plasterer saying a row of wood was potentially used to speed up houses construction?

[Dace]

Any idea what he may mean, something about not having to wait for thngs to set, shortcut etc?
thanks

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Try explaining the problem completely - which unfortunately you haven't. A photo or sketch might help readers understand what you are asking

I'm not clairvoyant - I'm not even Claire Rayner...

 

[foxhole]

Agree with J&K , posts a mucking fuddle.

 

[conny]

Try explaining the problem completely - which unfortunately you haven't. A photo or sketch might help readers understand what you are asking

I'm not clairvoyant - I'm not Claire Rayner...

Damn! I'm in the middle of writing to you about a confidential problem I need your advice on!

 

[Dace]

i had no idea what hes on bout either , awating his explanation

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Sounds like you've got the plasterer who's on the U-Pro advert...

 

[foxhole]

Maybe he’s plastered?

 

[Dace]

ffs, this was the only guy that seemed decent before he was the only one that told me my rendering is in a good state and doesnt need to be totally replaced.
Maybe he tried to later make up some bs for extra money, and is ignoring me after feeling guilty, I said id pay him a bit to investigate, is ignoring me now.
Well bugger looks like this house will sit there empty for another 6 months+ at this rate

 

[Deleted member 174758]

@Dace, joking aside, it would really help get some sort of answer if you could describe the problem, together with posting a sketch or better a photograph. When you are putting up a house you often need to do temporary stuff which is removed afterwards, e.g. temporary bracing when setting the ridge of a roof, temporary supports when installing a kite winder stair, etc. If we could see the issue I'm reasonably sure that one of the regular posters would be able to advise you

 

[Dace]

Its concerning the horizontal strip under the window. his talk of wood or whatever. He never got back to me, perhaps he was just trying to make an excuse to inflate the quote, then felt guilty.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

The window board appears to be square edged, which I find a bit odd. I would have thought that on a pre-WWII house (other than one with obvious Art Deco or perhaps Arts and Crafts influences) it would normally be either bull nosed or profile-edged Thus leads me to suspect that the window board has been replaced at some point in the past possibly due to rot or woodworm, or as part of the conversion from sash windows to PVCu double glazing

In the style of window where the wall is thinned at the window opening, such as yours appears to be, it is not uncommon to find a small timber frame and panel section between the skirting board and the bottom of the window board in grander, more public rooms such as a reception room on the ground floor (there might also have been fold-out window shutters hidden in this niche beneath frame and panel doors at one time). In less public rooms this frame and panel detail might well be omitted on grounds of cost with just a plain timber board fitted instead, although with the window board being most likely a later replacement, it is also possible that original frame and panel work has been replaced by a simpler, cheaper solution. When it comes to plastic window firms nothing surprises me any longer

So probably not temporary, and not to speed up construction, but certainly cost cutting. This style of window seem to be found more in middle class homes from mid-Victorian up to Edwardian period, dying out as cavity walls came in in the 1920s onwards

What to do with them? Possibly strip off the paper, sand them off and repaint to match the skirting boards, but you can't plaster over them. It is possible to rip them out, fit a small timber stud frame and board the recess with PB, then plaster. Were it mine I'd try to ascertain if the ground floor has frame and panel work in a similar place and make copies (but then I'm a wood butcher and I like working on old stuff)

 

[Dace]

The window board appears to be square edged, which I find a bit odd. I would have thought that on a pre-WWII house (other than one with obvious Art Deco or perhaps Arts and Crafts influences) it would normally be either bull nosed or profile-edged Thus leads me to suspect that the window board has been replaced at some point in the past possibly due to rot or woodworm, or as part of the conversion from sash windows to PVCu double glazing

In the style of window where the wall is thinned at the window opening, such as yours appears to be, it is not uncommon to find a small timber frame and panel section between the skirting board and the bottom of the window board in grander, more public rooms such as a reception room on the ground floor (there might also have been fold-out window shutters hidden in this niche beneath frame and panel doors at one time). In less public rooms this frame and panel detail might well be omitted on grounds of cost with just a plain timber board fitted instead, although with the window board being most likely a later replacement, it is also possible that original frame and panel work has been replaced by a simpler, cheaper solution. When it comes to plastic window firms nothing surprises me any longer

So probably not temporary, and not to speed up construction, but certainly cost cutting. This style of window seem to be found more in middle class homes from mid-Victorian up to Edwardian period, dying out as cavity walls came in in the 1920s onwards

What to do with them? Possibly strip off the paper, sand them off and repaint to match the skirting boards, but you can't plaster over them. It is possible to rip them out, fit a small timber stud frame and board the recess with PB, then plaster. Were it mine I'd try to ascertain if the ground floor has frame and panel work in a similar place and make copies (but then I'm a wood butcher and I like working on old stuff)

fantastic, thanks. How come we cant plaster over it? wont it be too rotten to just paint over or plaster anyway?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Timber doesn't go rotten if it's dry. You really need to strip what looks like lining paper (?) over the top of it off to find out exactly what it us you are dealing with

You normally can't plaster directly onto timber - amongst other things timber moves (expands and contracts) with the seasons whilst plaster doesn't, and plater can't grip wood very well. You might be able to screw a sheet of 6mm PB over it, scrim the ends and then skim that, though. Failing that pull the board out, install a stud frame (or possibly sort out whatever is under there), pack the voids with insulation then board the frame with PB. Your plasterer should know this

 

[Dace]

Thanks, any idea what the maximum extra cost would be in the worst case scenario? Im making notes to avoid getting ripped off as a noob, cheers!

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Sorry but I'd need to know more to be exact, e.g. is it actually timber, could we get away with just over overboarding it with PB or does it need to come out, and if it has to come out would it be necessary to build a new stud frame in there? Worst case scenario it all needs to come out, two small stud frames are needed and iy then needs to be plasterboarded - it's no more than a day's work and maybe £60 to £80 in materials, plus a bit more for insulation