Help - what type of wall is this ?!

[rooney1000]

Hi - hoping somoene on here might be able to help (the great font of knowledge that PH is !).

I live in an old cottage, circa 100 years old, and my walls are a nightmare. The picture should really help, if it uploads, with my poor explanation but basically they appear to have a tiny layer of plaster and then behind are just a mix of really crumbly 'substance'. As you can imagine try to actually fix anything to the wall is a disaster and now, through wear and tear, cracks like this are appearing.

So, firstly, does anyone know what this is ? I was always under the impression that this was lath and horsehair but am unsure ?

Secondly, very much linked to this, is it possible to actually remove this, re-board and replaster so I get a smooth and useable surface ? I must admit, in all of the time i have lived here (8 years) and with all the pictures i have put up I have never ever managed to locate any kind of strut / wood / baton behind to fix into (not sure if any there?!).



Thoughts?

[anonymous-user]

Cob?

[Tom_C76]

Where in the country are you? It's probably one of cob/clunch/wattle etc that will be specific to local materials availability.

[Warmfuzzies]

Probably lathe and plaster, lime mix with horse hair beaten in,

Punch a small hole, say an inch or two wide to see if you have multiple wooden lattes running across

How does it sound when you tap the wall?

[rooney1000]

Sounds very very hollow and the same across whole wall, no change. Am in Essex.

[drmotorsport]

I have similar in my nearly 100 yr old place in Essex which is definitely lathes and plaster with horsehair mixed in. It's super crumbly behind the modernish top coat of plaster. Unless you want a huge amount of work or lung cancer, i would board over the top rather than mess with that stuff!

[rooney1000]

Cant board over it sadly as house full of beams so wouldnt then sit flush

[clockworks]

The internal walls upstairs in my last house were lath and plaster. Some walls were studwork, others were wooden panels.
The problem was that many of the nails securing the studs had failed. I removed the whole lot, then boarded and skimmed.

[speedyman]

Drill a hole in it and use one an endoscope camera to see in.

[paulwirral]

speedyman said:

Drill a hole in it and use one an endoscope camera to see in.

May as well just hit it with a hammer and take a look at the hole , it's knackered anyway . It looks like lath and plaster so prepare yourself for dust everywhere , stock up on 50mm masking tape to tape your doors shut while you remove it .

[jason61c]

drmotorsport said:

I have similar in my nearly 100 yr old place in Essex which is definitely lathes and plaster with horsehair mixed in. It's super crumbly behind the modernish top coat of plaster. Unless you want a huge amount of work or lung cancer, i would board over the top rather than mess with that stuff!

lung cancer!????