Novice Period Property Owner - needs advice

[SHENSTONE]

We are due to move into our 'new' house shortly which is a 16th century half timbered house and we want to make sure that we don't apply products inside or out that could damage the property in any way.
Inside, the property has mainly white walls with lots of beams. The beams have unfortunately had some sort of varnish applied to them so we are assuming that the walls have been emulsioned with ordinary matt paint. What would be the best type of paint to apply inside on top of what is already there. Have read about limewash but worried it may be difficult or hazardous for a novice - or that it may not stick! Want something that is reasonably durable and want something that looks in keeping with the properties age.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of limewash?
Outside the building is a yellowish/cream colour which may be masonry paint and the beams have been painted with something black! What would be the best thing to do with the external walls?
The property is in very good order, no damp apparent - just needs a lick of some kind of paint to brighten it up.
Have never owned a period property before.
Any advice would be much appreciated

 

[NT]

What would be the best type of paint to apply inside on top of what is already there. Have read about limewash but worried it may be difficult or hazardous for a novice - or that it may not stick! Want something that is reasonably durable and want something that looks in keeping with the properties age.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of limewash?

Limewash is easy to use if you follow the 50% putty rule, ie make it 50% putty 50% water. If you use unknown mix strengths its not quite as simple. The only thing a novice needs to know is dont worry about the fact that it looks way too thin when it first goes on, trust the mixture, it will body up hugely over the next couple of days. Leave it a day before the 2nd coat, you cant recoat once its dry or the first just wipes off.

Limewash is good for ceilings and areas out of frequent contact, but not great for general indoor wall use, as its not washable.

Distemper is the paint of choice for general indoor use, walls and wooden mouldings. Characteristics of distemper depend on the recipe, there's good and not so good. Its another cheap paint to make.


NT

 

[Tom]

NT, how do you make distemper? And how do you apply it? Thanks.

Jaqy

 

[SHENSTONE]

Thanks for that info. I guess distemper will be cheap if a lot of paint is required. Have found info on the net about clay paints such as earthborn. Does anyone have any experience with this? It looks quite expensive but seems to tick all the boxes.

 

[NT]

I bought what I used, so dont have any valuable experience to offer on making it. AIUI oil bound distemper is just boiling lime, fat & glue. Different fats give differing properties, I used lanolin distemper and it behaved well, washable with cold water but comes off with hot water & detergent. Its all still there and in good condition 15 or so years on.

I'd avoid soft distemper (no oil/fat content, not washable).


Painting with it is often described as more complex, but really its not. The only differences between oil bound distemper and emulsion during application are:
its thin and drips - rotate the brush while going from pot to wall to minimise drips
it covers hairline cracks


There are lots of caveats written about using distemper, but really its not much different to emulsion in use, and almost all such caveats can be safely ignored! The one that is correct is that it lightens on drying, making mixing matching batches quite difficult, so make enough if youre using coloured. The popular talk of maintaining a wet edge is no different to emulsion or any other paint, and is greatly exaggerated imho. Its also often said one needs to work fast, but there is no truth to this IME. Etc.


NT

 

[Nemesis]

Rose of Jericho does good distemper (and simple emulsions).

Is the house listed? It sounds lovely - I do like Herefordshire.

 

[Penners]

Let's just rewind for a minute. What material are the interior walls? If they're wattle & daub coated with a nice haired lime plaster, then it's certainly well worth ensuring that you use limewash or a similar breathable paint.

But if you've got plasterboard coated with gypsum plaster, then frankly you can paint it with modern vinyl emulsion or whatever you like, because it has no breathability to speak of.

 

[SHENSTONE]

Its not listed but of historical and architectural interest. I am 99.9% sure it is watttle and daub. We have nicknamed it the Wibbly Wobbly house.
We are so looking forward to moving back to England having lived in Scotland for a few years. We looked all round Hereford and Shropshire and really saw some lovely properties. The people are so friendly all around that area too.
The property we have bought is just gorgeous (well we think so) which is why we want to get it right. We will make sure we research before doing anything to it.

 

[Nemesis]

And if wattle and duab coated with modern paint, then I'd remove that first.

If it's listed, what happens to the exterior could be a matter for LBC.

 

[Penners]

If it's listed, what happens to the exterior could be a matter for LBC.

That's an interesting statement. Does that mean that, if I build a new partition wall inside my listed building, LBC isn't required?

 

[Nemesis]

Not if you consider it doesn't affect the character, as with everything. I would ask though...

What I meant was if there is to be any stripping of black painted timber, or change of colour, I'd seek advice from the CO.

 

[SHENSTONE]

What would be the best way to remove modern emulsion without damage if that is what is on the walls at present?
Also what type of paint is the black stuff generally used to paint external timbers and what is the best way to remove it? I have read about sandblasting but wouldn't that make an awful mess of the timbers and spoil the natural look?
Weren't these timbers traditionally limewashed too before it became fashionable to paint them black?

