Have belly on wall, can I plaster it?


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Old 01-24-11, 08:39 AM
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Have belly on wall, can I plaster it?

Still re-doing my bathroom, corrected the problem with the drywall screw bumps, now I ran into another. Took off my old vanity sink top, it was wood with a sink in the middle, a lot of caulk on the backslpash, now I know why. I put on my new one piece sink top and noticed my wall bellies in, this dip is about 2 feet long and shows a 1/4" wide gap in the middle of my backsplash. The dip in the wall also goes up about 2 foot above my backsplash then levels out. Can I fill in this belly with plaster to level my wall out so my backsplash will fit tight against the wall? If I can plaster what should I use, spackling paste, all purpose joint compound, bond-o, etc? Thanks.....
 
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Old 01-24-11, 02:44 PM
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If I understand correctly, the wall has a large depression, not an area that sticks out ??

A depression can be filled, an area that juts out can be feathered out to make it less obvious. You can use either joint compound or a setting compound like durabond. Regular j/c tends to shrink as it dries so if you apply it too thick you may have some cracks in the fresh j/c to address. I like to use durabond on these types of repairs and use j/c for the final coat of mud because it's easier to sand
 
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Old 01-24-11, 03:47 PM
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Yes, the wall bellies in on that one spot, it does not stick out. I'll get durabond and use that then use joint compound for my finish like you said. Thanks for the help, I just may get this batroom done this week, thanks again......
 
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Old 01-24-11, 06:05 PM
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Grantiman:

You can fill in that big depression on the wall, but that's not the way this kind of work would normally be done.

I've installed more than my fair share of prefab plastic laminate kitchen counter tops, and they will normally have a lip at the top of the backsplash that's anywhere from 1/2 to 5/8 inches deep. The purpose of that lip is to allow you to scribe and cut the top of the backsplash to fit the wall's contour.

Before you do anything, I would check to see if your "one piece sink top" is meant to be scribed and cut to fit the contour of the wall.

If so, the way you would scribe this top would be to put a board (thickness doesn't matter, as long as it's uniform in thickness) between the front of the cabinet and the back of any front overhang of the top (called the "bullnose"). That will insure that the top is PARALLEL to the cabinet.

Now, note the greatest width of gap between the backsplash and the wall, and use a short block of wood (or block of anything) that's slightly wider than that to scribe the contour of the wall onto the lip of the back splash with a felt pen.

Cut along that scribe line with a jig saw. Jig saws leave a messy cut. With plasic laminate you'll see the laminate chipped up on both sides of the cut line. Your material may be more forgiving, but it's always best to cut along the scrap side of the scribe line, not directly on the scribe line.

Now, use a belt sander to sand off the remaining material from the backsplash lip right up to the scribe line. Then, your top will fit your wall perfectly, and any boo-boos can be covered with a normal bead of caulk.

The previous homeowner probably didn't know this, which is why he schmeared caulk over that big gap.

There's some fine tuning that can make this procedure a little better, so check to see whether your top is meant to be cut to fit the contour of the wall first. Cuz if it is, that's how you really should be doing this installation. Also, if you're supposed to cut the top to fit the wall, check to ensure that the lip on the top of the backsplash is deep enough to accomodate the full depth of depression in the wall.
 
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Old 01-25-11, 08:16 AM
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Tough to scribe granite or tile though.
 
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Old 01-26-11, 09:40 AM
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I'm with Mark, I'd fill this with setting compound
 
kathann voted this post useful.
 

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