# Forum Home Renovation Plastering  Cant decide - cement render or plasterboard

## john9996

Can anyone please recomend which is the best way to go.....Cement render or plasterboard (with furring channels) onto internal brickwalls? 
I have stripped the internal walls of a terrace house back to the bare brickwork (old drummy lime sand plaster was removed). The walls are 2 bricks thick with no cavity. The house has had cracks in the old plaster from movement in the foundations (old sandstone block footings). A new dampcourse will be added and lateral damp problems addressed but I do not trust will ever be completly fixed  *1. Cement Render*
Pros: hard durable finishbetter resistance to any residual damp in wallseasy to work with and finish to corners, windows, etcCons: cracks harder to cover up if building movesmore work involved in chasing walls for electrical wiring*2. Plasterboard (with 16mm metal furring channels as battens)*
Pros: easier to run wiring behind wallsholds up better to building movement before cracks appeareasier to fix and cover up cracksCons: mould may form behind plasterboardeasy access for termites to travel to first floor timber flooringThanks in advance

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## Rod Dyson

Actually the plasterboard on battens is better for rising damp as an air gap is created and the plasterboard is isolated from the carrier of the dampness ie. THE BRICKS.   
I guess you would need to do a cost comparison as well the plaster board on battens fixed to brick will cost about $18 to $20 per m2. 
I cant tell you what the cost of render is perhaps someone else could help. 
I know I would go with plasterboard but then I am a little bit biased. 
Cheers Rod

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## Quikcote

I say render but im also biased.
If your looking to do the render yourself, it can start at around $5 per square.

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## Rod Dyson

Sand and cements sure is cheaper as far as materials go but very few can do a good diy render job without some prior experience. 
cheers Rod

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## Quikcote

I have never actually worked out a costing for how much sand and cement is per square meter but it is quite cheap. However the labour is where the expense comes into it. 
Acrylic renders start from $5 per m2 and are a bit easier to use.

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## Rod Dyson

Although I don't think you would consider Acrylic render for internal walls would you? 
I have no idea really, I just cant remember ever seeing it used indoors.

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## johnc

If you want a decent job inside I really wouldn't think DIY render cuts it. With solid brick walls and no cavity on sandstone foundations a solid surface is asking for cracks. You really want to know how to bridge old cracks in the brickwork and have a base coat with a bit of give to allow movement. And before anyone asks I don't really know what I'm talking about when it comes to inside walls. 
John.

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## sydneymick

Youre personal choice really. 
I am lucky enough to be able to do both myself. 
I personally went with render in my home with a hard plaster setting on top. that matched the rest of my home.
You got a blank canvas so you do as you please. 
I like both materials but honestly i must say a botched rendering job can be horendous where as plasterboard is usually safe in fixing methods. 
as long as you address the damp issue and dont just cover it up. if you are going for an old style look, render will add character.  
Enjoy.

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## Quikcote

> Although I don't think you would consider Acrylic render for internal walls would you? 
> I have no idea really, I just cant remember ever seeing it used indoors.

  Acrylic renders are virtually the same as the traditional renders but with a refined sand and polymers and other modifiers added in. I don't know what they actually put in them  but it works for me. 
We use alot of both the traditional sand, cement and the acrylic renders and the main difference is the labour. Acrylic renders are a bit quicker but can also be the downfall. The quality can suffer when quantity is more important.

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## TJAY

The place we've bought is absolutely riddled with rising damp (but we knew that), and while I'd love to redo the render once we've finished the new damp course, I'm not confident I could do that much work, that well, so I'm probably going to lean towards using board. 
But I am going to have a crack at render first in one minor (ie hidden!) room, if I can 'learn' there I'd love to keep the traditional methods throughout the home where possible.

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## jags

a thread i can contribute to . makes me fell better about asking so many questions ... 
i went through this on the last reno, plaster or render and after doing render i would have to say that next time i would use plaster board . 
some of the resons that have not been mentioned . 
rendering is bloody messy 
it cost a $hit load to do 
it's not for DIY 
it takes a long time 
a bad job looks terrible 
and you have to wait about 4 week for the moisture to get out of the render before you can paint it . 
the down side of plaster board is it might sound drummy . 
(imo)
Rob

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## Ronaldo451

I had similar issues and wanted to stay with Render for an original/traditional finish but eventually gave up and put in Gyprock - one of the better decisions made in the never ending process. With fancy cornices and skirtings the walls are not the feature anyway. 
Gyprock is quick, relatively cheap and doable for the non trades enthusiast and is an 'immediate fix' so you can move on to the next job. After two or three goes at various rendering products in different areas I just could not get it right and it looked it! Variations in wall alignment, changes to window/door layouts, additional partitions etc are all dramas in render but not gyprock. Think about the amount of time an inexperienced amateur would take to get a 3600 x 2700 high wall covered evenly in render as against fixing 2 sheets of 3600 x 1350 gyprock!! 
I did not do it, but if you wanted to, one of the render type paints could possibly still give the traditional render look on a gyprock wall. 
Good luck either way

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## john9996

Has anyone had problems with mould growing behind plasterboard when fixing to internal brickwork with 16mm furring channels??.......(note: no ventilation is available in my case) 
cheers
john

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## namtrak

> Has anyone had problems with mould growing behind plasterboard when fixing to internal brickwork with 16mm furring channels??.......(note: no ventilation is available in my case) 
> cheers
> john

  Thats exactly how I replastered our existing house some 3/4 years ago, I have had no problems - I think the 16mm of battens create the air space needed for ventilation and the plaster/brickwork cavity opens into the ceiling.

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## rmartens

Can you give information on how old the terraced house is how straight is the brickwork? Mainly in old buildings the brickwork is not straight at all. If you have solved all the dampness problems from the outside then you can start work on the inside. If you have not stopped the dampness then after you applied new render or sheeting you will get problems again.  
If you walk into old houses with just lime and sand, the walls may be drummy but the walls are still standing so its a proven product. Lime is a proven product so if you rerender (float)  using a high lime content say 6 sand 1 cement and 1.5 lime  you cant go wrong if all your walls are screeded straight you will have the best proffesional finish and it will look the nicest all your new arches and picture rails will look real nice on straight work

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## john9996

> Can you give information on how old the terraced house is how straight is the brickwork? Mainly in old buildings the brickwork is not straight at all. If you have solved all the dampness problems from the outside then you can start work on the inside. If you have not stopped the dampness then after you applied new render or sheeting you will get problems again. 
> If you walk into old houses with just lime and sand, the walls may be drummy but the walls are still standing so its a proven product. Lime is a proven product so if you rerender (float) using a high lime content say 6 sand 1 cement and 1.5 lime you cant go wrong if all your walls are screeded straight you will have the best proffesional finish and it will look the nicest all your new arches and picture rails will look real nice on straight work

  The house is approx. 130 yrs old and yes the brickwork is not straight.
The current footings are sandstone strip blocks and the house has had cracks in the old lime+sand plaster render which I have now stripped back.
I expect that the walls will again crack if I rerender, so I have decided to use plasterboard onto steel furring channels. I am putting in a new dampcourse and going to sel the walls from any lateral damp.......my concern is that air trapped behind the plasterboard will start to create mould just from normal air condensation.......there is no option of putting in ventilation 
cheers

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## Rod Dyson

Provided you have treated the walls for dampness, I cant see that there would be a problem with mould forming.  I have stripped a few jobs with this application and have not seen mould forming on the back of the sheets. 
I think it would take more than normal condensation in the air to cause mould.  
Cheer Rod

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