Plaster finish in old 1700's cottage, what would you do?

[sidekickdmr]

Morning!

Ok so our old cottage is due a bit of a re-fresh, the construction of the cottage is old slate solid walls, with a external render.

At sometime in the past the internal walls were plastered/skimmed with a concrete based plaster, this means the walls cant breath and this is causing some damp issues (also not helped by the gloss paint slapped on everywhere).

So we have plans to remove all of the old plaster from the walls, and re plaster in a breathable lime based plaster, finished with Farrow and ball breathable paint.

We are not only doing this for damp and aesthetic purposes, this would also be tied into a central heating fit and a bit of re-wiring, so rather than patching up lots of chasing/holes it makes sense to do it properly from scratch.

The walls at present are very (very) lumpy, wonky wavey and patchy.

We cant decide if we want to go completely level and straight, or go a bit lumpy and wonky to keep in with the old cottage style.

So, if you were in the market for a old 1700's cottage, would you want clean lines, or wonky/wavey?

Clean lines:



Lumpy/wonky



Thanks

[S10GTA]

As it is, looks great.

[WinstonWolf]

I'd wait till you get the plaster off and see what the walls suggest.

[yellowtang]

We always go for the 'soft' look in cottages/farmhouses. Lime plaster has a soft and tactile look about it, your stone walls won't be flat anyway so you should end up with a generally smooth but gently undulating finish. Basically, something between the two pics.

Metal angle beads look absolutely dreadful in old properties! Large radius timber ones are good if absolutely needed.

[FlipFlopGriff]

We've used lime hemp plaster to good effect - a course base coat and a fine finish coat which leaves a textured finish. Its easy to plaster with too (we had a hour or so instruction and then got on with it) so you could do it yourself with some basic equipment. For corners we just rounded the edges off in a semi circle type shape which looks in keeping but its hard to get an even corner, but that wasn't a major issue for us. Finished in clay Earthborne paint - looks great.

FFG

[Herbs]

I had to do this on my old cottage - take everything back to bare mud - lump/wavey all day long. Nothing worse than a period property looking like a 1980's one on the inside without the character.

2nd Earthborn paints as well - the clay paint especially is superb and durable.

[Jimmyarm]

yellowtang said:

We always go for the 'soft' look in cottages/farmhouses. Lime plaster has a soft and tactile look about it, your stone walls won't be flat anyway so you should end up with a generally smooth but gently undulating finish. Basically, something between the two pics.

Metal angle beads look absolutely dreadful in old properties! Large radius timber ones are good if absolutely needed.

This, my dad lived in a set of 3 1700's cottages that had been turned into one house. The plaster finish was generally smooth but followed the contours etc. It looked really good and suited the property, sort of a mix between old and new I guess

[skinnyman]

If you're like me, if you wanted it straight and smooth it would have to be perfectly straight and smooth, which could be difficult in a 1700's cottage. However, lumpy & wavey is lumpy & wavey, so you don't have to stress about the quality of finish as much.

Ergo, lumpy & wavey

[sidekickdmr]

Agreed that if it was supposed to be stright and clean it would have to be perfect to pull it off!

I agree that a middle ground is the best, wonky and wavey, but subtle and not lumpy/badly finished looking.

Following the contours of the wall etc but smooth.

This is my actual lounge at present, Zoom in on that far wall, I dont like the "lumpy" look it has and this is what I want to change.

[Johnnytheboy]

Sounds like you know you want smooth.

If the walls are vaguely straight, have your way.

[Herbs]

sidekickdmr said:

Agreed that if it was supposed to be stright and clean it would have to be perfect to pull it off!

I agree that a middle ground is the best, wonky and wavey, but subtle and not lumpy/badly finished looking.

Following the contours of the wall etc but smooth.

This is my actual lounge at present, Zoom in on that far wall, I dont like the "lumpy" look it has and this is what I want to change.

Wavey doesn't have to equal lumpy if you have a decent plasterer

i'll try and dig out some of mine from when it was done.

If using lime you also have the option to sand/smooth it out quite a bit but it will reflect what is behind it to a degree (which personally I like)

[Unexpected Item In Bagging Area]

Our c18th house features a finish similar to the below in some rooms. I think it gives a nice period look without being too rough, whereas smooth and perfect just spoils an old house.

[anonymous-user]

You may have to tell the plasterer to take his head off as hes likely to be programmed to do dead flat. it depends what you're plastering but you can get a great finish coat using bonding plaster with a light brush finish - it looks identical to horsehair plaster if done right. Its a hell of a lot easier for the plasterer to do as well. That's what I did and you cant tell whats new and old when painted.

Edit: no two ways about it. Bonding with light brush but plastered fairly evenly not all over the place like the other photos. Jobs a goodun.

Edited by V6Pushfit on Thursday 29th September 14:25

[Simpo Two]

The lumpy ones look as if they're carved out of cheese.

[anonymous-user]

Unexpected Item In Bagging Area said:

Our c18th house features a finish similar to the below in some rooms. I think it gives a nice period look without being too rough, whereas smooth and perfect just spoils an old house.

That's not old plaster just dodgy part removal of old paint before redecorating !!

[RicksAlfas]

Lumpy.

Looks a lovely home by the way.

[Unexpected Item In Bagging Area]

V6Pushfit said:

That's not old plaster just dodgy part removal of old paint before redecorating !!

Exactly

[TooLateForAName]

I've gone wonky

I'd skip the F&B - it might have been good once but I found it pretty poor - certainly not breathable and came off in sheets.

Their limewash was also expensive st - I could do better myself.


I've not used clay paint but I've heard very good things about it.

[yellowtang]

We use F&B casein distemper and occasionally lime wash - because F&B will produce anything from their back catalogue and offer all the colours in almost every finish (you may require eggshell for a radiator in the same colour as the wall for example) - - nobody else offers such a choice of breathable paints with matching eggshell/gloss/emulsions. Most lime wash producers for example shy away from
strong colours, F&B don't! It is expensive (particularly casein distemper) but we've never had any problems.

Regarding the lime hemp plaster - it's wonderful stuff to use and it will increase the thermal efficiency of your solid walls whilst remaining completely breathable (as long as you use clay/distemper/lime wash paint on top). It's generally better to use hemp plaster in summer though if you are having to put very thick coats on - it contains a lot of water and takes a long time to go off. You can get mould/fungus appearing on the plaster due to the hemp content, if cant dry out.

[Murph7355]

WinstonWolf said:

I'd wait till you get the plaster off and see what the walls suggest.

Listen to this advice And get a plasterer in who is used to dealing with the materials in question.

We have a 16C house. There's no need for to look like your second pic necessarily with a decent plasterer (our lounge was redone recently following getting shot of the concrete render on the outside of the house).

Incidentally, F&B aren't the only ones doing breathable paint. Search for clay paint. Mind you, whichever brand you go with it's (a) expensive and (b) doesn't cover like modern paints!