pink. I'm no expert here, but I would have thought that when its light pink its ready to paint - and/or tile over, as it is clearly dry. If it weren't dry - it would not have gone light pink - it would stay dark.

Of course if you were a true pro (I'm sure I'll never reach that status) you'd get yourself a damp meter (has some posh name I'm sure). And actually measure how damp the wall is and if its dry enough to tile over.

Paul

i agree it seems a little excessive mate but im sure thats the time frame. Done more plastering than tiling to be honest and that 28 days always crept up , whether it was tiling or painting.
But i do know that although a plaster looks dry it is often far from it. Condensation on the window is a good indicator.

I believe plaster has to gain strength as well as dry out....this is why there is a longer time scale.......personally any patching i do is with a rapid setting patching plaster( one coat) and it dries very fast and hard...

if it were me i would leave it for about 7-10 days before even considering fixing any tiles