Levelling surface of brick wall

[David]

Still flogging away at lining the chimney opening.

One side is done (again) but this was fairly straightforward. It was roughly 7mm out of true top to bottom (double glazing packers are really good as shims for measuring small gaps)and I had some MDF which was roughly 7mm thick. So a 7mm padding piece at the top of some 18mm OSB brought it back to true. I just have to be careful not to tighten the intermediate screws too much or the middle part dips in. Yes - a bit of a bodge but it seems to work. Grading packing pieces didn't seem to be an option. Washers under the screws might if it looks to be a problem.

Now the other side is apparently vertical but the bricks are very irregular. I would like to fill in some of the dips but rendering the whole thing doesn't seem an option - you need a certain depth of render before it sticks. What I need is a vertical equivalent of the levelling compound you use to take minor dips out of a rendered floor, which will stick like shit to old brickwork and trowel out nice and flat.

I am wondering about decorator's filler but checking to see if there is a wonder compound for just this use.

I could dot and dab the board on but previous experience suggests that it would be good to be able to take it out again (perhaps several times) as I spot the hidden flaws. As in "Sod it, that will do" followed by "Then again......" when looking at it the next day. I am already upgrading the

11mm sides (which I thought were 15mm) to 18mm to give a bit more rigidity.

Cheers

Dave R

[meow2222]

Plaster?

NT

[Andrew Gabriel]

Plastering was invented for this purpose.

[leenowell]

Is this inside the chimney or on the outside? If you seal it first (there is some green PVA stuff with grit in it which is apparently very good) you can then get to a level surface with bonding and the final skim if you want it smooth.

The other option (if you want to be able to remove it later) is to fix battens to the wall then attach a board on to it. This will clearly be much thicker than the plaster option - not sure if this is an issue for you or not

[stuart noble]

IME cement render will stick to sound surfaces, even in very thin layers (you may notice it's a bitch to get off a plastic bucket). A liberal applications of a 10% pva/water solution might just create that. You could try ready mixed tile cement, which is lightweight and designed to bond to rubbish substrates

[David]

Strangely, never really considered this. I am use to plaster going on to render or plaster board. No reason why it shouldn't go directly onto brick.

At the moment the wood is screwed in and is almost (!) perfect. We will see if the shelves go in O.K. If not, it may all come out again but I really hope not.

About to wire in the Ethernet ports.

Cheers

Dave R

[Weatherlawyer]

Paint stripper on the bricks and get a gouge to remove the pointing to an equal depth. If they are not painted, just messy with old plaster, a wire brush will get them in good knick.