Matching a lime render finish with modern plaster finish

[dans]

Would love some feedback from someone with experience on this one!!

We are currently plastering the inside of our timber framed farmhouse. Going well too! I have come to a stumbling bock on one particular issue...

The inside of all externally facing walls will obviously be lime plastered, aiding breathability. There are some walls however that we have had to plasterboard, mostly new partition walls that we've erected to create separate rooms. Some of these partition walls meet the lime plastered outside walls.

My dilemma is, do I lime plaster these walls using a primer like DG27 (at great expense) or should I just plaster with a hardwall type finish that we can rough up to appear like a lime render?

My concern of using a modern plaster is then what type of paint finish I can use to match with the meeting lime plastered wall? I need a breathable paint finish on the lime wall (lime wash is obvious), but I could then not lime wash the hardwall modern plaster wall, as it won't absorb the limewash.....

ANY ADVICE APPRECIATED!!!!! HELP!

 

[dans]

I could be the first to reply to my own post with a solution here, but could certainly do with reassurance!!

I could lime render where i NEED to lime render, hardwall (or similair) where I don't need to lime, then paint all walls with Beeck Insil.

Beeck Insil appears breathable and can also be applied to modern plasters with a specific Primer...

An option perhaps!

Does this produce a nice finish?

 

[plasticpigeon]

I am not the voice of experience, but I have to question why limewash wont take to gypsum. Gypsum I am convinced is also very porous. Plasterboard obviously isn't which is why it is so easy to skim onto. How about skimming a loose plasterboard and painting it with limewash and seeing what happens!!!!! Rose of Jericho seem to think it is ok!

 

[JohnB]

I'm not an expert plasterer, and wanted to get fair match for my lime plastered walls, so I finished my gypsum plaster by hand, to give it a slightly uneven texture. I haven't got on to painting it yet, but if I'm feeling rich, or am motivated to make some, I may try clay paint. Otherwise I may paint it a different colour to the limewash and see how it looks.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Please telephone Rose of Jericho for specific advice, they're absolutely lovely and will listen to all your woes carefully and advise. Sometimes Claircolle (breathable) is used as a primer before the paint goes on, this had to be the case when I had extensive mounts of new lime patched onto old and wanted to use Soft Distemper.

I've used their (breathable) Casein Distemper over a mix of gypsum and lime with absolutely no problems or colour variation between the plasters.

dans- I think it's customary to describe the outside stuff as render and the inside stuff as plaster! I might be wrong but your use of the word render for the inside got me a bit confused.

 

[dans]

dans- I think it's customary to describe the outside stuff as render and the inside stuff as plaster! I might be wrong but your use of the word render for the inside got me a bit confused.

You're right- post edited to save confusion!!

 

[dans]

I am not the voice of experience, but I have to question why limewash wont take to gypsum. Gypsum I am convinced is also very porous. Plasterboard obviously isn't which is why it is so easy to skim onto. How about skimming a loose plasterboard and painting it with limewash and seeing what happens!!!!! Rose of Jericho seem to think it is ok!

We tried dropping water to the plaster this morning and it just slid-off... didn't absorb a drop!

It would be down top the Thistle Hardwall plaster we've used though....

 

[dans]

I've used their (breathable) Casein Distemper over a mix of gypsum and lime with absolutely no problems or colour variation between the plasters.

That's good to hear JoceAndChris... I#'ll take a look at the Casein Distemper...

 

[plasticpigeon]

We tried dropping water to the plaster this morning and it just slid-off... didn't absorb a drop!

It would be down top the Thistle Hardwall plaster we've used though....

That's interesting, obviously hardwall is very different to multifinish.

 

[piper]

In our extension (new room built on top of existing single-storey kitchen) the now-interior wall which was originally the outside end gable of the main house is solid rubble limestone, lime plastered. The new chimney breast opposite this wall is also lime-plastered - on modern blockwork - and works wonderfully as a storage heater when the inset log-burner is lit, without any cracking of the plaster. I was concerned that gypsum plaster would crack over the stove when it got hot, hence the desire to use lime. The other two walls (one blockwork and one mostly window but otherwise timber framed) are modern gypsum finish over insulated plasterboard - but bonding plaster to give a slightly less smooth & polished finish so it matches the lime wall better. vaulted ceiling is also modern insulated plasterboard
Now the main point of this post - the whole room is painted in Earthborn clay paint, and it looks wonderful. No problems whatsoever in covering the different finishes. We are converts to claypaint and have used it on other walls which are a total mishmash of old lime, new lime, and gypsum of various ages. I believe its only disadvantage is the very limited range of colours, but as we like the off-white look, that's OK with us.

 

[dans]

In our extension (new room built on top of existing single-storey kitchen) the now-interior wall which was originally the outside end gable of the main house is solid rubble limestone, lime plastered. The new chimney breast opposite this wall is also lime-plastered - on modern blockwork - and works wonderfully as a storage heater when the inset log-burner is lit, without any cracking of the plaster. I was concerned that gypsum plaster would crack over the stove when it got hot, hence the desire to use lime. The other two walls (one blockwork and one mostly window but otherwise timber framed) are modern gypsum finish over insulated plasterboard - but bonding plaster to give a slightly less smooth & polished finish so it matches the lime wall better. vaulted ceiling is also modern insulated plasterboard
Now the main point of this post - the whole room is painted in Earthborn clay paint, and it looks wonderful. No problems whatsoever in covering the different finishes. We are converts to claypaint and have used it on other walls which are a total mishmash of old lime, new lime, and gypsum of various ages. I believe its only disadvantage is the very limited range of colours, but as we like the off-white look, that's OK with us.

That's exactly the sort of feedback that I was looking for, thank you!

This is the only reason I looked at hardwall, because it gave a rougher finish, more like lime.

We also only require an off-white colour to go between the oak studs, so I will give this clay paint a try!

Thank you again!

 

[Schoolmarm]

Our lime plasterer recommended clay paint to get a uniform finish when plaster and lime are in the same room. Gorgeous colours and highly breathable.

 

[Zebra]

This is all very useful information for me too, when I get onto internal plasters. Thanks for starting the discussion dans!

 

[dans]

This is all very useful information for me too, when I get onto internal plasters. Thanks for starting the discussion dans!

No problem

The option that suited me best in the end was recommended by Middi, which was to use Wickes ' one coat plaster', which drys white and takes a limewash!

I'll let you know how we get on!

 

[skier-hughes]

On our internal stud/plasterboard walls and also ceiling, we used a white gypsum plaster so that the paint would match more easily and then Rose of Jerico recommended Casein Distemper. You can't tell which is which.
Our plasterers plastered the gypsum with the same finish as the lime, so not glass flat, and all is perfect. See if I can find a picture I took to show this last time the question came up.