plastering a rough wall before tiling

[hayesey]

I have a wall in my bathroom to tile, in removing the old tiles quite a few very thin pieces of the top layer of plaster have come off. So now I'm left with a very rough wall, the plaster is in tact in some areas but the wall needs a skim of plaster before tiling. The plaster on the wall seems nice and solid, it seems that bits only came off because of the amount of tile adhesive used on the old tiles, removing some of it was a hammer and chisel job. Am I OK just going at it with a couple of thin layers of finishing plaster or should I be giving it a coat of PVA before skimming the rough areas?

I'm not bothered if the finish isn't great as it's being tiled over, but obviously I don't want the plaster to start coming loose and taking tiles with it a few months down the line!

 

[Richard C]

If your re-tiling over the same area & the original plaster is still sound, I wouldn’t even bother re-skimming. As long as it’s just the finish that’s pulled off with the tiles, just rough fill the hollows with finishing or bonding plaster & tile over that; it doesn’t have to look good as long as it’s nice & flat; PVA the holes well before you fill them.