Exposed Stone

[MdB]

As we have had the poll creation enabled for a while, I thought we might as well make use of it. I guess I am a bit biased on this question though.


You may remember this picture of a wall I wasn't sure how to deal with.

Well, I slowly removed the render off the whole wall in sections, repairing it as I went.

I used lots of stainless steel rods and a lot of lime to give it a bit of additional strength where possible.

The wall repaired. The red dots are where I added rods into the wall.

Finally the wall was pointed in lime. This took a while...

Mrs MdB did most of the pointing and completed it a couple of days ago.

Now I know that some people here don't like exposed stone and I would encourage those that don't like what we have done to say so (in a nice way ;-) ) as that gets a discussion going. In our defence, I wouldn't have done this if the lime render that was originally on the walls had survived. Unfortunately, it had long gone and all that was lost was some cement and woodchip wallpaper. If in the future, somebody wants to lime render then this is still possible and would return the wall to its original state. We like it as it is though.

 

[JoceAndChris]

LOL - what a great idea the poll is.

Now you know my thoughts about authenticity and exposed stone, so I'll stay very quiet and just say you are lovely, and so's your wife, and when is she coming round to do my pointing?

 

[Feltwell]

I just can't believe you've destroyed original woodchip.

Next you'll be telling us the avacado bath suite and swirly pattern carpets have gone as well.

Please don't touch the polystyrene ceiling tiles, some original fabric must be preserved.....


:wink: Looks good, I like it. There, I've come out of the "exposed stone liking" closet!

 

[MdB]

Please don't touch the polystyrene ceiling tiles, some original fabric must be preserved.....

Actually, the ceiling is 1970's plasterboard which I have carefully preserved, though I must admit to giving it a new layer of the pink stuff..

 

[JoceAndChris]

How clever with the steel rod things too - just fascinating to see that.

 

[JoceAndChris]

And I can't believe the "way to improve the look of your home" is currently winning - come on Gareth and Gervase!

 

[Flyfisher]

Ignoring personal tastes (for the moment), it seems to me that you've done the right things to repair the wall and to preserve as much as possible of the original materials. You're now at the stage of deciding whether to make the final 'repair' to the wall by adding a finishing layer of lime plaster.

If you prefer the bare stone, then just stop where you are and don't plaster the wall. It makes no difference to the original fabric, which you have now stabilised and given a longer life, but, importantly, it wouldn't prevent anyone in future doing so if they wish, for reasons of taste and/or authenticity.

Re-plaster or not? It's simply a personal decorative choice. You might as well ask if red is a better colour than green.

 

[JoceAndChris]

I'm not for minute disputing the fact that MdB is doing right by his house, and that of course it's their personal choice. The wall's been done in lime and that's the main thing.

However, I'm sure no-one on here would fail to acknowledge the dreadful things done to old properties in quest of this unfortunate craze - the stripping off of historic lime plaster, the shot-blasting of brick, the repointing in cement.

It's a sore point with me as my house has greatly suffered in the exposing of brick downstairs - I've 5 little rooms that will all need lovingly repointing in lime. (and plastering).

And the other issue with it is of course hygiene. A bit of exposed stone in a place that you're unlikely to brush up against is probably fine, but mine rains dust all over the cooking, and plates, and antiques, and recipe books, and harbours millions of eggs in its crevices. So how do you seal it? I've yet to see that conclusively answered. What product allows breathability, is durable, and retains the matt look of the stone? The one Womersley recommended to me was over £100 for one can.

 

[MdB]

The outside of the wall is easier to make a decision on than the inside. The rest of the village is roughly 50:50 between being rendered and being bare stone. We also have an old picture showing the house unrendered so doing the same thing externally isn't really an issue.

Inside though, the wall would have always been rendered. It is purely a modern fad for leaving it as bare stone which I am perfectly happy to admit. We do like it however and so does everybody else that has poked their head around the door. As so little of our house is original (about 20%) we want to show off what is left rather than to hide it so that it looks no different from the modern block walls.

 

[JoceAndChris]

We do like it however and so does everybody else that has poked their head around the door.

I'm quite sure that everyone will. I've bored strings of people with this debate and they've always looked at me with sheer amazement when I've argued that revealing stone internally is undesirable.

Chris and I don't agree on it at all, we have endless arguments about which bits will get plastered.

Outside is even more problematic, I wouldn't be a bit surprised to learn that it actually adds value to expose your house in naked stony glory.

