Internal hemp and lime plaster

[lou]

Our builder has used hemp plaster to cover the internal stone walls of our house and it has coat us £85 a sq metre to have two coats done. I was expecting a much smoother finish than we have ended up with and i am very disappointed to be told that it will take 5 to 6 coats of lime wash to make it look smooth which will obviously cost a lot more than if I had a smoother finish. Can anyone tell me (pm me if necessary) what their experience has been and if possible how much per sq metre they have been charged please? Does this sound like a reasonable cost?

 

[skier-hughes]

I was charged approx £100 per sq m for 3 coats, hemped haired lime, lime and finish coat of lime. Including materials and that they were travelling a distance and staying with us during the week.
Our top coat is nice and flat, 3 coats of caesisn distemper has covered it nicely.

 

[Penners]

I know absolutely nothing about this, but the question that occurs to me is: should they incorporate hemp in the top plaster coat or not? Should it perhaps be a thin, hemp-free skim, to achieve a smooth finish?

Fire away, experts!

 

[skier-hughes]

We had
haired, hemped first coat
haired second coat
Fine top coat

 

[88v8]

I believe there are three grades of hemp. The finer stuff will give a smoother finish, as it says at the bottom of this page.
http://www.lime.org.uk/products/mortars-and-plasters/ty-mawr-lime-hemp-plaster/

Ivor

 

[lou]

Thanks all - I rang Mike Wye and they said £85 was the lower end per metre so I don't feel quite as indignant now. However, having just had a heated discussion with the builder I think we have come to a fairly satisfactory compromise to skim with a fine hemp finish in the key rooms. I agree with Penners that however fine the base is, the hemp will always affect the final finish and I wish now that I had been clearer about my expectations in the first place. Live and learn the hard way.

 

[skier-hughes]

why not skim without the hemp and just use a fine lime plaster if you want smooth.

 

[Penners]

That was going to my question, too.

 

[lou]

Hmm...for some reason the plasterer seems reluctant to do that - maybe because lime is more expensive than hemp/ lime mix and he doesn't want to bear the extra cost. I'm going to see what a sample of the new arrangement looks like and then decide. Or perhaps it's trickier to apply?

 

[skier-hughes]

maybe you need to pay a fraction more to get the result you want? Or presuade him he hasn't delivered what was in the contract?