[mammoth]

I have a problem, I am in the middle of decorating a bedroom and have found that plaster is coming away from the breeze blocks because who ever put it up forgot to wet the breeze blocks first.
I have a patch about 15"x15" which I have filled with bonding and am trying to sink some plasterboard nails around this to stop any more plaster falling off but as the nails go in the plaster starts to crumble, has anyone got any ideas or do I need to get the whole wall skimmed

[ReTrO]

If it keeps coming down sounds like you're gonna need to get it all done sometime soon anyway. It'll be cheaper to get it all done at the same time I'd have thought.

[tonyb]

Rather than getting the wall re-plastered, I guess you could consider using plasterboard instead.

I guess there's two ways of fixing it, either scre it straight onto the wall as it is, or remove the duff bits of plaster and then use adhesive to stick the board to the wall.

Then just tape and skim over the joints between the boards. The plasterboard method is one you could probably do yourself, though depending on the area you need to cover, it might be easier to hack off the loose plaster and get everything skimmed.

Guess it depends on how much money you want/have to spend, and how work you are willing to do.

Tony

[redmax]

Firstly, I don't think the reason its falling off is because the wall wasn't wetted first.
It is probably because the wrong backing coat was used.
Secondly, you need to define "breeze block". This is a commonly used term but there are two main blocks used in building:
1. Concrete
2. Lightweights made from reconstituted dust basically.
They are made by celcon or durox and are categorised by density or thermal insulation depending on the needs of the builder.

If the block is concrete then it should never have been plastered at all. It should have been rendered with sand & cement and finished with a skim coat of multi or siraphite.
If it is a lightweight block then Bonding is definatley not good.
Bonding is designed for low suction areas like plasterboard.
The backing coat for blockwork should be Browning which is for high suction areas ie blockwork.
The plasterboard patch method suggested above is ok if no more is loose. If you have more loose you should remove it all and get the whole wall either "stuck" with board or replastered correctly.

Hope this helps

[DJW]

I'd go Tony B's way. I've just had a cottage renovated & the builders have dry lined all the walls as it so much quicker & thus cheaper than removing all the plaster , then replastering.

Plus also if its an external wall you gains extra insulation, & if adjoining to a neighbours wall, extra sound insulation. In addition it makes it very simple to run extra electric points etc behind the panels.

You can buy bags of dry lining adhesive mix that allow you to stick the board to the wall, thus eliminating the need for studwork etc, plus greatly speeding the job up.