How to clean this ston wall fireplace?

dllive · 4 Aug 2019

Hi all

Ive had to remove a load of plaster off a wall. Now its gone I actually quite like the stone work. But it needs a lot of cleaning up. Theres bits if gypsum/lime plaster, old paint etc... thats needs removing.

- Is there anything (acid?) that can remove this debris and bring out the colours of the stone?

- How best to finish off the top (where the joists meet the wall)? A skim of plaster over the wood where the joists go into the wall? Is this an easy-ish job to do? How woud you go about it?

Burnerman · 4 Aug 2019

Does anyone offer a dust free wet blasting service near you?
John

dllive · 5 Aug 2019

Hmm. Interesting. I had not thought of that. I shall have a look. Just been watching vids on how blasting cleans brickwork.

What do you think about the fillet of plaster along the top? My thinking is that it would hide the top of the white cable (the rest will hopefully be hidden behind a big picture above inglenook) and make where the joists enter the wall look a bit neater.

The problem being is becuase its such a small job no plasterer wants to do it. :/

lostinthelight · 5 Aug 2019

Is the part with the vertical cracking wood or stone, if the former it looks like some form of decay that may need treating first.
If it wood you could fix ss mesh and lime plaster over it?

dllive · 5 Aug 2019

lostinthelight said:
Is the part with the vertical cracking wood or stone, if the former it looks like some form of decay that may need treating first.
If it wood you could fix ss mesh and lime plaster over it?

The vertical cracking is wood.

Ive got a mate thats done a little DIY plastering. Is fixing ss mesh and a bit of plaster over the top a '2 hour job' or a '1 day job'. Ive no idea. Obviously my mate would be the chap to ask, but Im curious how long you think it would take. Would gypsum one coat suffice?

dllive · 1 Sep 2019

Burnerman said:
Does anyone offer a dust free wet blasting service near you?
John

Ive tried and canot find anyone near me. The wood flooring has just been laid so Id rather find an alternative method to clean the stone. Is there some acid which is designed for the purpose? A bit of elbow grease with a wire brush?

Burnerman · 1 Sep 2019

I'm afraid the wire brushing will make very little difference

the stone is too hard and the staining ingrained......I've been down that road!
I'll leave acid treatment for others to comment on as I've never used it.
John

dllive · 1 Sep 2019

Burnerman said:
I'm afraid the wire brushing will make very little difference the stone is too hard and the staining ingrained......I've been down that road!
I'll leave acid treatment for others to comment on as I've never used it.
John

Oh dear John! :/
Did you have a similar situation with having remnants of gypsum/lime plaster to remove? I know Ill probably have to give it a go and see what works. Not ideal with the new flooring thats just been laid. Tis is going to be a dusty job.

catlad · 1 Sep 2019

I saw a guy in a house cleaning a stone fire place with a rod about an inch in diameter, it had about 60/70 small rods almost like bike spokes sticking out of the the main rod and it was attached to an sds. drill which when vibrated removed the dirt.

Burnerman · 1 Sep 2019

https://www.enviroblasting.co.uk/residential/
This is the sort of thing that you really need......I think Catlad is talking about a needle descaler. I have one for my air compressor but I've never seen an electric one - the air consumption and the racket is phenomenal!
An angle grinder with a stiff steel swirl mop may have the desired effect but it would be the last choice for me, unfortunately.
John

stuart45 · 1 Sep 2019

I've used an electric one to clean off the masonry paint on an exterior stone wall for a customer. Jewsons rent them out.

DSC00017

stuart45
28 Jul 2019

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stuart45
1 Aug 2019

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stuart45
28 Jul 2019

bobasd · 1 Sep 2019

OP, cant tell for sure but the timber plates below the joists appear to have extensive cracking - this could be from some kind of wood rot due to damp penetration from above or chemicals coming through from a sooty flue?
there are dark, damp looking patches here and there in the wood and on the rough stone chimney breast below.
why not probe the plates for rottenness?

the remaining plaster at the chimney breast/ceiling abutment should be cleaned out to the ceiling- you will probably have to do a little touch-up plastering.

dllive · 1 Sep 2019

Burnerman said:
https://www.enviroblasting.co.uk/residential/
This is the sort of thing that you really need......I think Catlad is talking about a needle descaler. I have one for my air compressor but I've never seen an electric one - the air consumption and the racket is phenomenal!
An angle grinder with a stiff steel swirl mop may have the desired effect but it would be the last choice for me, unfortunately.
John

Thanks. But I cant find a company near me (south west Devon) that offers this service. I can find companies that offer sand blasting, but not to what youve linked to.

stuart45 said:
I've used an electric one to clean off the masonry paint on an exterior stone wall for a customer. Jewsons rent them out.

What - a "needle descaler"? Did it make much mess/dust? (i presume so!)

bobasd said:
OP, cant tell for sure but the timber plates below the joists appear to have extensive cracking - this could be from some kind of wood rot due to damp penetration from above or chemicals coming through from a sooty flue?
there are dark, damp looking patches here and there in the wood and on the rough stone chimney breast below.
why not probe the plates for rottenness?

the remaining plaster at the chimney breast/ceiling abutment should be cleaned out to the ceiling- you will probably have to do a little touch-up plastering.

Yes, there was some damp form the leaking chimeny (which has now been fixed). God knows how many years thats been leaking. Ive checked the wood and it still seems pretty sound, despite the cracking. My plan is to plaster over that wood where the joists go into the wall. My problem (or one of them!) is finding a plaster that will come out for such a small job.

stuart45 · 1 Sep 2019

dllive said:
What - a "needle descaler"? Did it make much mess/dust? (i presume so!)

Not too bad compared to sand blasting. The type of stone here is Chert, which is a hard stone. Soft brickwork or Limestone would be wrecked with a needle gun.

bobasd · 1 Sep 2019

fwiw:
the damp patches look recent.
by "leaking chimney" i guess you mean the chimney stack - how do you know its been repaired, have you got before and after photos?
presuming the back wall of the chimney breast is an outside wall, perhaps even a rendered wall, then moisture could be penetrating the wall surface?

plastering over the rotted looking wood would not be a good idea.
have you probed the wood with a small sharp screwdriver?

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How to clean this ston wall fireplace?

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