lime plaster or not??

[Anonymous]

Hi there, thanks to all those people who replied to my previous post about a split oak beam...

we are renovating an 1800 cottage and have just took the room back to the stone work, the plaster i took off was a mixture of artex and then the original with straw and horse hair etc. I presume from reading various posts on this site that this would be lime plaster? Still new to this im afraid!!

obviously i want to keep with an original mixture again when i get a plaster in but have had allsorts of different info from plasters coming round.

Do i definately need lime plaster.somewould have me think not and what state does the stone work joints need to be in to replaster now??

thanks in advance for all your help, it really has helped.

Simon Dowling

 

[Anonymous]

Sad that you have removed all the original really - conservation of historic fabric would have been much better.

Yeah yeah - idiots will come round and tell you to#####it all up even more.

Don't listen. They want your money and haven't a clue.

Lime - no question. Why spoil the ship etc?

Some basic reading if you search this site - and there is lots more available if you search.



http://www.spab.org.uk

 

[Anonymous]

An article worth reading...


http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/article010.htm

 

[Anonymous]

http://www.merchants-house.co.uk

 

[Anonymous]

http://www.oldhouse.info/ohdamp.htm

 

[Anonymous]

just one to add to this, i haev been told by one builder that i need to 'bitumen tank' one wall as it is damp, reading these articles is it not normal for stone houses to be slightly damp. It is the outside wall in question and it is not a major problem apart form a reading on his meter??

any more advice is appreciated especially from evelyn all good stuff so thanks!!

 

[Anonymous]

I'd sack the builder... no, it isn't normal for stone houses to be damp - but they need to be able to breathe!

DO NOT use bitumen to tank! Find someone who understands and appreciates old buildings! Or DIY...

 

[Anonymous]

Also - those meters are designed for wood!

Is there any visible sign of damp?

Honestly - don't do anything else - spend a few days reading up on period buildings - lots of info vis the homepage of this site, and SPAB to start...

A SPAB Homeowners course too...


http://www.

 

[Anonymous]

Er...wot Evelyn's said!
She's pretty well covered the bases - yes to lime plaster, no to tanking.
It's easy to get suckered by tradesmen, who will tell you black is white and that they know best when often they do not. If you're unsure, talk to your local authority conservation officer - s/he'll know of decent conservation builders who will know what they're talking about.

 

[Anonymous]

I wuz trying to post this and kept getting file error...
Great minds Gervase (Or fools seldom etc??)


http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/article042.htm

 

[Anonymous]

Jane Schofield on Lime in Building ( afiver...)

Janet Collings Old House Care and Repair

PPUK bookshop, SPAB - look at the bookshop and Q and A and technical pamphlets...

 

[Anonymous]

Talking of getting suckered by tradesmen...

I recently had a builder in to quote for cutting away a section of concrete path that runs against the brick plinth of our timberframe house, and digging a french drain. He obligingly said that he would include in the quote a price for painting the exposed plinth with a bitumen paint "to keep the damp out".

Is there any hope?

 

[Anonymous]

What's a French Drain?
We hope to be able to cutaway some concrete that has been laid all the way around the house.

Graham

 

[Anonymous]

A French drain is named after a bloke called French, and is, at its simplest, a trench filled with porous material to take water away from a structure.
There's a useful outline from the Institute for Housebuilding Research at the link below...


French Drains

 

[Anonymous]

...sorry, got the red wine head on tonight - the link is to a technical paper from the Institute of Historic Building Conservation, a terrific source of information for anyone taking on an old house.


The Institute of Historic Building Conservation

 

[Anonymous]

Here's a drain in France so I suppose its a French drain.
Alternatively, it's a ditch round the bottom of the house wall filled with gravel, the idea being that water can drain away from the footings and the bottom of the wall stays dry and you don't get 'rising' damp. It's the thing to do instead of injections and other such fixes.

 

[Anonymous]

LOL Biff....
That's ok, thought it might be, and it as what our surveyor suggested we do, with pipes running from it down to the moat.

Graham

 

[Anonymous]

The MOAT?

Licence to crenellate also?

Actually - there are things to consider with French drains such as they MAY need LBC and an archaeological assessment where some buildings are concerned, some recommend that they are sited a little away from the building, that they have porous pipes wrapped in porous material within them, and they have rodding eyes.

Nothing's ever simple is it?

 

[Anonymous]

aye, we have a moat, keep out all those double glazing salesmen!!!!!! I osted some piccies to one of Biffs questions if you can' find them and want to see let me know.
It goes round abot 2/3 of the property nowadays, but uis supposed to date back to the 700's from what we have been told when it would have been used to keep stock safe.
We are not listed, so no LBC, and I've been reading the other link which gives some info.

 

[Anonymous]

We have Hadrian's Wall to the north and the South Tyne to the south, but it required fortified dwellings (bastles) also to keep out the Border Reivers round here!