Plastering over tiles

david65

I am unable to remove fully stuck on wall tiles in an alcove, however I have managed to remove the glaze leaving the base. I now want to plaster over these with a 1:4 sand cement mix. Should I coat the tiles with a watered down wash of polybond. A new stove will be going back into the alcove.
Any thoughts welcome.

the_pen_turner

definitely don't use pva.
could use not jack hammer them off with a thin blade

assuming you really wanted to chance plastering over them I would use thistle bond to get a key. then I would screw on a sheet of expanded metal . then scratch coat it to level it before a finish plaster coat and then skim.

could you re board over the roughness and skim that

david65

I wish I could just use a jack hammer but it's too difficult an area, I might go with expanded metal, I was just looking for a quick and easy solution

mick121

Could you fit a sheet of plasterboard on the wall and skim it?

david65

It would show around the edges but I could probably get around that. I didn't go for plasterboard as i thought it would't take the heat from the stove.

the_pen_turner

david65 wrote: »

I wish I could just use a jack hammer but it's too difficult an area, I might go with expanded metal, I was just looking for a quick and easy solution

why cant you

david65

It's a recessed elevated alcove ( a converted old chimney breast in an turn of the century cottage. I'm getting on in years and trying to reach with a jackhammer is just beyond me. I think I will go with expanded metal.
Thanks for your advice. D

antiskeptic

david65 wrote: »

It would show around the edges but I could probably get around that. I didn't go for plasterboard as i thought it would't take the heat from the stove.

I gather sand and cement won't stand up to the heat of a stove either. Builder mate (well experienced) did that in his mother's and it cracked all over the place. The plasterer I had in also recommended against it, and against skimming.]

I went for a brick slip in the end.

edit:

For what it's worth, if going for brick slips (easy enough to do a tidy job in a small area like a stove alcove), get a gunnable mortar for the pointing (I used a Larsen product). Then use a large cooks piping bag with an 8mm nozzle to apply the mortar into the 10mm gap between the slips (seen it on utoob). You overfill the joint a bit, leaving a bead of mortar protruding from the joint.

The mortar goes off after 30 mins or so and you rub it in firmly with something convenient - the handle of a paintbrush in my case. The excess falls away and doesn't stick to the brick as would be the case if trying to go the traditional route. You end up with remarkably professional looking pointing. And super fast with it.

The slips themselves I spaced out using bits of broken floor tiles I'd smashed into bits with a hammer

antiskeptic

david65 wrote: »

It's a recessed elevated alcove ( a converted old chimney breast in an turn of the century cottage. I'm getting on in years and trying to reach with a jackhammer is just beyond me. I think I will go with expanded metal.
Thanks for your advice. D

Expanded metal will expand and contract with every use - effectively working loose whatever's attached to it and whatever it's attached to.

david65

Thanks for the detailed instructions Anti, it was my oh who hated the tiles and wanted a painted finish but I do like the idea of the slips, I will try a bit of persuasion and see if that kind of finish could be acceptable. Again thanks to everyone for their input.