Three Stage Skim Coating

[Carina]

We hired a home remodeling company to do major renovations in our apartment. One of the tasks was specified in the contract as "three stage skim coating." The company says a thick coat was applied and sanded off--I sent them photos showing the old roller nap marks compared with walls that had been patched where it was obvious a skim coat had been applied, but they said it had all been skim coated. I cannot get them to tell me what the definition of three stage skim coating is, and have googled it and come up with nothing. Can someone guide me to where I can get the definition? I would so appreciate it. I thought I would have such nice looking walls, and am sure what I will end up with is a completely uneven texture patchwork.

[ALROH57]

We hired a home remodeling company to do major renovations in our apartment. One of the tasks was specified in the contract as "three stage skim coating." The company says a thick coat was applied and sanded off--I sent them photos showing the old roller nap marks compared with walls that had been patched where it was obvious a skim coat had been applied, but they said it had all been skim coated. I cannot get them to tell me what the definition of three stage skim coating is, and have googled it and come up with nothing. Can someone guide me to where I can get the definition? I would so appreciate it. I thought I would have such nice looking walls, and am sure what I will end up with is a completely uneven texture patchwork.

I think if it was tape & joint the 3 coats were for the filling of the joints of the plasterboard, which all good jointer do ! which is known as a level 4 finish. The walls can have a coat of sealer which will stop the paint from flashing which means you can see the joints as they are smooth and the plasterboard has imperfections in the paper similar to orange peel. Then there is level 5 finish which the whole surface is coated with jointing compound, it can be applied with a trowel or rolled on and troweled off to fill the board surface. The other alternative is to spray with a surfacer. All will give you a nice finish. Plaster is applied with a base coat to fill and level the board then when it has just gone off a further coat is applied to bring it to depth and level every thing off nice then troweled to the required finish.

[Carina]

Thanks so much. They were supposed to skim coat the existing drywall--no taping or joints. Just old walls with a lot of imperfections. I do not know what they mean by three stage. Would that mean 3 coats of skim?

[ALROH57]

If the walls were that bad a tight coat of bonding and a skim coat or a skim coat would have done the trick. if you are not happy get someone else to put it right and hold the money back from the original contractor but be sure to put it in writing and give them a chance to put it right themselves first.

[ALROH57]

The plaster sanded you say, that says it all.

[Carina]

This was part of a total renovation, so we owe very little money at this point. We are trying to get them to correct a bunch of problems, and withhold the final payment. But I don't have a definition of what it should look like to prove that "three stage skim coating" was not done. I didn't know to specify in the contract what it should look like.

I'm not sure what you mean by "The plaster sanded you say, that says it all." Does that mean the skim coat isn't meant to be sanded?

Here is what they wrote after I complained that the walls weren't skim coated, but just patched:

Dave marked the areas after skim coating was done that yo pointed out during walkthrough with Marcello. Skim coating is a thin layer of compound or plaster applied to sheetrock​ thin sanded as needed so wall is smooth to the touch and ready for painting. You need a coat of primer then 2 coats at least of paint. They did more then 1 layer of skim coating, sanding and patching. Your walls are ready to paint once they are smooth the compound work has no bulges or cracks.

[ALROH57]

Looks like you have been taken for a long walk, plaster is NOT sanded joint filler IS repairs are done FIRST then skimmed then NO patches would show up. One you can contact a local builder with a good reputation and get a written report, contact an independent surveyor or even the county court to get a refund the rectify the faults. You are the customer and you no doubt said what you want and that was not achieved. These people make thing so much harder for a good tradesman to get work.

[Carina]

Thank you again. I really appreciate your comments and guidance.

[currierplastering]

He's not in the UK so they haven't used a gypsum based plaster. The method they have used is correct . It requires sanding and if done right will be better.

They should have filled and large holes with a filler; then applied 2 coats of skim compound. This is lightly sanded.

That's u r 3 stage method

[ALROH57]

Sorry I was a little premature and narrow in my thoughts. ALAN

[thestraightstory]

So Carina,
What happened? Did you get it resolved and are you any clearer on what they did or didn't do and/or were supposed to do?

[Carina]

We got totally screwed...they eventually just abandoned the whole job (whole apt. reno.) Total disaster. Everything they did was substandard and had to re-done. Just as the most horrible example--they took done part of a wall and told me they installed two 10 inch headers--once they were gone I punched a hole in it--it was nothing but a box of 2 x 3s to nail the sheetrock to. We filed a complaint with the city agency that licenses them, and are due to have a hearing in a couple of months. Live and learn.

[thestraightstory]

Thanks for the update Carina. Sorry you had a terrible experience and it's still going on. Just goes to show you get chancers calling themselves tradesmen all around the globe then? Which country was the job in? Hope you get recompensed to some degree, but probably not the lot and that you manage to find a proper professional to complete the work so you guys can put it behind you.

[Carina]

Thanks for the update Carina. Sorry you had a terrible experience and it's still going on. Just goes to show you get chancers calling themselves tradesmen all around the globe then? Which country was the job in? Hope you get recompensed to some degree, but probably not the lot and that you manage to find a proper professional to complete the work so you guys can put it behind you.

Thanks. Yes, chancers have no national allegiance I'm afraid. USA is where we are. And thankfully, we do have a proper professional now.