The Off Topic Topic

[HVC]

No one is as confident as Josq when discussing stuff he doesn't understand

Love you though

[Grey Fox]

Jos has a point tho in that if you do it everywhere it will look better. In NA, we do it when curve walls are required.

It's a cultural difference. We build for cheap as possible while the Brits build for it to last and or look good. It's one the many reason their building costs are so much higher.

[HVC]

The skimp out on insulation though

[Grey Fox]

The skimp out on insulation though

Of course, they've built brick walls covered in plaster, where are they going to put insulation? 

[HVC]

The skimp out on insulation though

Of course, they've built brick walls covered in plaster, where are they going to put insulation? 

Inner wall (forgot the actual term lol). I don't remember if though go full brick on new builds, or brick facade on cinderblock which is easier to insulate. Also doesn't excuse not properly insulating attic space

[garbon]

Jos has a point tho in that if you do it everywhere it will look better. In NA, we do it when curve walls are required.

It's a cultural difference. We build for cheap as possible while the Brits build for it to last and or look good. It's one the many reason their building costs are so much higher.

Actually I'm not sure why they do it. New builds here often don't last nor do they look good.

[crazy canuck]

Jos has a point tho in that if you do it everywhere it will look better. In NA, we do it when curve walls are required.

It's a cultural difference. We build for cheap as possible while the Brits build for it to last and or look good. It's one the many reason their building costs are so much higher.

No, it definitely does not look better.  That is why it is not done.  It takes a hell of a lot of work to sand with fine grain sandpaper, to get the plastered bit to look nice a smooth.  And even after all that work there is going to be imperfections. That is exactly why everyone went with plaster board after it was invented.

Rounded walls are different.  First, you can't put flat plaster board on a rounded wall - obviously.  But also, it is easier to hide the imperfections on a rounded surface.

[Sheilbh]

Actually I'm not sure why they do it. New builds here often don't last nor do they look good.

Yeah - I am untrusting of new builds for exactly that reason. (I also think the cost of building - land, planning, labour, supply etc - is quite high here, so they skimp on design and finishing...)

[Barrister]

Just trying to be charitable to Jos (a little bit tough for me)...

Do Brits use something different from North American drywall?  Because the stuff we use is very soft, and super sand-able.  So when you sand it you can totally get a flat surface combined with the drywall compound (aka mud).

[Josquius]

No one is as confident as Josq when discussing stuff he doesn't understand

Love you though

Between spending a tonne of my childhood on my dad's fiddle jobs, lots of tradies in the family, working as a labourer for a time, and my experience building an extension on my place I do think I know more than the norm about such things.

Dry wall has indented edges so that after taping and plastering (mudding) the seams are flush. Even where that's not the case, say on cuts, a good job is unnoticeable.

I learned something there.
I have encountered this sort of plasterboard but it's not the norm here. Never knew why it existed though makes sense.
So this is universal in North America?

Jos - how old is your dad?  When did he first start in construction?  I have no doubt that's what he was taught, and I have no doubt he's a great carpenter/builder/whatever.  But there's a reason why nobody in north america does it that way.
 

Just hit retirement a few months back.
I think by the time he started in the 70s plasterboard was the norm. He's certainly worked with plenty of walls from the time before plasterboard where you had muck on slats  - there were a few in my place.
But no. Its not an outdated practice. In the UK it's totally the norm. You get teenagers training to be plasterers still. Just a quick Google will show you lots saying it's what you do when you have time and want a good finish.

I'm still curious what the done thing is elsewhere in Europe. My gf doesn't have a clue for ch.

[crazy canuck]

So this is universal in North America?

It is widely available, but not universally used.  There is no need to use it for every job. A skilled drywaller doesn't really need it, but it does cut down on the time needed to do the job.  So there is a cost benefit analysis to whether the increased cost of the product will reduce the time of the labour sufficiently to be worth it.

The main point being that nobody would be able to tell what kind of dry wall product was used.  It's all about the cost.

[Savonarola]

I do have plaster walls, Josq, so it isn't entirely unknown here.  By Florida standards, my house is old (from the mid-1950s) in more modern construction you'd almost never find plaster walls.  (I also have terrazzo floors, it looks straight out of rockabilly America  .)

[Barrister]

Yeah plaster walls are definitely an old thing.  My parents used to have a home built in the 1930s, it had lath and plaster walls.

Never heard of anyone using it in new construction in all of my life (and I'm 49).