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

[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.

[sidekickdmr]

jet_noise said:

You say damp is one of the issues. Do you know how it's getting in? How's the the outside of the house, what's the ground/floor levels like?
I'm of the following the contours school. Definitely agree with finding a plasterer who's done it before or is willing to learn.

You say the plaster is currently concrete based. Just how hard is it? My last place had one wall done in stuff so hard we had to leave it. The wall would have been damaged (limestone rubble+lime mortar) if we had continued.

Good luck with your refurb,

regards,
Jet

We haven’t got a damp "problem" as such, no wet patches or mould on walls etc, its just a overall slightly damp cottage, if we leave it for a few days with the heating and de-humidifier off the sofa/bedding is damp.

Its not a leaking pipe, or bad flashing, just a old thick walled cottage, and the way to make this better is breathable plaster and paint apparently, as well as a proper heating system and ventilation.

As for the plaster, I've no idea how hard it is, but at least we have proper stone walls, so should hold up well to a bit of hacking away.

[sidekickdmr]

I’ve decided that I don’t want "lumpy" like the current wall but I don’t want straight, so im going with wavey/wonky, following the shapes of the old walls but a smooth finish, with rounded and wavey corners etc.

I’m sure this is a happy medium that I can achieve!