Blister bubbles in wardrobes

[rithick]

Hello Forum members,
My interior work is still in progress & i noticed blister in wardrobes that are attached to the wall. attached the photo.
I am sure that there are no issues with wall nor any water leakage as the loft is very clear. tough the wall are common to the bathroom ( no pipes are passing in that wall).
The interior guy is saying that he had used marine grade of greenply brand and passing the blame that to the civil contractor.

can someone shed on what are possible issues according to the photo ? what is the remedy to fix this?

Blisters

Thanks, Rithick

[msn1270]

Hi Rithik

Firstly your carpenter doesn't know, what is Marine grade Ply ??. No one uses Marine Grade Ply for the wardrobes as there is no necessity and also it is at least 4-5 times costlier to the regular MR Grade ply. Very few people use it for Modular Kitchen as the environment is always prone to moisture & water spills. As the name itself indicates, Marine Grade Plywood is specifically treated with waterproof glue and it doesn't have any impact even if the ply is exposed to heavy moisture & directly with water also. Anyone can confidently say your carpenter has not used marine grade Ply.

Looks like the Blisters appeared on the Primer Paint applied on the Ply. Not sure whether its formed on the Panel board itself. Please verify and confirm. If its formed by the Primer, it can be removed and to be repainted.

Meanwhile, Multiple reasons are there for this kind of blister/bubble formation. Some of the rework options includes, hot pressing to remove air gaps or excess glue, cracking the blisters or removing the outer layer and bonding with a laminate.

1. Inferior Primer Paint or excess paint applied.

2. Less or excess glue/adhesive is used to bond the Plywood and the veneer.

3. Cheap quality Ply & Adhesive is used.

4. uneven pressing or improper weight used while the panel is being pressed & kept for bonding.

5. Water or Moisture entered the ply as the edges were not closed and kept it open for longer time unattended.

6. Thickness variation in the ply board.

[ardesarchitects]

Hi,Rithick
The blisters are common problem in lamination . There could be various reason for the same
1. Wall dampness will create moisture
2. Un even ply surface ( in carpenter terms they say its gas from ply )
3. Un even sticking of laminate to ply. If pressing of laminate sheet is not done evenly, in these most cases it will be big bubbles.
4. Inferior laminate thickness ( less than .7mm thck )
Remedy
1. Using iron box they can remove the top laminate to inspect the ply condition for any moisture and refix with new laminate.


Regards
Ar.Praveen.N
Ardes Architects and Interior designers
www.ardesarchtiects.com
ardesarchitects@gmail.com

[msn1270]

Regular carpenters doesn't use laminates for the Panels which gets attached to the Wall as a cost saving option for Wardrobes, Modular Kitchen....etc. They just paint the ply with Primer. Hence Panels directly gets exposed to moisture from walls/water seepage(in certain cases) and Panel deformation happens. Its better to use laminates even for the back panels along with the PVC Edge banding instead of beading, as both are synthetic, they don't allow moisture to enter the Ply.