Interior decorating in Jan 2009 - problematic and expensive

[michael]

I’m doing a bit of interior decorating whilst the weather is so cold outside however I’m finding it almost impossible to paint the windows due to torrents of condensation streaming down the glass. The heating is off so the room temperature is pretty cool but still loads of condensation. Any hints on how to overcome this without resorting to expensive dehumidifiers would be appreciated.

I also went to buy another tub of off white Earthborn clay paint today from my local supplier only to discover that the new 2009 price is now £42.50 for five litres. Outrageous. No wonder people emulsion over their period properties.

Very strange stuff that clay paint. It goes on almost translucent and then acquires its colour as it dries out. I don’t think the coverage is as good as emulsion. It’s going to take several coats to acquire any depth and at £42.50 for five litres an expensive business.

I’m tempted to find another option for the rest of the house or I'll be even poorer by 2010

 

[Cloudscape]

The moisture in the paint has to go somewhere after it leaves the paint. Also, you're breathing out moisture into the air. The only solution is to increase ventilation? Decorating at this time of year isn't ideal, because the air outside is probably also moisture-laden. The only slight upside is that I quite like water-based paints to dry slowly. In the hottest days of summer, I've had paint dry too fast.

I know what you mean about the cost of this period-house lark, especially when everything needs doing. Like you, I can see why people cut corners. The cheapest paints of all are limewash and distemper, and they are probably the healthiest (for the building) too?

 

[michael]

Thanks cloudscape

If I was starting from scratch then limewash would be the preferred choice. Unfortunately I’m having to paint over a multitude of previously botched surfaces which includes old lime, new lime, new gypsum and emulsioned surfaces. Obviously, I need to achieve good adhesion to all of these surfaces whilst at the same time achieving a consistent finish. I figured that clay paint might be the answer but it looks like I might need to take out another mortgage just to pay for this option.

Another alternative suggested to me is trade emulsion (the wishy washy watery stuff) Apparently this adheres to anything and is to some extent breathable. It’s often applied to fresh gypsum surfaces in new builds and its breathability allows the plaster to set. I understand that it’s also recommended by the SPAB particularly in circumstances such as mine.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[Cloudscape]

You set me wondering. Unfortunately, the 'spiffier' paints are and the more fabulously 'period', the more expensive they seem to be. So I went looking to see if there is such a thing as breathable trade emulsion. According to these links, there is. The white paint I found seems to be about half the price of the clay paint you're using. I'd personally do a bit more research before using it though.

http://www.wnibonline.com/Building/Articles.aspx/24432

http://www.natural-building.co.uk/eco_paint.htm

Example price for 10 litres of white
http://www.greensteps.co.uk/sp/eco-paints/nbt-paints-and-finishes/emulsion-paint/nbt-trade-paint-eco-friendly-emulsion-white-10-litres/33

This says there are 19 colours, plus white:
http://www.burdensenvironmental.com/structural-building-materials/paint-trade-range/emulsion

 

[michael]

Yes, NBT trade emulsion looks pretty good, breathable etc. I was told to use 'Contract trade emulsion' a very cheap thin wishy washy paint that would take quite a few coats to build up any depth of colour. I dont know if the various brands differ in their make-up, quality and performance i.e Leyland, Dulux etc or wether one should go for brands such as NBT which is probably harder to find locally. I'm sure general builders just use what ever brand is cheap and avaliable when used to paint over newly spread plaster? What ever they use ,it allows the plaster to evaporate and dry out thouroughly.

I think I need to put this out as a seperate post to see if I get any more feedback but I'll probably be opening a can of worms with the lime purists.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Yes, good paints are a huge expense, but worth it in the end. Clay paints and other similar products allow the colour pigments to float, so they do appear wishy washy until they dry out. Much better than the solid block of colour found in some commercial paints.
Rose of Jericho suggest the use of claircol over old products to provide a better coverage.

Don't forget that costs of production are rising in every area--- fuel, wages etc etc ( so they say)