Any plaster experts ?

[piggy73]

Any plaster experts out there ?

We had some rain damage to our plaster work over our fire place area in our top bedroom.

Insurance company have accepted claim & reapairs are currently underway via a company organised by our insurance.

Our house is very old & it has that pinky coloured plaster (with the horse hair in it).

The company have only replaced the areas of plaster where there were obvious damp patches - so there is now a mix of modern & old plaster. Is this likely to cause any problems ? I just wonder if the whole wall should have been redone with the same plaster ?

After repainting the whole wall the paint seems to be peeling only where the old plaster is ?

Also some of the old plaster work seems to have a hollow sound when tapped - a friend mentioned that this indicates the plaster is coming away from the wall. I wonder if I should expect this to be replaced i.e would the damp have caused this ?

I'm just trying to get some information before speaking to them about this. So far they have been quite approachable & their work so far has been fine.

Many thanks for any information.

 

[Pford75]

The company have only replaced the areas of plaster where there were obvious damp patches - so there is now a mix of modern & old plaster

Why? Your insurance policy was based upon like for like replacement I assume....so why have they patched with modern plaster? If my car gets scratched, I expect the insurers to properly respray the panel...not just touch it up with a tin of humbrol.

After repainting the whole wall the paint seems to be peeling only where the old plaster is

What was the old plaster covered with? Could be limewash or distemper which is causing the paint to peel - whereas the new section has no such covering and therefore paints fine.

Also some of the old plaster work seems to have a hollow sound when tapped - a friend mentioned that this indicates the plaster is coming away from the wall. I wonder if I should expect this to be replaced i.e would the damp have caused this ?

Not necessarily. Hollow sounds can indicate blown plaster, but equally it can survive for many years without needing to be replaced. Much of my plaster sounds 'hollow' but it has never come loose.



I would have insisted that the insurance company replace/repair on a like for like basis. ie. lime plaster replaced with lime plaster. Might be too late now though.

 

[Nemesis]

Our house is very old & it has that pinky coloured plaster (with the horse hair in it).

Lime is usually white.

 

[skier-hughes]

The company have only replaced the areas of plaster where there were obvious damp patches - so there is now a mix of modern & old plaster

Why? Your insurance policy was based upon like for like replacement I assume....so why have they patched with modern plaster? If my car gets scratched, I expect the insurers to properly respray the panel...not just touch it up with a tin of humbrol.

Maybe the OP is just talking about new lime plaster and old lime plaster.

We do need more info to give more advice.

 

[piggy73]

Thank you very much for all the information.

The company doing the repairs were advised that it was an old type of plaster - so we just left the job to them (assuming they were the experts). Does look like modern type plaster has been used though. I will try & check this out.

I suspect the original lime plaster had some sort of wash on it - when we moved in the previous owner seemed to like the colour pink ! I'm sure the old plaster is lime though as it has a chalky texture.

Also under the peeling paint was a layer of artex (not the dodgy version though) & the contractors were also advised of this. Would this cause peeling or could it be dampness still in the plaster ?

Does lime plaster ever dry out once it gets damp ? Our rain damage occurred a couple of years ago (2006 exceptionally heavy rain). Took ages to sort things out - as we had to replace our roof before work could start.

I totally understand about the "like for like" & agree that should be the case - though at some point in the past our house has been renovated as our downstair rooms do have modern plaster.

Cheers

PJ

 

[Penners]

at some point in the past our house has been renovated as our downstair rooms do have modern plaster.

But that's no excuse for your insurance company to do a sub-standard job. As Pford75 said above, they should repair like-for-like. It seems to me that you have grounds to complain to them and have the work done again properly with haired lime plaster.

 

[DaveBrigg]

Also under the peeling paint was a layer of artex (not the dodgy version though) & the contractors were also advised of this. Would this cause peeling or could it be dampness still in the plaster ?

Does lime plaster ever dry out once it gets damp ? Our rain damage occurred a couple of years ago (2006 exceptionally heavy rain). Took ages to sort things out - as we had to replace our roof before work could start.

The reason for the peeling paint will depend on which type of paint you used. One cause of peeling is that when old plaster gets damp, salts can be drawn to the surface, which then lifts the paint. If this is the case you should see what looks like white fluff beneath the paint.

Lime plaster does dry out, but it might take a long time, especially if the wall behind it got a soaking. The time will be prolonged if the other, outside face of the wall is coated with something which stops it from breathing - such as Snowcem. Our internal lime rendering was finished two years ago, and there are still two places at the base of walls where it is not fully dry. If your problem is on a chimney breast, drying time will depend on whether there is ventilation inside the chimney, or whether it was sealed to fit a liner.

 

[Tom]

- though at some point in the past our house has been renovated as our downstair rooms do have modern plaster.

Do you intend to remove this then, and replace it with Lime plaster?

Jaqy