So I'm new here but pushing my luck with an old problem and I would be grateful for some guidance through all the contradictory information that is available. The property is a 175+ year old through terrace that was a detached property until it was built into a terrace of back-to-backs. The two external walls are solid with stone showing externally and porous brick internally with the wall thickness suggesting there is some rubble fill.
However strangely, what are now the two party walls are random stone internally rather than brick. The walls had been damp for a long time due to the gutters failing but following roof repairs they have now dried out. When stripping the wallpaper large areas of the original plaster in the first floor rooms (presumed to be a grey sand/lime base with a thin white skim) came away with the wallpaper and therefore the walls have been stripped back to bare brick and stone.
Most of the advice seen and heard stresses that whatever is re-applied to the walls it must allow the wall to “breathe” from both internal and external surfaces and therefore be lime-based due to the age and construction of the house. The lath and plaster on the ceilings has been removed as it had also partially collapsed and the complete refurbishment will include boarding and skimming the ceilings but this is a lesser concern in comparison to the walls.
There are many similar properties locally and I can’t imagine that this job presents an unusual challenge but I have met both a reluctance to quote for this work and an insistence that sand & cement with a waterproofing additive will be perfectly adequate (although this would presumably prevent the walls breathing from the both sides and is contrary to the general advice from elsewhere to use lime). The budget is less of a worry but as the house is near Huddersfield and exposed to the wind-driven rain of Pennine weather I want to get it right and achieve a comfortable home. If you’ve read this far – thank you!
However strangely, what are now the two party walls are random stone internally rather than brick. The walls had been damp for a long time due to the gutters failing but following roof repairs they have now dried out. When stripping the wallpaper large areas of the original plaster in the first floor rooms (presumed to be a grey sand/lime base with a thin white skim) came away with the wallpaper and therefore the walls have been stripped back to bare brick and stone.
Most of the advice seen and heard stresses that whatever is re-applied to the walls it must allow the wall to “breathe” from both internal and external surfaces and therefore be lime-based due to the age and construction of the house. The lath and plaster on the ceilings has been removed as it had also partially collapsed and the complete refurbishment will include boarding and skimming the ceilings but this is a lesser concern in comparison to the walls.
There are many similar properties locally and I can’t imagine that this job presents an unusual challenge but I have met both a reluctance to quote for this work and an insistence that sand & cement with a waterproofing additive will be perfectly adequate (although this would presumably prevent the walls breathing from the both sides and is contrary to the general advice from elsewhere to use lime). The budget is less of a worry but as the house is near Huddersfield and exposed to the wind-driven rain of Pennine weather I want to get it right and achieve a comfortable home. If you’ve read this far – thank you!
