Exposing a stone wall

[Harry136]

Hi

I’m wanting to expose a stone wall in the kitchen. The property is a converted granary from around 1800. Unfortunately the interior stone seems to have a white coating, not sure if it is plaster, tender or paint? If anyone can tell me what it is and how to remove it?

Edited September 22, 2018 by Harry136

[JohnfromUK]

Could be old limewash/whitewash/distemper?  Not sure of the best way to remove, but beware the dust ....... which will get everywhere.

[rovercoupe]

Could it be tanking?

[Walker570]

Looks a lot like old limewash what we called whitewash and used to do the inside walls of our cowsheds with.   Haven't a clue how to get it off but do know it will have impregnated every crevise.

Edited September 22, 2018 by Walker570

[Harry136]

It has the crisp shell like paint but it’s quite deep

[ditchman]

cement render with limewash ontop................

if it is cement.....

1. it might crack off with a hammer nice and easy.....or..........
2. you might need a 120lb breaker with a 90cfm compressor

best of luck 

Edited September 22, 2018 by ditchman

[team tractor]

Bead blast 

[Ultrastu]

Id put the plaster board back  its there to stop the damp getting into your house .

Old farm house , solid walls ,with  no damp course .= wet walls which are cold .with flaky paint and mould .

Plaster board separates the wet from the room .

It also looks better than an old wall  imo.

Unless you intend to return the building back into a cow shed id cover it back up .

[Ultrastu]

Ps

its caked in loads of paint to try to stop the damp coming through .

 

[Lord v]

As Ditchman said, looks like limewash on cement. 

If it doesn't peel off you may have to consider quilling. Which is massively messy. 

If you remove it you will also have to replace it with something to stop the damp. 

[Fisheruk]

Yes, Limewash, probably put on as a thick paste for the first coat.

Very messy to remove.

As TT says, ball blast, but use water to suppress the dust..

[figgy]

I always thought the damp problems stemmed from people trying to cover the walls up not letting them breathe. 

If you want it to look nice get it blasted off with sand or similar media. I you want to waterproof it there are plenty of clear modern sealers that will work and not spoil the stones look.

[JohnfromUK]

20 minutes ago, figgy said:

I always thought the damp problems stemmed from people trying to cover the walls up not letting them breathe.

That is certainly current thinking.  Real problem is that many old houses have walls that wick water up.  If you leave them uncovered, the water evaporates into the air - and the wall stays (reasonably) dry.  In the old days of open fires, lots of air going through and up the chimney, it all worked pretty well.  However, in a modernised house with draught proofing, no open fires, central heating etc., the water evaporates and the whole house full of air gets damp - which causes condensation on the cold(er) spots - like corners - which then grow mould.  The key is good ventilation, but any air introduced from outside needs heating - which is so expensive nowadays .......  Its a real problem in old buildings.

 

25 minutes ago, figgy said:

I you want to waterproof it there are plenty of clear modern sealers that will work and not spoil the stones look.

The problem there is that you may seal the moisture in - which can cause all sorts of problems.  There is a lot of recent information from people like SPAB, some linked below;

https://www.spab.org.uk/advice/rising-dampness

https://www.spab.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/MainSociety/SPAB Briefing_Energy efficiency.pdf

 

[mowdy]

If it’s just whitewash  then  a Pressure washer is best to remove itbut if it is in your kitchen then just scrape with a wire brush   But it will take longer.

it you want to stop damp coming through tank with  K11 or a similar product after cleaning off as much white wash as you can and fill any holes in the joints prior to application.

we use this method a lot at work and it really does work

 

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, if as you say an interior wall and it looks very dry with many coats of old lime wash and no signs of damp, my suggestion would be to expose the whole area of wall, put up some kind of dust proof screen so you do not get to much dust other side and with enough room to sand blast and clean up, once you get back to the original stone work check for loose joint mix which i presume is 18th century lime mortor, re point using same and once all dry use a sealer that keeps the natural look and stops any fine dust into kitchen, on the historic england web site you can find info on 18th century stone walls from your area, and there is a company i know sells this type of ready mix morter, not cheap but saves you working out mix ratio, i expect you would need to get a company to sand blast but re pointing and sealer is something i am sure you could do and stand back to admire👍