1865 2 Up 2 Down

[Onoff]

Evening,

 

Looking at possibly replastering the two upstairs and two downstairs walls of a 2 up 2 down mid terrace from 1865. The 4 rooms plus stairwell. That and the two downstairs ceilings that are currently lath and plaster. 

 

I believe it's lime / horse hair plaster. Very thick but quite hollow in places so I don't think a skim over or boarding over is a goer.

 

Are modern materials like an opc based render followed by a multifinish plaster a no go? I'm thinking it should all be breathable.

 

Just starting to consider this so early days. 

[Redbeard]

Use lime if you can. If you want to use a fair bit of time just chop out the 'baggy' bits, fill with NHL 3.5 (or lime putty) 1: 3 with grit sand, and then re-skim the whole with 2 or 3:1 sand and lime putty (or NHL 3.5). A little more tricky on the L & P ceilings, where chopping bits out may dislodge the lot - but it may not.

 

If you want to experiment a bit, as it does not have to be too strong, you could buy hydrated lime (available at most builders' merchants as it is sold as more of an admixture to sand/cement than as a 'use it alone' thing), soak it in a metal bucket or bin and make your own lime putty. As long as water stays on top of it it will remain usable - for years.

[joe90]

What’s the ceiling heights like 🤷‍♂️, have you room to batten across the ceiling pulling the l@p tight then board over and scim (will give good sound insulation).

[Onoff]

10 hours ago, joe90 said:

What’s the ceiling heights like 🤷‍♂️, have you room to batten across the ceiling pulling the l@p tight then board over and scim (will give good sound insulation).

 

Ceiling heights would be fine for that. I'd still have though the 160 year old ceilings above. Pull up an upstairs floorboard and you're looking down on all the accumulated filth, mouse poo and skin cells that have slipped through the gaps in the boards and is sat atop the laths. 

 

Thinking "clean slate" is the best way to go.

[ProDave]

Taking down a lath and plaster ceiling is a miserable job.  But the best way to start from a clean slate with a fresh clean ceiling.

 

Re the walls, I would batten and plasterboard leaving the old stuff there.  The main reason being I never ever want to rewire a "plastered on the hard" house again.  I left that miserable task behind when I moved to Scotland where most houses are timber frame or battens and plasterboard on the walls.

 

[Sparrowhawk]

19 minutes ago, ProDave said:

Re the walls, I would batten and plasterboard leaving the old stuff there.

How thin can you get away with? 15mm batten + 12.5mm plasterboard (+ 3mm top coat if not tape & jointing)?

 

We need to rewire external walls prior to CWI and I am not looking forward to having runs chased out in a lived-in house.

[Onoff]

2 minutes ago, Sparrowhawk said:

How thin can you get away with? 15mm batten + 12.5mm plasterboard (+ 3mm top coat if not tape & jointing)?

 

We need to rewire external walls prior to CWI and I am not looking forward to having runs chased out in a lived-in house.

 

I'd go 25mm battens minimum so you can at least get a 35mm back box in there comfortably.

[ProDave]

As above, 25mm batten and 12.5mm plasterboard is perfect for a 35mm back box.

[Onoff]

On 02/11/2023 at 09:00, ProDave said:

Re the walls, I would batten and plasterboard leaving the old stuff there.  The main reason being I never ever want to rewire a "plastered on the hard" house again.  I left that miserable task behind when I moved to Scotland where most houses are timber frame or battens and plasterboard on the walls.

 

 

With the walls back to bare brick and ceilings down it should make rewiring and plumbing a breeze I think. Some sockets are fed via PVC trunking / conduit but it's hit and miss. 

 

One concern with boarding would be the door linings and whether these would need to be renewed to account for the new wall finishes. Pretty sure that if I used 25mm battens that would encroach over doorways.

 

I think all the internal doorways have timber lintels as an aside.

 

Clean slate would at least let me see what I've got. 

[Square Feet]

I've been doing a lighting rewire of an 1890's flat this week and it's been a miserable job.  I've just been chasing out raggles and running cables for the spark to connect but it's an awful lot of mess, as you know already. The laths are attached to counterbattens that are then fixed to the joists, so there is a bit of space up there for new cables, though this is restricted in some places where the plaster has pushed up through the laths when wet. I tried pulling the old lead-sheathed cable through but it was stuck fast, so I had to feed the new cable through being careful not to snag on the many obstacles. It took a while and was a bit of a pita but it can be done. The wire itself was in a shocking (ha ha) state and crumbled and fractured very easily in my hands so I am glad it is gone now.

 

If you pull the whole ceiling down it will be some incredible mess. I have done that before and it took a huge number of bags and trips to the dump to dispose of.  The dust was incredible. I've also got one property where the kitchen ceiling has just been lowered and the old lath and plaster left above it and quite a lot has fallen down over the years. The framework of the new ceiling has taken the weight so far, but I do worry that it won't always and at some point more lime plaster will fall and bring the plasterboard ceiling down. 

[Onoff]

Some pictures. This is the dining room. All the wall paper is stripped, laminate flooring binned. 

 

Polystyrene tiles on a lath & plastered ceiling:

 

 

The fireplace wall:

 

 

Right hand side reveal:

 

 

That corner, where the broom is, is possibly damp but I don't know why:

 

 

Thinking to just hit it and get all that plaster off the and the ceiling down. 

[joe90]

4 minutes ago, Onoff said:

and the ceiling down. 

Why not batten and board it, so much less work and mess (and you have better sound proofing between floors).

[Onoff]

Floors:

 

4 rooms downstairs. Kitchen and extension are "concrete " of unknown build up. 

 

The lounge and dining room are suspended timber floors. 

 

Just mulling the pros/cons of ripping out the floorboards and joists then replacing with insulation then a 100mm slab with wet UFH in? 

[Marvin]

Hi @Onoff

 

I thought all these type of properties were renovated years ago!

 

I think it depends what your going to do with the property when its finished.

 

Start with the end in mind....

 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2023 by Marvin

[Sparrowhawk]

17 hours ago, Onoff said:

Just mulling the pros/cons of ripping out the floorboards and joists then replacing with insulation then a 100mm slab with wet UFH in? 

What's the void depth?

[Onoff]

2 hours ago, Sparrowhawk said:

What's the void depth?

 

Not sure, I'll measure it some time. There's quite a lot of rubble and debris down there. 

[Onoff]

A quick video clip tonight. 

 

That loose stuff at the bottom comes off real easy to reveal red (stock?) brick:

 

 

Original door casings with layers of paint:

 

 

 

 

[Onoff]

@nod a question if I may:

 

Can you dot and dab moisture resistant plasterboard board onto brick, if so what's the best product?