Removing plaster/concrete from limestone

[Anonymous]

I've a 17thC limestone cottage on the West Sussex/ Hampshire border the history of which is quite interesting insofar as how the property has been extended and altered from the original single storey timber framed building it once was. However, internally the walls have been plastered,painted & cemented but on some of the walls I would like to remove this and expose the stone. I've had a stab at one of the walls just chipping away and using nitromors but in many instances there is very determined cement and plaster that just won't come away. In addition around the base of all the internal ground walls a previous owner has cemented to give a smooth, straight finish but this is causing damp problems. What's the best way of removing the above, any specialists in my area (already tried the specialist link)? Many thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

If it is just hard work but does come away OK then an SDS hammer drill (with roatation turned off) and SDS chisel will save a LOT of effort (and is still very controlable) But if the problem is that the stone comes away with the cement then you may need something else.... No idea what though...

G.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for that. Haven't tried a drill for fear of damaging the stone as it is quite a crumbly material but may try a small patch. Cheers

 

[Anonymous]

I,m having to do the same thing at the moment. I'ts hard, slow and painfull work with a mash hammer and chisel. Just keep hammering, you will get there in the end.

John

 

[Anonymous]

An SDS is a great way to do a lot of damage. I found chiselling sideways much more effective than head on. But if you find stone comes off with the cement, there may be no way to remove it without damage. In which case cutting through the render where the joints are will reduce the long term stone damage and allow more damp out.

NT

 

[Anonymous]

You can chisel sideways with an SDS and provided it has a good variable speed you can be pretty gentle with it.... True you can never be as gentle as by hand but IF you can get away with it, it will save a HUGE amount of effort...

 

[Anonymous]

You repeated what I just said. The trouble with sds in practice, as I found, is damage occurs so quickly, so alot more occurs each time.

NT

 

[Anonymous]

The point I was trying to make was that a good variable speed sds is surprisingly controlable at very low speed. I alos didnt realise that you were talking about chiseling sideays with the sds, I assumed you meant manual chiseling... my mistake...

 

[Anonymous]

My sds is also controllable at low speed, but it doesnt/didnt stop a significant amount of damage, and I wont be using it for places where the results are visible.

OP will do as they/you please, just offering a bit of a caution re what tends to happen.

NT