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Help - crumbling stone wall
- Thread starter debbieB
- Start date
Penners
Member
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- 17,294
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- Suffolk, England
Hello Debbie
First, can I recommend that you don't use capital letters? It makes your post much more difficult to read, and in forum protocol it is regarded as shouting (rather impolite! :wink: ).
Anyway, it sounds as though your problem might best be solved by hacking out the crumbling stone and mortaring in a/some new one(s).
If the wall has already been "sealed" with something, this could explain why the bottom stones are suffering - possibly from damp. In general it's best to avoid sloshing on any kind of sealant.
If you could post one or two pictures of the relevant area of wall, this could help others more expert than I am to give you more informed advice.
First, can I recommend that you don't use capital letters? It makes your post much more difficult to read, and in forum protocol it is regarded as shouting (rather impolite! :wink: ).
Anyway, it sounds as though your problem might best be solved by hacking out the crumbling stone and mortaring in a/some new one(s).
If the wall has already been "sealed" with something, this could explain why the bottom stones are suffering - possibly from damp. In general it's best to avoid sloshing on any kind of sealant.
If you could post one or two pictures of the relevant area of wall, this could help others more expert than I am to give you more informed advice.
This is the wall where it is crumbling - not sure if you can see it very well. There is a radiator fixed there, tho we dont use it and it has been turned off. we are looking at having it removed, not quite sure why anyone would stick a radiator on a lovely stone wall - but there you go.View attachment 1
Thanks to anyone for any advice - i dont want the whole wall to end up crumbling away!!
Thanks to anyone for any advice - i dont want the whole wall to end up crumbling away!!
vicky whitworth
Member
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- 632
- Location
- East Devon
Hi, I'm not an expert on this at all. But in the first picture has the wall been lime washed at some point and that is what is flaking now? And what's happened to the pointing? It looks a bit scary.
Penners
Member
- Messages
- 17,294
- Location
- Suffolk, England
Well, Debbie, to be honest I can't see much sign of crumbling. There are some funny little pits in the surface of one of the stones, but who knows whether they were there when the wall was built - they might just be where flint pebbles were embedded in it.
The surface of one or two others looks a bit friable. But I honestly can't see much to be worried about. A bit of stone dust shedding from the surface is unlikely to become an issue in your lifetime!
Bear in mind that a "naked" stone wall like that may not have been naked all its life. The popularity of bare stone walls is mostly a recent fashion, so the wall could well have been plastered in a past life.
If the friability of the surface is causing you problems aesthetically, you have a number of choices. You could lime-plaster the wall - not necessarily all the way up; just up to a level above the friable stone, if you prefer that. Or you could try painting on a breathable clear sealant such as isinglass (otherwise known as water glass). But I wouldn't recommend a modern impermeable sealant - if the friability has been caused by damp, that would just make matters worse by sealing the damp into the stone.
The surface of one or two others looks a bit friable. But I honestly can't see much to be worried about. A bit of stone dust shedding from the surface is unlikely to become an issue in your lifetime!
Bear in mind that a "naked" stone wall like that may not have been naked all its life. The popularity of bare stone walls is mostly a recent fashion, so the wall could well have been plastered in a past life.
If the friability of the surface is causing you problems aesthetically, you have a number of choices. You could lime-plaster the wall - not necessarily all the way up; just up to a level above the friable stone, if you prefer that. Or you could try painting on a breathable clear sealant such as isinglass (otherwise known as water glass). But I wouldn't recommend a modern impermeable sealant - if the friability has been caused by damp, that would just make matters worse by sealing the damp into the stone.
Penners
Member
- Messages
- 17,294
- Location
- Suffolk, England
I'm afraid I don't agree. Bits of it just look a bit new - and cementy. They'd benefit from being hacked out and repointed with lime mortar.vicky whitworth said:what's happened to the pointing? It looks a bit scary.
Flyfisher
Member
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- 10,233
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- Norfolk, UK
What sort of stone is it? It looks very much like chalk lump to me - something we have quite a bit of - but it's a bit difficult to tell from the photos.
I agree about the pointing though, it does look like a cement-based mixture and may not be helping the wall to breath, expecially if it is chalk, and might be forcing any moisture through the stone. Could this be the cause of the reported crumbliness perhaps?
I agree about the pointing though, it does look like a cement-based mixture and may not be helping the wall to breath, expecially if it is chalk, and might be forcing any moisture through the stone. Could this be the cause of the reported crumbliness perhaps?