Can I leave exposed Cotswold stone in the bathroom?

[SamARP]

Hi All,

I'm currently chipping plaster off the walls in a room that will become the bathroom in my rather old house (built 1741). The wall I intend to have the bath on has some beautiful Cotswold stone that I would like to leave exposed if possible. I know the walls need to breath, so is there something I could coat the wall with which will stop damp penetrating? The bath would be in the 'splash zone'.

 

[joe-90]

If you are chipping painted plaster off then the walls haven't been 'breathing' for God knows how long. Do you live in Chipping Camden or Chipping Norton?

 

[SamARP]

Hi Joe-90. I live near Stroud. The plaster on this wall wasn't painted it was straight up lime plaster - although some of the other walls had been painted/whitewashed. And most of it didn't really need chipping, a stern glare saw most of it on the floor!

 

[ree]

Clean off the wall as best you can - do it carefully to avoid scarring the stone. Dont use any grinding or chipping tools

I'd suggest not to use any kind of coating - in my limited experience, coatings on stone build up future difficulties, sometimes the difficulties can become exponential.

 

[noseall]

If this wall is un-insulated i.e. zero cavity and zero EWI then it is going to be a condensation nightmare. All of your damp problems are going to come from within the bathroom.