Afternoon all. We are currently having EWI applied to our airey house. These have already had cavity wall insulation done some years ago They have began today and have left the old vents uncovered. These have been sealed up for many years and there is no internal access to these vents, so let’s presume at one time they vented into the cavity between the concrete shiplap panels and the internal plasterboard I guess they are almost like air bricks in traditional houses Should these be... Read more ..read more

My son’s room has just been redecorated and previously he had a lot of fine cracks in the plaster on the external facing wall. They’d appeared gradually over about 5 years and were vertical and horizontal. The decorator filled them and repainted two weeks ago. Then one warm evening after he’d finished, some of the cracks reappeared. The next morning I could barely see them again, and decided it was because the room was cooler. Now again this evening, after it being a warm day, those same... Read more ..read more

Hi All, I recently moved to the UK and am confused about the various fillers and joint compounds. I’m fixing a corner where the wall meets the ceiling and putting in new joint tape. What should I use and can someone give a quick rundown? What’s the equivalent of “mud” in the US? Is polyfilla spackle? Are all “fillers” spackle? Jointing compound seems like what I want, but it’s the same name as a product used on pipe threads? Help ..read more

Hello all, I was looking to install a new socket into plasterboard and in a moment of distraction (while marking the wall) I actually held the pattress box with the front side against wall instead of the recess area. Now the hole I cut is obviously too large, by exactly the amount of the overlap, so around 5mm. It's in an inconvenient location, which does not allow me to repair & close the hole and just cut a new one next to it. Any suggestions on how I can patch and use the existing hole... Read more ..read more

I need to board around this external corner and wanted some advice please. I am using a thin coat angle bead and 12.5mm plasterboard. I will then use easifill to finish off the corners and any screws, before painting. Do the plasterboards meet in this corner in a particular way? Does the bead get screwed? I would welcome any advice you can provide ..read more

Hello all, I noticed a straight crack all the way along a plastered bedroom ceiling. Went up in the loft to take a look from above and wasn’t surprised to see that crack is where two plasterboard panels meet at 90 degrees to the joists. So I’ve fitted noggins between the joists all the way along the join to screw the panels to. will that be enough to stop the crack reoccurring after i fill or should i use scrim tape too? Was a bit reluctant to do so as thought id then have a bulge as i... Read more ..read more

Hi there, Looking to add acoustic plasterboard to internal block walls (100mm) just as a general noise dampening measure but have read that using dot and dab should be avoided as the resulting spaces between wall and board can ask as sound amplifiers. For a beginner DIY-er, what would be a good alternative to fix the boards to the walls ..read more

Hi, I have a room, 1 wall back to bare plaster (but not smooth) and 3 walls sanded mainly back to solid paint and solid paint / plaster...all walls not smooth. I intend to skim a thin coat of EasiFill on all walls. British Gypsum say not to pva the bare plaster walls and could not comment on if to pva the painted walls. Should I pva everything and if so, just once or twice...applying when tacky as if plastering or another way please? Many thanks Ps. Wasn't sure if to post in... Read more ..read more

I have a bit of taping and jointing to do where a section of plasterboard was replaced. I don't particularly want to skim the whole wall for various reasons. I've done this type of work before but decided to refresh my memory on YouTube, and almost all the content is from the USA using brands that aren't available here. As far as I can tell, across the pond they tend to use the products roughly as follows: - "Setting" compounds for filling deeper holes, I think the equivalent in UK would... Read more ..read more

Hi folks - curious what anyone thinks would have caused this? It looked perfect when done a week ago, then some time between the seal being added and now, the render looks damaged in places. The seal itself looks fine in most places oddly so not sure if this is related? This wasn’t my work. It was an experienced roughcaster, and then sealant by the joiner (also very experienced and detail excellent elsewhere in the build ..read more