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[diy_newbie]

Hi,
I am in the process of getting my kitchen fitted. The previous kitchen had floor to window-sill tiling on one (external) wall which was set in some kind of hard plaster. To fit the new kitchen the fitter had to remove/chisel the old tiles and after removing the old tiles the walls don't look very good and in some places the brick work is exposed.
I always expected that the fitter will plaster over the area which was previously tiled but now I find that the fitter expects to only tile the portion above the work-tops. The base units have a back and once you place them the walls can't be seen and hence the fitter feels that the hidden area need not be plastered.
I would like some unbiased advise on what is the right thing to do. Since the wall in question is an external wall (it is a cavity wall) will there be any problems with damp etc ? Should I insist that the walls be properly plastered or should I just go with what the fitter is saying ?
Thanks a lot.

[toptips]

theres a huge differance between a pro kitchen fitter and someone who fits kitchens.you seem to have hired the latter.
stop him doing anymore work and get the walls plastered.

[TheDoctor5]

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[gerryyy]

no harm, u cnat see behind the units and its only a wall!! as long as it all looks goods!! fair play to fitter for fixing your plaster and tiles, alot would walk away, there job being FITTER!! not tiler and plasterer...some people expect u to do everything

[plumbbob]

Some customer's want the walls repaired before the units are installed, and if that's what the customer wants.......

However, there are inherent problems here. Firstly, the plaster must be allowed to dry before the installation, which will delay completion and anyway, why pay for something that will never be seen? It's like tiling under the cupboards. It's just not standard practice.

Toptips is wrong. It is definitely not usual practice to repair walls to the degree you are asking, as I say, unless the customer asks.

No harm will be caused by damp or anything else if the walls are left. Don't worry.

[toptips]

plumbbob,toptips is wrong eh,if you read through the question again i took it that the fitter had prior knowledge about removing tiles,

its very rarely you can remove tiles without some degree of damage to the plaster so i'll agree to disagree about replastering and put it down to
differant standards of work between builders.

but the phrase what you cant see wont hurt you will never be on my vans or cards.

have a good day, toptips

[plumbbob]

Toptips, the comment wasn't really meant to be offensive, but it is difficult to ignore comments about the inference of "a pro kitchen fitter" and "different standards"

I gave up many years ago asking customers if they want hidden works made good such as tiling under units, because as soon as they realise money can be saved, they generally jump at the chance. Some customers do insist that plastering is done before the units are installed, and fair enough, if the customer wants...

If I think back over all the installations I have seen over the last 30 years or so, I can definitely say most other installers follow this practice.

The phrase "what you cant see wont hurt you" will never be on any of my vans either, and neither will be the words "ripping you off for unnecessary works".

Toptips, if you go to the trouble of repairing such walls, you must be a careful and diligent worker, someone who unfortunately, our trade is very short of, but please don't be so swift to berate others who may be equally caring.

Live long and prosper.

Plumbbob

[sweetorb]

i agree with plumbob im afraid...

ive seen it done both ways! on a complete rip out and restore,i agree its good practice to re-plaster/ dab all walls,but,generally speaking its hardly worth the time,effort or money to re-apply,what is after all a "finishing plaster" (the clues in the title!) to walls that will never be seen again untill the next time the kitchen is replaced. in my experience (which is considerable) as a carpenter of 20 years and a "kitchen fitter" people will not want to pay out for such works. thats not even taking into account that generally the plumbing/waste/electrics etc are usually running across at least one wall below worktop level somewhere,and therefore dificult to acheive what ud call a finished surface.

ROCK ON!