ᐅ Repair of chipped concrete on interior wall of a prefabricated panel building (Plattenbau)

Created on: 10 May 2021 11:46
T
Tolentino
Tolentino10 May 2021 11:46
Hello dear forum members,

I helped a friend install various things in her newly occupied prefabricated apartment.

Beforehand, I read up about the special characteristics of the notorious walls in Berlin prefabricated buildings. Still, on one wall, the concrete along with the wallpaper chipped off on the other side of the drilled hole. I assume I pressed too hard and perhaps the concrete was already weakened here. Now, of course, we need to repair this.

The chipped area is about 20 cm (8 inches) high, 10 cm (4 inches) wide, and 2 cm (0.8 inches) deep. The entire interior wall has a thickness of 6.5 cm (2.6 inches). I assume it is a concrete wall without plaster. The woodchip wallpaper is glued directly onto it and then painted. At the moment, the cracked woodchip wallpaper still holds the concrete fragments, but it is clear that more will fall off.

My planned approach:

1. Make large cuts in the woodchip wallpaper and remove it
2. Remove loose fragments and dust
3. a) Treat the damaged area with a primer (necessary? How absorbent is the concrete, which has already been pasted once?)
3. b) Let dry (are there faster options here?)
4. a) Smoothly fill the damaged area with filler (Is ready-mixed filler still okay here, or is the area too large and especially too deep? Or should I even use cement? Do I have to work in several layers?)
4. b) Let dry (are there faster options here? I’m inexperienced and don’t feel confident using fast-setting cement with a 3-minute setting time; I will definitely need longer to achieve a smooth finish)
5. a) + b) Apply primer again and let dry (necessary?)
5. c) Apply paste and woodchip wallpaper (should the wallpaper fit precisely or overlap the remaining edges?)
5. d) Let dry
6. Paint (Does anyone know if there is a standard white commonly used by housing associations? Is it traffic white?)

Is my approach okay, or are there any major mistakes?

Is there perhaps a simpler method?

Since there are so many drying times, this will be a job spread over several days with multiple visits. Is there a way to speed this up or skip some steps?

Many thanks and best regards

Tolentino
Nida35a10 May 2021 12:31
Just as you described, it works.
The quick solution is to glue the large piece directly with strong adhesive,
the wallpaper is already applied and can be painted over with wall paint.
It depends on whether it is a visible area and if it only needs to last until the apartment handover.
Damage to panel building walls happens from time to time.
Tolentino10 May 2021 12:54
Unfortunately, these are mostly several small to medium-sized chunks.
Is there a recommendation for the filling material? I assume premixed filler might be unreliable for this size?
No, it’s the apartment that was just moved into...
H
HarvSpec
10 May 2021 13:08
If you need it to go faster, use a bonding agent that is approved for wet-on-wet application (Sopro HE 449).

For filling, I would recommend a repair filler (e.g., RS 462), which you can extend with sand and cement for deep holes.
Or, if there are only small depressions greater than 1cm (0.4 inches), use a bit of Racofix and then smooth it out with a spatula.
Tolentino10 May 2021 13:16
@HarvSpec Ah, interesting. So I fill the hole, apply the bonding primer, and then I can immediately glue the textured wallpaper on? Can I also paint it right away?
H
HarvSpec
10 May 2021 13:22
No, the bonding agent is used to connect the substrate to the filler; I am not familiar with wallpapering.