Misery

[plasticpigeon]

Is blown plaster and super stuck on gloss painted wallpaper. I didn't mean to remove the laths over the door, I thought the plaster was just hollow and falling off like the rest of it so I smashed a bit out and then realised it was laths over a void The diagonal line is due to structural movement and the plaster had a big crack that I removed the loose stuff from. I think I may save half the plaster in this room, and patch in, but I will be boarding some parts for quickness and easiness as i don't consider there to be much if any damp. The house keeps throwing me curve balls.

 

[mims&pip]

I can't offer any advice, but feel your pain - here we have twelve rooms plus hallway with textured wallpaper (mainly the Devil's own wallpaper, woodchip :twisted: ) to remove....surprised they didn't put woodchip in the cellar too tbh! Not only walls, but ceilings as well - even between the beams.....grrrr!

It's obviously been in situ for some years ('80s, I reckon) and has multiple paint layers ensuring it is firmly stuck to the somewhat crumbly wall surface. In some areas there's a further layer of thin lining paper underneath. I've already encountered a couple of weak spots where the laths are in danger of being exposed. Fortunately Pip is experienced at plastering and has already tried his hand at lime plastering at the last place.....

Old houses, got to love them, eh? Good job we don't intend to move from this house and plan to take our time with the restoration

 

[Penners]

The house keeps throwing me curve balls.

That's restoration for you!

If the laths over the door came off with the plaster, the chances are that they were pretty rotten anyway. It's only a very small area, so it would be almost as easy to fix new laths there as to use plasterboard.

As regards the structural crack, are you sure that the movement which caused this has now stopped? If you want to use a telltale to find out, the easiest way is to cut back a small area of plaster on each side of the crack, to expose the brickwork. Then Araldite a slip of thin glass across the crack. Keep on eye on this for a year or so and if the glass doesn't fracture, the movement in the building has probably stopped.