 

[Schoolmarm]

And don't start another thread in six months asking how to seal the wall because you are sick of dust. :lol:

 

[MdB]

I'm quite sure that everyone will. I've bored strings of people with this debate and they've always looked at me with sheer amazement when I've argued that revealing stone internally is undesirable.

Just out of interest, why do you think this? Is it purely from the fact that it isn't historically accurate (which it isn't) or do you have another reason?

And don't start another thread in six months asking how to seal the wall because you are sick of dust. :lol:

Dust is something we have (almost) got used to in the house at the moment. I'm not too worried about the wall generating dust but I can see it collecting dust rather too easily. We shall see (and I'll remember your comment).

 

[JoceAndChris]

Just out of interest, why do you think this?

I edited my earlier post, so perhaps you missed what I said about dust:

And the other issue with it is of course hygiene. A bit of exposed stone in a place that you're unlikely to brush up against is probably fine, but mine rains dust all over the cooking, and plates, and antiques, and recipe books, and harbours millions of eggs in its crevices. So how do you seal it? I've yet to see that conclusively answered. What product allows breathability, is durable, and retains the matt look of the stone? The one Womersley recommended to me was over £100 for one can.

Let me just remind you of how my exposed stone looks, stripped of most of its lime plaster 20 years ago: It couldn't be more different from the smart look you've created!

The other reason I don't want it here is because I find it contemporary. I think it matches with modern furniture and artwork, new flooring and stainless steel. You can't hang wallpaper on it, and even an ornate Chippendate-style mirror, or an antique oil painting, would look totally wrong hung on such a surface in my opinion.

 

[MdB]

The other reason I don't want it here is because I find it contemporary. I think it matches with modern furniture and artwork, new flooring and stainless steel. You can't hang wallpaper on it, and even an ornate Chippendate-style mirror, or an antique oil painting, would look totally wrong hung on such a surface in my opinion.

Yes, I understand and agree with all of that.

 

[chuckey]

MdB, did you tie any horizontal joints?, there seem to be a few vertical bonds in line. Nice pointing job!, its a bit too much for me I'll try and attach some pictures next week when I visit the cottage. I used two coats of patio sealer to seal my blocks ONE of them ( 6 " X 4" face) went shiny in a wall of 13' X 5' high. It also made the pointing look awful when it was wet, has gravy like stains running down the pointing but when it dried it looked acceptable albeit slightly darker .
Frank

 

[Penners]

You can't hang wallpaper on it

Damn! I wish I'd known that before. That explains why my papering is so lumpy.

 

[Penners]

MdB - I'm afraid I'm having trouble with your poll, because it doesn't have an option that accurately reflects my point-of-view. I'd vote for an amalgam of several questions, as follows:

I'm no great lover of exposed stonework myself, but provided the building is not listed and that no historic fabric is un-necessarily destroyed, it's not my business what consenting adults do in the privacy of their own homes.

My motto: never use one word when twenty can say the same thing. :roll:

 

[MdB]

MdB, did you tie any horizontal joints?,

If you mean left right then a few where possible. If you mean front back then that was were the majority of the metalwork went as that is where the wall was delaminating and where my biggest worry was. I'm not worried about the wall spreading sideways as I don't think this is very likely and it is as well tied in to the modern stuff as was possible so that should keep it in check. I also didn't think it was worth disturbing joints that appeared to be in good condition just to get more metalwork in. I am expecting the pointing to crack as the wall moves about - if it does too much, I'll just repair it again.

there seem to be a few vertical bonds in line.

Note to 1850's builders - Putting large stones directly on top of each other isn't a good idea as it allows a fault line to form in between the columns. Overlapping stones is a lot better...

MdB - I'm afraid I'm having trouble with your poll, because it doesn't have an option that accurately reflects my point-of-view

Such is the nature of polls unfortunately. You can vote up to 4 times so you can spread your voting a bit if you like.

 

[Penners]

Note to 1850's builders - Putting large stones directly on top of each other isn't a good idea as it allows a fault line to form in between the columns. Overlapping stones is a lot better...

Not the first time we've noticed that dodgy builders are not a new phenomenon!

 

[benmc]

This leads to an interesting question.

Are we expecting never to 'update' any parts of a Period Property? For me I don't wish to live in a museum and can fully accept such alterations, at the end of the day nothing has been lost. I will be tarred and feathered but I like the exposed stone, stripped wood and stainless steel look sometimes.

For me we are not trying to create a time warp in all occasions.

Ben