Limewash, distemper, or what?

[JoceAndChris]

I'm getting closer to being back to lime plaster in the dining room, and have decided to try to make it a breathable room as it's suffered from damp. (a combination of a leaking roof, long ago, and trapped water behind the cement render on the outside) All the plaster seems dry now, though the dining room ceiling does have an uncertain future. Mind you, I went to Hardwick Hall on Saturday and that was very cheering. It's got massive cracks, mine paled into insignificance by comparison.

Anyway, what product? I see FnB do limewash - which is kind of handy as they'd match the wallpaper I'm using.

This is the colour scheme.

Ceiling - String (a greeny earthy sludge)
Cornice, woodwork - Cord (a beigy earthy sludge)
Above plate shelf - Book Room Red
Plate Shelf - Cord
Below Plate Shelf - Ringwold Paper in Book Room Red http://www.farrow-ball.com/the-ringwold-papers-bp-1620///fcp-product/201620

Are there any other breathable products that would give me those exact colours with the same degree of pigmentation?

 

[JoceAndChris]

Just read through the product advice sheets on the FnB website. In fairness to them, as they often get criticised by conservationists, they say:

"Plaster ceilings that have salt problems will stain and blister paints, by using Soft
Distemper it will allow the ceiling to breathe and enable the problem to be
monitored...Farrow & Ball do not recommend the use of modern
fillers on lime based substrates as they will trap moisture and are too hard, leading to
cracking and uneven porosity when painting."

I am none the wiser about whether I should use limewash, soft disptemper, or casein distemper though!

 

[robgil]

can you hang wall paper on a porous wall?

 

[JoceAndChris]

Indeed you can. Wallpaper is hundreds, if not thousands of years old.

This damp dining room had the same paper hung since 1984. In the dampest places the paper did peel away, revealing bare lime plaster beneath, (which makes me think it's always been papered) but the paper was mainly sound and good. I'm sure paper compromises breathability a little, but not so much as layer upon layer of modern paint.

 

[Penners]

Are there any other breathable products that would give me those exact colours with the same degree of pigmentation?

For no other reason than simply to expand your choice of sources/suppliers, don't forget Rose of Jericho: http://www.rose-of-jericho.demon.co.uk/index1.htm

I doubt whether they'll have exactly the same colours, though.

 

[Flyfisher]

I'm sure paper compromises breathability a little, but not so much as layer upon layer of modern paint.

I'm only guessing, but I'd expect the wallpaper adhesive to have more impact on breathability than the paper itself (well, except for really modern plastic-coated washable paper).

Earthborn offer acrylic (and solvent) -free wallpaper paste, although their datasheet doesn't mention breathability as such. They also have a caesin+lime filler, which sounds good for lime plaster repairs. Has anyone here any experience of using such things?

 

[JoceAndChris]

Many thanks chaps. I'll order some Rose of Jericho samples.

I'd like to try those products you mention FF- there's also the old-fashioned flour and water, but I'm worried about a lumpy consistency! Marianne Suhr, in "The Old House Handbook" concurs that wallpaper paste isn't very breathable, and suggests it shouldnt be used for walls that are prone to damp. I don't agree with her really, I think you should solve the damp and use wallpaper if you wish to.