John&Lou
Member
- Messages
- 13
Hi
I thought I’d share my experience of learning the gentle art of Wattle and Daub.
We bought our house two years ago. It is a mish-mash of ages and styles, but the relevant part is the bit that was built in the late 16th century. It’s timber framed, with wattle and daub infill panels. At least that’s what we were told and what the history of the house suggested.
The house fell into disrepair in the 1960s and was almost demolished as part of a “regeneration” of our town. Fortunately, the house was snapped up by someone who recognised the potential. The house was restored and refurbished, with the infill panels all being replaced using the traditional methods and materials.
Since then, subsequent owners haven’t taken as much care or kept the local Conservation Officer informed of their plans. All of the infill panels have now been covered with cement render and painted with normal emulsion on the inside. This has led to one catastrophic failure (the whole of the outside of one panel fell into the street. Luckily, there was no-one about, so Claims Direct and their ilk didn’t have a field day!) and a number of other panels had “blown”.
I wanted to try and have a go at repairing the panels myself, but never having done anything like it, a bit of research was needed. I trawled the net, this forum in particular and sought advice from contractors. The information overload put me off, to be honest, so it was left in abeyance for a little while. The hole in the wall was boarded over and other projects took priority.
At the start of the summer (I think we had one this year?) it was decided that the time had come to sort the panels out. I made contact with the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, who recommended a guy called John Devaney, who runs a small business called JJ Historical Plasterers.
John came round, priced up the job and showed a keen interest in the house. When I told him I’d considered doing the job myself, he offered to show me the techniques and methods he uses, so I was taken on as a labourer! I have to say it is the best way to learn the job. Courses and books are all very well, but actually getting stuck in with mixing daub, weaving hazel and shaving oak staves that will go into your own house is very rewarding.
Five panels have been replaced, with a load more that will need doing over time. At least now I can make a start and do the preparation with some confidence and then get John in when two people are needed. The first coat of daub needs to be applied to both sides of the panel simultaneously to get good adhesion and my wife couldn’t be persuaded to get her hands dirty.
All I need now is to find a suitable paint to cover the timbers so that they are all uniformly black. Anyone got any ideas for a breathable black paint suitable for this application?
I've added these pictures of the work in progress. In all, it took about six weeks to prepare and complete. This was due to me having to work and the job being done mainly on weekends. Between each layer, some drying time was required, which lengthened the process.
For those who are interested in the materials used. The wattle is hazel branches woven through oak staves. The daub is clay, straw, water and yes, cow manure. One layer of daub also contained purlite and goat hair for extra moisture control and insulation. The top coat is lime plaster. No artificial colourings, flavourings or preservatives have been added.
I thought I’d share my experience of learning the gentle art of Wattle and Daub.
We bought our house two years ago. It is a mish-mash of ages and styles, but the relevant part is the bit that was built in the late 16th century. It’s timber framed, with wattle and daub infill panels. At least that’s what we were told and what the history of the house suggested.
The house fell into disrepair in the 1960s and was almost demolished as part of a “regeneration” of our town. Fortunately, the house was snapped up by someone who recognised the potential. The house was restored and refurbished, with the infill panels all being replaced using the traditional methods and materials.
Since then, subsequent owners haven’t taken as much care or kept the local Conservation Officer informed of their plans. All of the infill panels have now been covered with cement render and painted with normal emulsion on the inside. This has led to one catastrophic failure (the whole of the outside of one panel fell into the street. Luckily, there was no-one about, so Claims Direct and their ilk didn’t have a field day!) and a number of other panels had “blown”.
I wanted to try and have a go at repairing the panels myself, but never having done anything like it, a bit of research was needed. I trawled the net, this forum in particular and sought advice from contractors. The information overload put me off, to be honest, so it was left in abeyance for a little while. The hole in the wall was boarded over and other projects took priority.
At the start of the summer (I think we had one this year?) it was decided that the time had come to sort the panels out. I made contact with the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, who recommended a guy called John Devaney, who runs a small business called JJ Historical Plasterers.
John came round, priced up the job and showed a keen interest in the house. When I told him I’d considered doing the job myself, he offered to show me the techniques and methods he uses, so I was taken on as a labourer! I have to say it is the best way to learn the job. Courses and books are all very well, but actually getting stuck in with mixing daub, weaving hazel and shaving oak staves that will go into your own house is very rewarding.
Five panels have been replaced, with a load more that will need doing over time. At least now I can make a start and do the preparation with some confidence and then get John in when two people are needed. The first coat of daub needs to be applied to both sides of the panel simultaneously to get good adhesion and my wife couldn’t be persuaded to get her hands dirty.
All I need now is to find a suitable paint to cover the timbers so that they are all uniformly black. Anyone got any ideas for a breathable black paint suitable for this application?
I've added these pictures of the work in progress. In all, it took about six weeks to prepare and complete. This was due to me having to work and the job being done mainly on weekends. Between each layer, some drying time was required, which lengthened the process.
For those who are interested in the materials used. The wattle is hazel branches woven through oak staves. The daub is clay, straw, water and yes, cow manure. One layer of daub also contained purlite and goat hair for extra moisture control and insulation. The top coat is lime plaster. No artificial colourings, flavourings or preservatives have been added.
