wallpapering lime plaster

[plasticpigeon]

Hello

I am going to be lime plastering a wall soon. I would like to wallpaper the wall after. What paste would people recommend? I have an original lime plastered wall downstairs in my house that was wallpapered and was always wet. I have taken the paper off and it has now largely dried but when the weather is hot and humid, I get condensation on the glue residue. The bare walls seem ok so either they are not as cold or absorb the moisture of condensation. I'd like this not to happen so need a paste that is somewhat permeable.

Many thanks.

 

[Lime]

Do you know what sort of paste is on the downstairs wall?
If the old wallpaper was put up in the 60s (or before) in all probability the paste used may have been made out of flour.
The same sort of paste in the form of "tub paste" it is still recommended for the best quality wallpapers.
I believe they add preservatives to it now.

However the home-made flour pastes were prone to become soft in the damp, grow mold and suffer mite and insect invasion too!
Back in the day I remember being told of several houses that were "alive" behind the several thick layers of wallpaper.
some people added salt and other chemicals to the flour paste hoping they'd put off the mites eating it!

I'd wash off the old paste completely and allow the wall to dry out.

Modern pastes are supposed to be better in some respects but if using a top quality hand-blocked paper I'd follow the manufacturer's instructions.

 

[88v8]

This seems an odd thing to do. One of the beauties of lime plaster is the texture, which would be covered up.... Each to their own as they say, but perhaps you could consider a base-coat of white/cream clay paint, and then stencil over it in clay colours?

As regards papering, given that most pastes are soluble in water, there is an obvious clash. There is also the point that only wallpaper made of real paper will be at all permeable, but damp will stain it.
Unless the wall is completely dry, I suspect you are dooooomed.

Ivor

 

[plasticpigeon]

Thanks for the replies. I don't think the glue is made from flour, it seems much too gummy for that. I shall definitely wash it off when I come to redecorate that room.

I am plastering in a different room and I just wanted to put up lining paper to be honest. I can't afford and would never use hand blocked papers in my little house but I'm flattered that you think I might!!!! The other three walls are modern gypsum plastered, and I need to plaster 1 wall which I thought I'd do in lime, for fun and practice more than anything else. For now the room will be painted in normal emulsion and I didn't want to paint on the lime plaster as I am hoping to lash this room up for a couple of years and then do it all properly in time. I thought it would be better to paper the wall rather than cover it in dulux!

 

[88v8]

Amazing!! Out of the blue just now and unnannounced, a previous owner of the cottage - 1972/84.
Inter alia, he mentioned that when they bought the place the downstairs rooms were plastered/wallpapered, and the walls were damp.... so they removed the plaster back to the bare stone as we have now.
Funny how things go around.

Ivor