What Type of Render Mix?

[Jetheat]

Hello all,

I'm a total newbie but I'm attempting to do a little DIY around my home.

I've ripped off my skirting boards, and some of the plaster came off with it.
Have a look at the attached image.

So now, before I affix the new skirting board, I reckon I need to patch up the wall.

What would be my best option and how would I go about doing it?

Do I need to render the wall?
Do I need to bond the wall (even though I don't know what that is)?
Can I buy a ready made mix that I can apply?

I don't need it to be neat. I just need it to stick to the wall and harden, so I can screw some screws in there to keep the skirting in place.

What can I do to the wall to proceed?

Appreciate the help,

JH

 

[NickB_99]

So now, before I affix the new skirting board, I reckon I need to patch up the wall.

What would be my best option and how would I go about doing it?

Do I need to render the wall?
Do I need to bond the wall (even though I don't know what that is)?
Can I buy a ready made mix that I can apply?

I don't need it to be neat. I just need it to stick to the wall and harden, so I can screw some screws in there to keep the skirting in place.

What can I do to the wall to proceed?

Appreciate the help,

JH

It perhaps depends how tall the skirting board you want to put on is.

If it's tall, then you may get away with not filling at all. Your screws could go through higher up pulling in flat where there is plaster behind.

If it's quite short, then you will need to fill, otherwise your screws will allow the bottom to be pulled in.
If it was me filling, I'd use Bonding plaster and fill more of it level with the wall. Don't go right to floor, leave a small gap.
A bit of render (sand/cement), or a ready mix from a DIY could both be used for the filling either. It will be hidden behind the skirting board.
Depends what you find easiest. You certainly don't need to render/plaster the full wall.

When I fix skirting boards I usually use solvent free gripfill and fix through with either hammer fixings or screws/plugs. The latter take a bit more lining up to get the screws in the plugs, but I find pull in tighter. As you wish.
Remember to countersink the skirt so it hides the head and fill later.

 

[Jetheat]

Thank you for the reply.

I'd like to use bonding as it seems like it's readily available, but previously, I had damp appearing around my electrical sockets because bonding was used.
I had that wall fully re-rendered.
So I'm a bit hesitant to use bonding because of that experience.
However, I don't know if bonding would have the same effect lower down behind the skirting.
Is it possible that this area behind the skirting could develop damp if bonding is used?

If I buy a ready-made mix, which one do I choose?
All the ones I see on B&Q or Wickes website are either just cement, or it shows uses for things like bricklaying/pointing etc... I don't see any which say it can be used for rendering a wall.
Any suggestions on a cheap ready-mix product that is suitable?

When you say "hammer fixings", do you mean nailing the skirting into the wall?
If so, doesn't the skirting just pop back out with nails (especially if it's a bent wall)?

What do you mean by "countersink the skirt"?

Appreciate the help,

JH

 

[Doggit]

Bonding bulks the wall out, and will get an uneven surface ready for the final plaster coat that will just be a few mill think. But bondings porous, so if there's damp in the wall or the floor, it will just suck it up, and make the plaster damp, so if you've got damp problems, then you'd need a sand and cement mix. As it'll be ebhind the skirting board, this won't be an issue though. You'll need to apply a 3:1 water PVA mix to the wall before you apply the cement, and you'll need a cheap trowel to flatten it off, but scrape off any filler that was at the top of the skirting first. Once the walls done and dried for a few days, then then set the skirting board in place, and drill through it for whatever fixings you intend to use, and you'll then use a countersink bit to make sure that the screw or hammer fixing sits lower than the face of the wood, otherwise it'll end up sitting proud of the skirting board.

 

[NickB_99]

Thank you for the reply.

I'd like to use bonding as it seems like it's readily available, but previously, I had damp appearing around my electrical sockets because bonding was used.
I had that wall fully re-rendered.

JH

Damp wasn’t mentioned in your original post.
Yes, if you’ve had damp there, absolutely steer clear of Bonding. Bit of render (sand & cenent) is better.

 

[Jetheat]

Got it, Great.
What about this one for rendering?
https://www.selcobw.com/jetcem-sand-cement-mortar-6kg

Do I still need PVA to brush against the walls before I apply the render (with the possibility of dampness)?

JH

 

[Doggit]

The PVA reduces the suction of the background, so water isn't pulled out of the render too quickly, and even a damp wall may be too dry. If you think one bag is sufficient, then that stuff should be fine. If you need more, then get a small bag of cement, and a couple of bags of building sand.