Plastered walls - 1960's 'Dublin Corporation' House

az2wp0sye65487

I own a house in Dublin that was built by Dublin Corporation in the 1960's.

The plaster seems to have been applied directly to the block walls internally. There are some areas where the plaster is coming away from the block walls and sounds 'hollow' when tapped. When painting the bedrooms a couple of years back I knocked into one part of the wall and a lot of loose plaster came off.

When we had the kitchen re-done a few years ago all the walls were dry lined and skimmed.

We then got someone in to skim the sitting room - but they didn't dry-line the walls, they just skimmed the walls as they were. We then painted all the walls except one which was wall-papered.... The wall paper was perfect when it was put up, but now it has a small crease across it. I'm wondering whether the plaster behind it has come loose again..

Also, for the bedrooms - what's the best thing to do regarding the condition of the plaster? Should I knock off whatever is loose, fill in the holes and have the walls skimmed, or get the rooms all dry-lined...

Unfortunately I fall into the category of having 'a little knowledge' which I know can be a dangerous thing!

Thanks in advance.

listermint

Take down any damaged walls complete and have it drylined and plastered.

There's no fixing it when it's come away from the wall

Sleepy

We had the same thing in our house when we bought it: the bonding plaster had boasted from the mass concrete walls and once the skim coat was chipped off, it literally pulled away with your fingertips... We had to chip the lot back "to the brick", apply a new bond coat and skim that. It's a messy job and you'll probably need to replace your flooring / architraves and skirting after.

az2wp0sye65487

Dry lining over what's already there sounds like it might be the better solution...??

listermint

Cash Shy Yacht wrote: »

Dry lining over what's already there sounds like it might be the better solution...??

No because its already loose. You cant put a finish over already loose wall material. It will end in failure. as pointed to above they had to chip back to blockwork. which is the correct method

az2wp0sye65487

listermint wrote: »

No because its already loose. You cant put a finish over already loose wall material. It will end in failure. as pointed to above they had to chip back to blockwork. which is the correct method

I meant putting up plaster board on top of the walls and having that skimmed.

listermint

Cash Shy Yacht wrote: »

I meant putting up plaster board on top of the walls and having that skimmed.

Ya. Perfect.