Sand

The plasterer arrived at the allotted time this morning and set to work with the sand & cement rendering of the three block/stone walls in my daughters bedroom. The first step was two coats of diluted PVA to seal the surface and prevent the render coat from drying out too quickly. This is especially important on the insulating "celcon" blocks which are very absorbent.

Initially the plasterer was unhappy with the sand as it appeared to be very "sticky" with a high clay content. I had ordered all the materials from a shopping list that he had given me, and it included a ton of rendering or plastering stand. Apparently this is different from normal builders sand and it is very significant in how easy it is to apply and how well it will adhere to the surface. I am slightly disappointed that it was not very good, as I phoned around a few suppliers to get prices. Eventually I spoke to the chap here to fit the conservatory roof and he offered to get everything for me through his account. I discussed the sand with him and he was the first to draw my attention to the complexities of sand buying. I went with his recommendation, and offer to buy through his account.

It didn't actually turn out too bad, as the mix was easier to work than the plasterer expected. Because of the relatively high clay content, it has shrunk and cracked a little as it has dried, but I am told this shouldn't be a problem in the long term, especially as it has a proportion of lime in it to keep it relatively soft.

The conservatory roof has also been stripped today, but there were delivery problems with the new one, so the fitters went to the yard and collected all the parts other than the glass. I guess the glass is to be delivered later in the week.

Unfortunately my camera cable is still missing, so still no pictures. Sorry.