new builds

[paul damian]

i was asked by a lady 2 days ago could i come over and check her tiles, she thought that some of the tiles were loose, her tiling had been completed by a reputable tiling firm. on arriving at the destination the lady led me to her utility room..above the work tops there was 5 row of tiles high by 7ft long, 4 inch tiles uneven edge. on pressing on the tiles and tapping them with my hands i could tell the only thing holding them together was the tile trim. anyway i was able to take them off with my hands, but it wasnt an adhesion problem and no amount of primer would off made a difference. the skimcoat finish plaster,hardwall, had come away from the wall completely blown off the wall, i pointed out that this was the problem, the lady was distraught , not only was the utility room bad, the kitchen splashback was the same, the main bathroom, and the en-suite. whats going on is it a case that everything has to be rushed these days, did they not wait until the skimcoat dried out , has the the finish coat plaster been hit with frost, did they not bother to wet the sand and cement plaster before applying the hardwall. any answers.

[GirlRacerRed]

how old is the new build paul? she should really go back to the house builder and complain about the finish.

[paul damian]

about 18 months red, the lady is so upset, main builder doesnt want to know, pasted the buck on to the tiler, not his fault what i can see. just no adhesion between plaster and hardwall. its a mess, any ideas what caused it.

[whitebeam]

I'm surprised it was'nt dry linning

[GirlRacerRed]

it really is the house builders problem particularly as the house is still so new.

is it a well known or national house builder or a local?

[whitebeam]

Don't suppose you can remember what the substrate was

[Scott]

I'm surprised it was'nt dry linning

Shame it wasnt!

So is it just the skim come away or the hardwall as well?

[united]

they should still have a builders guarantee as its still new?

[doug boardley]

my guess is it's been tiled day after being skimmed, weight of ties have de-bonded skim from basecoat

[aqua blue]

Paul, was the wall primed and have you seen blows anywhere else apart from the tiled areas?

[whitebeam]

quote ; wet the sand and cement plaster before applying the hardwall

Why put hardwall onto sand/cement on a new build ???

[paul damian]

whitebeam it is a bungalow block walls sand and cement with finish skimcoat then tiled . dont know kind of addy was used, but i dont think it would matter anyway. maybe its been plastered with no windows or doors in. frost.

[whitebeam]

Depends what sand was used, I've seen soft sand used and it's so weak it would'nt hold up a knats d***

It could be that the Sand/cement had been left to dry then the finish applied which has sucked the moisture out of the finish

[paul damian]

aqua just the areas that have been tiled is the problem. noticed in the house an awful lot of shrinkage cracks vertical, and horizontal going right across some of the walls.

[doug boardley]

is the blown plaster just in the tiled areas???

[paul damian]

yes doug .

[doug boardley]

imo then, it's been tiled before skim has fully set

[Phil Hobson]

Was the skim applied under 5 deg? same rule for adhesive, sand/cement renders, and gypsum based plaster

[whitebeam]

Either way I'd getting in touch with the builders

[aqua blue]

I think doug may be right....."my guess is it's been tiled day after being skimmed, weight of ties have de-bonded skim from basecoat"

Or the whole plasterwork is shot.

[whitebeam]

The tiling would'nt have taken place in that short space of time, the kichen would need to have been fitted and electrics sorted.

[aqua blue]

Paul did you check the solidity of plaster beyond the tiled area?

[paul damian]

thanks for replies tilers,

[aqua blue]

If the delamination goes well beyond the tiled area it sounds like the whole plaster has beencompromised to me.

If it's isolated to said area, it's back to what doug has said or something close to that.

[paul damian]

aqua all i know is that the plaster underneath the tiles is grand it has been scratched to recieve the hardwall, but on pulling the tiles off with my hands , the tiles had addy and hardwall attached to the back of them, the hardwall was blown. it makes me think that bags of hardwall were done. either frost or they have got damp before use.

[whitebeam]

Can't see why they would put hardwall on top of render, hardwall is the complete undercoat then the finish

[aqua blue]

I would lightly chisel away, with customers permission and see how far it goes.

Then draw my conclusions. Client may want a plasterer to take a look at it..

All the best.

[doug boardley]

Can't see why they would put hardwall on top of render, hardwall is the complete undercoat then the finish

I'm reading it as skim Mark, I think that's what Paul means.

[whitebeam]

Gotcha

[doug boardley]

Gotcha

but I could be wrong......