Need ideas for covering crumbling FAUX brick from the 70s

[gbooth]

Hi Brains Trust, 

We have a faux brick wall in our kitchen that wraps around 2 archways. I am unsure of what it is made of, but the neighbors tell us the 'brick' formation was printed into a sand like material that was spread on the wall. 

- This seems accurate as it is falling away and crumbles to the touch. On the arches it had cracked and you can see the glue underneath and it has started to separate from the cornices. (Also, ugly)

We thought about removing this and re-gyprocking the wall, however this seems to be a mammoth task and not really sure about the damage it could cause. We also have plans to knock this wall out in the future. 

Looking for a suggestion on maybe a render, or something thick like concrete to smooth over the 'brick'. Still happy for this to be a textured wall - microcement style - but its current form is a dust magnet, catches clothing as you walk past and extremely difficult to clean - did I mention ugly?

Thanks!

[JacobZ]

Hi @gbooth,

Thank you for your question about your faux brick wall.

Unfortunately, if it is not stable, which it doesn't sound like it is, then the only recommendation I could give is to remove it and start again.

Anything applied over the top of it is reliant on it clinging to the wall. By the sounds of it, adding any considerable weight, in the form of a render or plaster, is not going to be a great idea.

If it is a printed render of some sort, and it is crumbling as you've mentioned, then you may be able to just remove it with a QEP 4" Floor and Wall Razor Scraper. 

Once it has been removed, you can fix up any holes or cracks with plaster and then paint over the top. 

Allow me to tag @AlanM52, @Dave-1 and @Nailbag to see what they think.

Please let me know what you think.

Jacob

[Dave-1]

Good morning @gbooth 

I woul also suggest to remove the sandy stuff first, I have doors with flaky paint and even tho I want to install some panneling on them I am hesitant for the same reason, I could glue to the paint and tehn the paint keeps flaking off 😕 I would try scraping it off maybe in a bottom corner and see how easily it comes of but also be prepared to remove the plaster and redo. 

We come up with some funky designs for our places I try and steer clear of the more outlandish ones and this is one of those Welcome to the  70's and 80's (green walls and blue carpet in my spare room) 

One last thing I can think of to have a go, using a course nylon brush with short bristels, scrub the wall, see how much sandy stuff comes off, maybe you can get it down to a level that you are happy with. then spray paint the surface. It could do until you redo the wall. 

Dave

[AlanM52]

Hi @gbooth,

Mark time until you are ready to remove the wall.

Brush down the wall and apply a sealer which should at least reduce the annoying dust issue.

Cheers

[Nailbag]

Hi @gbooth 

If your looking for a short term solution to stop the flaking dust, the advice that @JacobZ @AlanM52 and @JacobZ will be get that sorted. Basically, you're removing all the loose materials and then sealing it over.

Long term, if you're considering to replace the Faux wall with plasterboard or another feature type panelling, it would be worth getting the advice of a local builder or domestic building surveyor. These people can establish what the structural condition is of the wall, and check if and where it is load bearing., This information will then put you better placed to not whats possible including even altering both the size and shape of the opening.

Nailbag