Amateur - can this be fixed?

[jeric.cire]

Hello! We've had a bungling craftsman at our house. He had high ratings on Offerta but has sabotaged in several ways.

He's left now but I have a question:

See pictures below - The MDF board is flush against the plasterboard. Can this be fixed to look nice?

Should I use some paper/fabric and putty the joint?

I assume MDF moves with temperature changes, so just putty is likely to crack.

Is it possible to make this look nice so that it becomes a uniform wall? Or do I need to take everything down and install plasterboard?

 

[Chokladmonster]

Now I don't quite understand what has been done, but why haven't they chosen plaster instead of MDF and then tape and filler?

 

[Hammarskallen]

MDF doesn't move, that's the nice thing about MDF

 

[jeric.cire]

Now I don't quite understand what has been done, but why didn't you choose plasterboard instead of MDF and then tape and filler?

That's what I wondered a bit too when I got home 😅

I wanted to reduce the doorway, so he built a box out of MDF.

 

[jeric.cire]

MDF doesn't move, that's the great thing about MDF

You see! You learn something new every day, even though I've been renovating for 8 years now.

I outsourced a job to a craftsman (replacing trim on the entire ground floor). He put MDF against drywall. Do I just spackle or do I need to insert some kind of tape before I spackle?

Note: this step is not why I'm calling the craftsman a hack! (He has ruined many other things)

This step might be done correctly, I'm just unsure.

He's now left, and I will finish it myself. Just wondering how I should make it look nice between MDF and drywall before painting? Is it enough just to spackle?

 

[Hammarskallen]

Normally, you don't use MDF as wall cladding. But it should work with a joint tape just like with gypsum/gypsum.

 

[Freniño]

Prime the MDF first and sand down the fibers that rise. It absorbs a lot of moisture from the filler if it is not primed.

 

[bygges]

Can someone explain this more, is it possible to plaster over gypsum-MDF as if everything were gypsum? Doesn't it crack?

 

[Freniño]

Can someone explain this more, is it possible to plaster over gypsum-MDF as if everything were gypsum? Doesn't it crack?

Faced a similar dilemma with a meeting between a glulam post and gypsum. Never found a really good answer when searching, except for the only tip to prime the wood before plastering so it doesn't draw out the moisture from the plaster too quickly. Primed the post and plastered in a paper strip between the post and gypsum. So far it hasn't cracked, but it's only been a year. Have been through all seasons, so I think it should have cracked by now if it was going to. In previous posts, it is mentioned that MDF doesn't move, so it should be even better for filling gaps with plaster.