My builder woes! lol

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sure he's a builder, surely not with that standard of work!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Seems to be the season for builder woes.

Can be PIA where plasterboard meets brickwork even when scrimed with cracking due to difference in materials.
If closing an opening in a brick wall, I always prefer to to brick up rather than board & skim prevents a lot of hassle.

There are several types of angle bead,some for plasterboard, some for masonry,wonder if he used the correct one, fitted correctly it shouldn't show.

 

Builders or chancers?

 

Cowboys!

 

Windows reveal might need redoing, rough patch might need sanding or skimming to correct, as to Feathering, might need to sand down,skim or even cut back plaster & redo the area, any good plasterer should be able to feather in the edges.
I'm here not there to see the quailty of work, so difficult to work out how bad things are & the work needed to correct the issues.

 

Fill it over with Easifil, when dry sand it to a smooth finish.

 

Yes.

 

As above, difficult without seeing in situ or photos - later should be possible ?

I've had poor plastering over the years and in same position when communications between both sides break down, you often end up sorting the problem yourself

Rough patches, marks, lumps, pin holes, etc, can all be sanded down, filled, sand down, repeat until you get the finish you require

Scrim tape and corner beads showing can be harder as sounds like the beads haven't been set at the correct depth and/or a super skinny skim has been applied

You can't just lash loads of filler over the beads as this has to be blended in with wall surface
The smallest lip between filler and wall will show, and once hit with paint, will show even more (even with flat Matt emulsion)

Also without enough depth of plaster on the beads, there may be some movement with the metalwork which will lead to cracks appearing - just hope he's used a few fixings through the beads

As usual, have you paid in full ?
Are you on speaking terms ?
Is there further work plannned with this guy ?

 

Bearing in mind this is still bare plaster and not yet fully dry, the end result might not be as bad as you fear.

1. The feather crack is probably the one that worries me most, but it all depends on the cause. Is it that the feathered edge seems to be lifting from the layer below? Or is it an actual hairline crack that goes straight in towards the wall?

2. Rough feathering - no real solution other than to sand and fill as needed. Use a coarse - 180-ish - grit to remove larger ridges, and then finish with something finer like a 280 to 400 grit I guess.

3. As 2...

4. If what you are seeing is an 'image' of the edge strips - ie different coloured plaster where these holes are - then that isn't necessarily a significant issue. You will often get that 'image' due to the different depths of plaster there drying at different rates (I guess...)

So, almost all a matter of a bit of labour - sanding and filling. A thing to note, tho', is - if you start applying thin smears of filler on new plaster, it'll absorb all the moisture out of the filler instantly and it won't go on smoothly.

What I would do is - wait until it's all completely dry - light pink. Tackle all the rough areas and poor feathering with a sanding block and whatever grit is needed to remove excess plaster but not leave sanding marks - probably 280 grit if done lightly. See how well you get on with the feathering joins, but stop sanding if the 'edge' doesn't seem to actually improve, but only move slightly along!

The window reveals with the edge-strip pattern, go over that very lightly using a finer grit - chust enough to remove that pattern, but don't damage the actual corner strip especially if it's galvanised steel.

When you've got this as good as you think you can (don't be too picky) brush and wipe off all the dust and then apply a watered coat of matt emulsion (20% water?) and allow to dry. If it's soaked in well, when fully dry apply a second coat.

Now look at what you have - hopefully a lot better than you feared.

Ok, has the pattern on the window edge strips come through again - can you feel them to the touch? If you can, then probably a thin smear over with fine surface filler and a flat filling knife might be necessary. But I'm hoping it'll actually be ok.

The feathered edges - are they still noticeable? If so, again apply a thin smear bridging across the visible edge using a wider bladed filling knife - try and apply a 2"-ish wide band of fine filler across the 'edge' and going on to both sides. Make this a thinnest smear you can - press that blade in firmly.

You should hopefully find that the paint layer will make the filler go on more smoothly that if it were applied to bare plaster. If you find the filler is still getting a touch dry - so not spreading/smearing on smoothly - then add a few drops of water to it and try again (or even spray a mist on to it whilst it's on the wall) and run the blade over it again.

Allow to fully dry, and lightly sand again.

 

What is under that skim? Brick? Plaster bonding coat? Plasterboard? Are were there any 'joints' where these cracks appear?

 

180 grit coarse, it a fine grade paper, medium grade is a 80-120.

 

Hey, the standard I work to, I consider 1200 grit a tad 'rough'...








(OK, point taken... )