Sleepout renovations - thoughts, suggestions, tips

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Lizard1977

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#2791424 7-Oct-2021 18:39

We're a few pieces of gib in, and a question (debate/argument) arose as to whether you can mix 'n' match horizontal and vertical fixing. The main wall is covered by 4 pieces of gib (2x2), but the remaining section is a long strip about 400 wide x 2400 high. I figured we should keep the horizontal approach (use two pieces, 400 x 1200) but my other half said we should just cut 400 off a full size sheet, and fix it to the wall (effectively vertical) in a single piece (she reckons, it's less to gib stop).

Thoughts? I'm inclined to stick with the horizontal fixing around the room, but I haven't got a specific reason why (other than, we should keep the horizontal lines around the room).

blackjack17

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#2791436 7-Oct-2021 19:23

Lizard1977:

We're a few pieces of gib in, and a question (debate/argument) arose as to whether you can mix 'n' match horizontal and vertical fixing. The main wall is covered by 4 pieces of gib (2x2), but the remaining section is a long strip about 400 wide x 2400 high. I figured we should keep the horizontal approach (use two pieces, 400 x 1200) but my other half said we should just cut 400 off a full size sheet, and fix it to the wall (effectively vertical) in a single piece (she reckons, it's less to gib stop).

Thoughts? I'm inclined to stick with the horizontal fixing around the room, but I haven't got a specific reason why (other than, we should keep the horizontal lines around the room).

You want to minimize butt joins (thick part of gib against thick part of gib), plus joins over door/window corners.

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elpenguino

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#2791674 8-Oct-2021 10:13

In that case, I would have used longer sheets and avoid this situation and the resultant extra plastering.

But hindsight, it's 2021 etc etc.

Yes, use one long vertical strip to fill, assuming there's adequate framing behind it, to stick to.

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Lizard1977

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#2809225 8-Nov-2021 11:15

I finished doing the taping joints yesterday. It's rough as guts in places, and you can certainly see where my technique has improved along the way. But I'm pretty happy with the results so far. For a complete novice, working only off tips from GZ and YT videos, I feel like it's okay.

The next step is second coat. What remains of our 20kg bag of Tradeset won't be enough to do a second coat on all the joints, so I'm thinking of using the all-purpose compound. I'm not too worried about the time it takes for it to set on the walls, as I'm only really able to work on this on Saturdays, so it should have nearly a week to dry/set before the top coat. I understand you need to mix it with a little water rather than just use it straight out of the pail. I have a 15L pail but I'm not sure if I should take out what I plan to use at any given time, and mix it separately, or just add water directly to the pail and mix it once. Provided I keep it sealed when not using it, it shouldn't dry out, right?

Bung

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#2809253 8-Nov-2021 12:29

I'm at about the same stage. I know what you mean about every joint looking better than the previous one 😀

I am transferring enough Plus 4 to work with to another container and mixing that with a beater blade stolen from the kitchen in my drill. So long as it's sealed it should be ok. Once you decide how stiff you want it you could mix more. I think the shelf life is about 6 months. I've kept one much longer and it went mouldy but still plastic. Scrape the sides down so you don't get dry bits

Lizard1977

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#2845256 8-Jan-2022 12:20

Here's the latest update and conundrum:

The plastering has been finished and we've done the painting. All up, I'm pretty pleased with how it's come out. While an expert will be able to spot all kinds of defects or imperfect finishes, for someone who's never plastered before I feel proud of the finish we've been able to achieve. Pat on the back for me. :)

The next (and pretty much final) stage is laminate flooring. This is where our reno plans started, but turns out to be the final step before we can move a boarder in. We've already got the equipment - flooring material, underlay, an installation kit with packers and a pull bar. Today we checked the floor level (concrete) and it was pretty good in most places...except for the seam where the two slabs of concrete meet. There's a distinct hump that we need to solve.

I can't post pictures right now, so I'll try to describe the problem. The area is about 5.2m x 2.7m, and the concrete is in two slabs - one about two thirds and the second is about one third the area. The smaller third of the space is towards the bathroom (which has tiled flooring). Holding a 1 metre level across that seam in the concrete, pointing towards the bathroom, the drop is about 12mm at the end of the metre level. I understand this is an unacceptable deviation (from what I've read and seen in videos, the drop shouldn't be more than 3mm over a metre length in any direction.

From what I can ascertain, preparing a concrete floor for laminate flooring, you can either get a concrete grinder tool from the hire shop to grind down the hump, or you can use self-levelling compound to fill in the troughs. I don't think self-levelling compound would work in this situation though as I would expect it to simply pool down by the door to the bathroom tiles, and with a 12mm drop from the concrete seam (which is about 2m away from the bathroom), it would possibly overflow into the bathroom. I'm not confident about concrete grinding either. I don't know how much I would have to grind off to reduce the hump, and whether that would weaken the concrete slab in that area.

I spoke to someone at Mitre 10 who suggested concrete plaster, which he said would be of a thicker consistency that I could lay down to smooth out the imbalance. He sent me off to the Trade Section, which didn't have concrete plaster, but said I could possibly using Trade Mortar. I'm in really unfamiliar territory here, so I decided to consult GZ for any advice before proceeding.

Is the mortar idea a good approach, or should I try the concrete grinding first? Or is there a different approach I could consider?

geoffwnz

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#2845411 8-Jan-2022 19:06

To clarify, is there a step difference between the two sections of slab, or does one slope away from the other but where they join is "smooth".

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itxtme

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#2845467 8-Jan-2022 22:09

Self levelling compound does not flow how many people think it does ie. water. it is thicker and requires skimming out to get a good level especially in areas of less than a certain mm (cant recall the number). If going this method you need something to show you the level to aim for, a laser or pencil markings. The biggest disadvantage of leveling compound is cost, especially on large areas. If choosing between what Mitre10 man said and levelling compund - you should definately not do what he said.

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