Where can I find written, “you must not remove lime plaster from solid lime mortared walls and put back Gypsum because …………….”
Why? Well I arrived at my customer’s house this morning (they have recently purchased and moved in) to renovate their period windows. I found a builders skip in the drive, and in the house, ceilings were down and other major renovation in progress. Customer tells me they didn’t expect to have to gut the whole house, but it has to be done.
The newly exposed inner brick skin tells me it’s a solid wall construction of lime mortar and the wheel barrow beside me is full of lime plaster.
Are you re-plastering with lime I ask? A blank look is my reply.
I continue explaining, your walls and brickwork are lime construction so you should not plaster with Gypsum as the house wont breathe. Another blank look! Then he calls Brian.
Brian comes down the stairs and my customer asks him, what plaster are you planning to put back. OOPS Brian is only the bloody builder.
Were waterproof rendering on the ground floor with a hardwall skim and bonding and hardwall upstairs.
Now I am already in it up to my neck so I open my mouth again and explain the property won’t breathe if you tank it, plus the cement render wont move in keeping with the lime puttied solid brickwork.
His answer, Well we do it all the time, it no problem.
Case closed. I get on with my job, customer is still worried but not got the courage to put a halt to this bad building practice and plasterer due in tomorrow.
You may ask why am I worried? I don’t know maybe I just hate people buying historic building and doing work without research and damaging it forever, bodge jobs, and ignorant builders.
I would like to go back and present them with something that justifies my concern.
Why? Well I arrived at my customer’s house this morning (they have recently purchased and moved in) to renovate their period windows. I found a builders skip in the drive, and in the house, ceilings were down and other major renovation in progress. Customer tells me they didn’t expect to have to gut the whole house, but it has to be done.
The newly exposed inner brick skin tells me it’s a solid wall construction of lime mortar and the wheel barrow beside me is full of lime plaster.
Are you re-plastering with lime I ask? A blank look is my reply.
I continue explaining, your walls and brickwork are lime construction so you should not plaster with Gypsum as the house wont breathe. Another blank look! Then he calls Brian.
Brian comes down the stairs and my customer asks him, what plaster are you planning to put back. OOPS Brian is only the bloody builder.
Were waterproof rendering on the ground floor with a hardwall skim and bonding and hardwall upstairs.
Now I am already in it up to my neck so I open my mouth again and explain the property won’t breathe if you tank it, plus the cement render wont move in keeping with the lime puttied solid brickwork.
His answer, Well we do it all the time, it no problem.
Case closed. I get on with my job, customer is still worried but not got the courage to put a halt to this bad building practice and plasterer due in tomorrow.
You may ask why am I worried? I don’t know maybe I just hate people buying historic building and doing work without research and damaging it forever, bodge jobs, and ignorant builders.
I would like to go back and present them with something that justifies my concern.