How long does plaster take to dry before you can install kitchen cabinets?

[nomad5]

So my kitchen installer (who will be installing our IKEA kitchen) has told me we need 5 WEEKS for plaster to dry before we can install the kitchen cabinets!! WTF!! This does not match with what Google has told me.... who is right?!

We don't have that kind of time between plumbing and electrics and when he's due to install the kitchen.

Would plasterboard on brick/dot and dab be a better choice???

kitchen cabinets are generally made of chipboard or MDF, which reacts very badly to damp. Where the cabinets back onto the wall they will prevent the plaster drying out so they will stay damp longer.

You could hire a dehumidifier which will dry them out faster.

Is this a new build? Or plaster on an old dry wall? When did the roof go on?

pigletjohn not a new build, a 1950s brick terrace. Pulled the kitchen out the other week and in the middle of doing plumbing re-adjustments (boring new pipes!) and full-rewire . Kitchen due to be installed in January, we move in February. Have attached a picture of what it looks like as of today (yikes)!

My installer has said 5 weeks to dry, with a dehumidifier plus heating on.

Wondering what the best solution is here!! Fairly standard IKEA kitchen installation planned.

All advice gratefully received....!!!

Roof is due to be completely replaced in the spring! Current roof went on in, err, late 1950

More context: There was a chimney there on the right hand side (where you can see exposed brick) but we have pulled that out. Along the right hand wall (out of sight) we have bricked up a doorway. We knocked through a wall that would have been in the front of the picture, reinforced with steel beam.

so you have some new brickwork. That will be wetter than an old wall. Much worse if the bricks were left outside in the rain.

As it's a kitchen you could have it battened, lined with 18mm ply then plasterboard. The fitter will like that, because it makes it very easy to screw things to the wall. Electrician and plumber will need to know before they do first fix, and you should photograph the layout of concealed pipes and cables before they are covered up.

p.s.

on your external walls, you can add insulating slabs under the lining.

Hmmm ok. Thanks pigletjohn . It's a really small space so the solution you suggest will take a significant bit of space out but I don't think we have a choice. Plumbing and electrics will only be finished later this month! Will message the installer now....

There's only one external wall on the kitchen and it backs onto the conservatory.

Is the brickwork being patched up with sand and cement render then skimmed? If so then it takes a few weeks for the render to cure rather than dry until it's cured it will crumble quite easily.

Looking like maybe we need to push out the kitchen installation for a month if it's being patched up :(

DH is wondering about cement backing board like HardieBacker but it's not clear whether you can install cabinets on that.

Dotting and dabbing isn't recommended where you want to fix anything (especially something as heavy as kitchen cabinets) on a wall as d&d leaves gaps in between the dots of adhesive on the backside of the board, unless you can guarantee there is a blob of adhesive behind the exact points you want to put a fixing then as you tighten the fixings it will just pull the board into the wall and leave hollows and cracks in your plaster. I wouldn't go that route. Using Hardiebacker won't be any different than plasterboard if you're thinking of dotting and dabbing.

Well, the crucial question seems to be the type of plastering planned. If it’s sand/cement render based it will be a few weeks. If it’s hardwall it will be a few days. I prefer the former but if timing is crucial for you I’d imagine you can use the latter (I’m no expert. I’ve just had a lot of plastering done).

Also: I thought using a dehumidifier wasn’t recommended because it can cause cracking?

Hardiebackerboard is (I think) typically used where walls will be tiled. It is screwed and glued to the wall.

I would have thought hardwall is the solution here but I’m not sure why your builder isn’t using it anyway. They usually prefer to. Are there damp issues? Is the delay in his interests due to scheduling of other work?

Our units have gone up in front of new plaster less than a week after. It was several layers of the stuff as well as it was for damp proofing (not just a skim).

We're using multiple different tradespeople and managing it ourselves. Hence there's not one general builder.

The kitchen is a very small space (1950s terrace house kitchen) so I'm wary of putting up plasterboard as it will need battens and that will take away precious centimetres in the kitchen. I have a feeling that wet plastering will be necessary.... Hopefully will get a plasterer round in the next few days to take a look.