Re-plastering old house

[SBB]

Hi,

New to this site, so I apologise if I sound naive!

We have moved into our first house last week and a small part of me is now regretting it since it has not been looked after for 20 years and now we are finding that even simply screwing in a phone line fitting has resulted in the plaster falling off. In another room we took down a cupboard which revealed a very manky and crumbling damp corner of our bedroom.

My question I guess is whether this is deemed to be something serious that will require a lot of (not so available) cash to repair? And if we have to re-plaster one corner or one wall of a room, is it better for us to fork out and get the whole room done at the same time? These walls with the soft plaster are outside walls so my guess is that they are just really old. My main concern is that this is going to cost us thousands to set straight.

Any advice or thoughts much appreciated!

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Richard C]

Delaminating & failing plaster can be common in an older house; I bought a 60’s property & have had to strip, repair & re-plaster every wall & ceiling due to general neglect. From what you’ve explained, with soft, crumbling plaster & manky damp corners, it sounds as though you may have a damp problem. If it’s only on the outside walls, most likely cause is ingress of water from outside but it could also be severe internal condensation; which ever it is, you must sort it out before you attempt to rectify the manky plaster or it will just re-occur.

You say it’s not been looked after for 20 years but how old is the house? & what is the external wall construction? Is the problem on 2 floors (assuming you have them) or just on the ground floor?

 

[SBB]

Thanks for replying to my post

The house was built in 1930s I believe - the external wall I guess is brick, with rendering over the top of it (is this what you meant?). To be honest after seeing the walls upstairs we haven't yet had the courage to start poking about behind the wallpaper downstairs although there is nothing obvious that stands out as damp. How do we test for damp? And the next question is how do we solve it!

 

[joe-90]

If you've got damp upstairs then look at the pointing (mortar between the bricks) and the guttering. Neither are difficult to fix.

As far as the general condition of your walls goes, this is what the average house of that age is like. Lime render is quite soft. If you strip the wallpaper and let it breathe it is unlikely you'll have any further bother with it.

If chunks fall off just make a local repair.

Your house is not unusual for the age - it is the norm.

 

[Richard C]

30’s built will almost certainly be early cavity construction (50mm) &, as Joe says, probably lime based render/plaster. You say nothing stands out as damp but your original post said there was a manky and crumbling damp corner in the bedroom! As suggested, check the guttering & examine the external rendering carefully for cracks or signs of it delaminating; also have a look at the condition of the eaves, roof tiles & under felt above the manky corner; do you know if the property has been cavity insulated?

I would also have a little check in all the rooms around the rest of the house to see if it’s just a localised problem or it reflects the general condition. Damp is tested/measured with a meter but is not too difficult to spot without one; did you have any sort of survey done before buying the property or just rely on the usual Bank/BS valuation?

 

[SBB]

Thank you for the advice and reassurance - unfortunately we only went for the cheapest survey which didnt pick up much at all. (lesson learnt)

We will start pulling off all the old wallpaper in a few days so I'm sure any damp underneath will be exposed. I appreciate the advice in any case!

 

[WaveyDave]

Thank you for the advice and reassurance - unfortunately we only went for the cheapest survey which didnt pick up much at all. (lesson learnt)

We will start pulling off all the old wallpaper in a few days so I'm sure any damp underneath will be exposed. I appreciate the advice in any case!

One question, when you take the wallpaper off, are you going to re-paper? I stripped every wall in my house, and had to get the whole lot skimmed becauase we want to paint rather than re-paper.

Just something to aware of.

 

[diyisfree]

To be honest (And this is NOT a poke at the painters and decorators on this forum) it is probably cheaper to have your entire house skimmed than have a p&d do his thing

Thats just me talking has a plasterer who charges a reasonable price for a house re-plastering...