Oak Window Lintels

[Anonymous]

Hi quick one..hopefully,

Our cottage windows have oak lintels which are plaster covered over the vertical face.
The underside of the lintels aren't covered with anything by the looks of things (they were with some old wallpaper (which has peeled itself off!!)). Should they be covered over with a nice lime plaster (if so how how do I get it to stick ??) If not then do we think it would be worth painting them ?
The windows are painted white, made of what Iooks like pine (so clearly not original or old !).

Thoughts ?

 

[MikeG]

It's going to depend on the surrounding plaster detail, I reckon. A photo or two will help this conversation, I reckon.

 

[Zebra]

You could limewash the lintels?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi, there yes I agree some photo's would be a good idea.... Oh and yes limewash or some other paint might be the way to go, though perhaps they could be plastered over ? I'm conscious of breathability but I'm not sure if it matters too much for an internal lintel i.e. it's located inside the current window frame....

As it seems to be ok to put plasterboard up in a ceiling so does that mean I could cover the lintel with plasterboard, then have it skimmed with convential plaster ?

I'll dig out some pictures and see if I can get them uploaded.

Paul.

 

[Flyfisher]

We have various windows with various lintel arrangements, including an old oak window that had no lintel at all and the wall had been built directly onto the frame. Other lintels have been variously papered over, haired-lime plastered over, plasterboarded over, painted and lime-washed. My conclusion is that there is no definitive answer to the question because it's mainly a decorating decision, in which case it's a case of following cues from the existing decorative details (for which photos would help, as MikeG has pointed out) or just choosing whatever you prefer.

 

[Anonymous]

ok great, neither front room windows have had anything on them except paper and paint, thinking a quick bit of plaster board might be the answer...question any reason why you can't use lime plaster over plaster board ? Only because I have a bag to hand that's all.

With regards to the photo's, I've no idea how to upload them...can anyone help ? The photo I wanted to upload is about 500kb in size and it tells me it's too big !!! I know we're talking about old properties from centuries ago, I didn't realise the server was also !!!

 

[mims&pip]

ok great, neither front room windows have had anything on them except paper and paint, thinking a quick bit of plaster board might be the answer...question any reason why you can't use lime plaster over plaster board ? Only because I have a bag to hand that's all.

With regards to the photo's, I've no idea how to upload them...can anyone help ? The photo I wanted to upload is about 500kb in size and it tells me it's too big !!! I know we're talking about old properties from centuries ago, I didn't realise the server was also !!!

You could upload a link to a blog......

Rather than using an external hosting site - I hate photobucket - I reduce the size of mine on the desktop till they are small enough. Sorry, I can't recall the required size......

 

[noj]

My question is why would you want to add machine made featureless plasterboard to hide an original oak lintel/period feature?

 

[Anonymous]

Good question, the main reason being that it's already half covered i.e. the inner face i.e. the one that points inside the room..and when I say half covered I mean it's half covered so I need to fill that in with some lime mortar and then replaster, so it's just a question of what to do, and I agree, if anything.

The bow in the lintel itself is something to behold !! I'll see what I can do about pictures.

 

[noj]

If there's a real bow in the lintel then it's a feature I'd keep - but that's me!

Then I'd be wondering if the face into the room could be exposed too...

But then it's a decision about what is the most sympathetic/authentic/aesthetic thing to do?

 

[CliffordPope]

My question is why would you want to add machine made featureless plasterboard to hide an original oak lintel/period feature?

But it might not have been a period "feature" - that's a modern fashion. To the builders it might just have been a standard bit of construction material.

i think it depends on how deeply buried the wood is behind the face of the wall plaster. Cutting back render or plaster to reveal deeply-buried stone or brickwork, and then calling it a period "feature", is just naff in my opinion. If it had been intended to be left exposed it would have been flush with the wall, or even raised a bit.

 

[noj]

and then calling it a period "feature", is just naff in my opinion

I do agree - but if the underside looks like it's always been exposed then I'd wonder about the face too - we need pictures

 

[paulc]

question any reason why you can't use lime plaster over plaster board ?

Two reasons...

Plasterboard doesn't like being wet for too long, and lime plaster can take an age to dry if it is layed on thick.
Lime plaster doesn't stick too well to bare plasterboard and it will flake off fairly quick.

That said, there are lime mixes that can be used straight on to plasterboard - Kreidezeit Lime Wall Finish Plaster is one that springs to mind. It contains additional binders on top of lime, but it gets expensive very quickly if you have a large area to do.

A couple of alternatives...

A base coat of regular gypsum plaster, and whilst it is still wet, slap a coat of lime on top. The gypsum & lime will mix at the interface and then subsequent coats of lime will adhere better. I've not tried this myself, but I expect timing is everything - Wait too long for the gypsum to firm up, and the lime won't stick, do it too soon, and end up with an unholy mess.

Or... Slap a coat of Baumit DG27 on (again, expensive) or use FeBond Blue Grit - The sample board I did last month seems to be holding up quite well, and the lime plaster I used certainly sticks well to the FeBond.

If you are plastering over oak beams, the purist way would be to fix some 20mm noggins to the beams, nail some laths to the noggins, and then slap a good thick layer of haired lime over the lot.

 

[Flyfisher]

Or use some stainless steel EML? :shock:

 

[paulc]

Or use some stainless steel EML? :shock:

Nicely polished against a dark oak background - That would look quite, um, unique

 

[88v8]

Upload the pics to Photobucket then copy the img code and paste it here.
No size limit.

Our oak lintels have been uncovered and covered and uncovered as tastes or the absence thereof have waxed & waned. Where they were plastered the faces have been hacked over for adhesion.
The beams were also covered then uncovered, plasterboarded then not.
Nowadays, why would one buy a period property and then seek to transform it into a bland flat moderne box?

Ivor

 

[skier-hughes]

With regards to you trying to attach a photo and it saying it is too large, it works on physical dimensions as well as pixel count, so reduce size down to 640x480 max and all should be good.
We have a mix of on show and covered lintels, here you go.

 

[skier-hughes]

and here is the ensuite to the bedroom.