 

[Nemesis]

Painting them black though is part of the history. In fact it can look wonderful and dramatic. Before any thought of removal, talk to the CO!

No no no - do not blast!!!

As for removal of modern emulsion - if required, talk to Strippers of Sudbury, although of course iof it isn't causing problems leave it and monitor. But limewash ot distemper is so much nicer and better really for the building.

I'm going to Shropshire soon on holiday - can't wait! It's all lovely round there.

 

[SHENSTONE]

Yes I agree the black does look nice. Do you know what type of paint is generally used to achieve this effect?
The outside of our new house is in good order so we won't need to worry about that for a while.
Due to move down in less than 2 weeks - so excited. It will be wonderful to live in a period property with so much character and in such a lovely area, having lived in a horrid modern bungalow in a dreary wet and windy place for the last few years.

When house hunting I stayed for a week in the Long Mynd hotel in Shropshire, had a wonderful week exploring the area. Lovely people, lovely part of England. Check out the black and white trail - a feast for the eyes and if you like traditional fayre check out one of the cider mills. Fantastic.

 

[Nemesis]

Paint - sometimes it was pitch, (tar) which would be very difficult to remove!

Cider - well, we have a source of cider and perry... farmhouse stuff... but I'm keeping quiet or he may sell out before we get there. He insists you try before you buy, too, and as one of us has to drive the other has to drink up both lots.

Life's hell at times you know.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Don't be in too much of a hurry to clean and strip, repaint, etc. Take your time to look around the house, look at similar in the area, try and find out what the previous owners have used- they are bound to have left some old tins of paint in the shed.

Some of the glossy house magazines such as Period House, Period Ideas etc have some good pictures and articles about restoring/ renovating/repainting.

Sounds lovely, good luck......and by the way, Rose of jericho have distemper and limewash already made up and in some lovely colours.

 

[SHENSTONE]

Thanks for the tips, very useful. I was going to ring Rose of Jericho tomorrow for advice. We are a bit anti materials that contain animal by products - distemper has gelatine in it. You will think we are nuts but we are veggie!

Do you know anything about Earthborn claypaint - it appeals because they have a stockist right near where we are moving. Claims say it is pretty durable. These are eco friendly natural products - apparently.

I think the first thing we need to do is ask the owner what is on the walls at present. All walls are white so we are hoping that it is some sort of breathable paint already on there.

So looking forward to moving into this house but determined to do our research and ensure that we do what is right to keep this property the way it should be.

 

[Nemesis]

Have a look at this distemper:

http://www.womersleys.co.uk/pdfs/washabledistemper.pdf

Has casein but I think possibly not anything else animal. Doesn't say anything about boiled up bunnies anyhow.

 

[DaveBrigg]

We've chosen Earthborn clay paints for our house, partly because they sounded like a safe and easy option. The results are pretty good, even on walls which have traces of limewash, different types of plaster and are still drying out from replastering. The first coat needs to be watered down quite a lot, and for some colours we watered the second coat down a little too, although there is a fine line between making it easy to brush but not thin enough to dry patchy. It has flaked off in a couple of small areas, possibly because of salts coming out of the drying plaster, or maybe because the paint wasn't diluted enough in that part. After touching up however, the problem disappeared. The walls have a lovely deep colour, much better than the standard emulsion used on our old house.
The paints are also very pleasant to use - no smell and easy to clean up afterwards. On the downside, they come off the wall when rubbed hard with a damp cloth. Maybe that will improve with time.
It was mentioned in an earlier discussion that the white contains titanium dioxide, which is harmless in the quantities used, but which may come from unsound mining operations. It makes it very white, and there is an off white option available as well, which may also be more historically authentic. No animal products (I'm also a veggie)

The pictures below show firstly our son's bedroom: the colours are easy to mix, and our local limewash dealer sells pigments which can be used to get the colour you want. The design is not very Georgian I know, but the walls are waiting for Thomas the Tank Engine to be added.
The second picture is from the dining room, although the flash photo probably doesn't do it justice.The ceiling is still waiting its turn.

 

[SHENSTONE]

This is all really useful stuff. Interesting info about the paint rubbing off if you rub hard. I have bought many different types of commercial paints for my current property which were supposed to be hard wearing and wipeable but as soon as you apply a bit of elbow grease they rub off too. I am convinced that the only truly wipeable paint is gloss!
I have lots of large dogs and where they rub against the walls they tend to leave nice greasy marks or they shake mud everywhere!
I guess we are all too used to buying paint from the local big DIY store that you just use straight out of the tin.
I think a bit of trial and error with traditional/eco friendly paints will be well worth the effort.
I am happy to support smaller specialist retailers and products to get the right effect with the added bonus that their products benefit our health and environment too.