finishing internal walls

[1stProject]

Hi
after a bit of advice.

We are refurbishing a 1930's house, the lime plaster was in a pretty bad state and hacked off if really easily, we exposed the bricks ] my builder decided to concrete all the internal walls with sand and cement mix making walls that bit more solid

He is now considering plasterboarding on top to get a straight finish and not plastering /skimming layer on top of the concrete

is this a plausible option or would it be better to render and plaster/skim?

many thanks.

 

[1john]

Either is acceptable, dot and dab is quick to install and the skim coat will dry out faster for decoration, it does however have it's down sides, there are many many posts here with the pro's and cons explained, personally I like batten and board as you get a 'service void' to hide pipes and cables, neat things can be done with the heating pipes too such as having them exit the wall above skirting board level, perpendicular to the wall and then a soldered bend up into the valve, it keeps the skirting run clean, and easier to paint / wipe down and also the pipes done get banged by the hoover or if you have wooden / laminate floors they dont need to be notched around. All cables can be concealed easily and with a bit of fore thought any wiring to wall mounted televisions can be put in place, or a large conduit buried so the cables can be drawn in afterwards.

 

[trowelmonkey1]

good advice from John!

Sounds like your builder can't plaster/skim to me, how flat are the walls now he's rendered them? if you say he's now dabbing boards on to get it flat then the rendering can't be too clever and if he can't skim he'll be planning to tape and joint it, not a nice job really, make sure he's doing the right thing for you and the house and not for himself.