Removing paint from internal stone wall

[Blakes]

Hi all, first post here!

I own an old miller's cottage built circa 1900, and it has solid stone walls. One of the rooms has two external walls which haven't been studded/insulated however, the previous owners have slapped a nice thick layer or two of paint on the stonework. This, along with the lack of insulation I guess has led to the walls suffering from condensation and mould.

My plan is to strip the paint from the walls and stud out (leaving a 50mm gap between the studs and wall), and insulate.

I set to stripping the paint with a heat gun and wallpaper scraper. After an hour I decided that I'd like to have the job finished before I retire (I'm 36!). As you can guess, the wall is far from smooth.

So, what is the best method to go about this in you guy's and gal's opinions? I'm not bothered about whether it looks nice or not as obviously it'll be covered over. One wall is approx 3m wide with a fireplace and an alcove/recess. The other wall is approx 1.5m with no features. There is 1 window in the room.

In my own mind, I either get someone in to sandblast the walls (no idea of cost though), or I buy an angle grinder and a box or two of suitable discs/wheels.

Any help/suggestions will be much welcome.

Thanks, Blakes.

 

[Chud]

The paint is unlikely to be the cause of your condensation and mould - it'll be room/wall temperature, humidity and ventilation.

So the good news is I reckon you don't need to strip the paint. You do need to address the issue though - you need to treat the mould and increase ventilation and/or the temperature of the wall. I assume you're not doing anything like drying clothes in there?

 

[Blakes]

The paint is unlikely to be the cause of your condensation and mould - it'll be room/wall temperature, humidity and ventilation.

So the good news is I reckon you don't need to strip the paint. You do need to address the issue though - you need to treat the mould and increase ventilation and/or the temperature of the wall. I assume you're not doing anything like drying clothes in there?

I know the paint isn't the cause of the condensation. I want the paint off to help the wall breath. These walls are the only two in the property which haven't been studded and insulated, so I'd say when the warm air from the house hits those walls which are the coldest walls in the house, condensation forms.

My reasoning for studding in front of the wall and insulating etc is to address the condensation. There is an open fireplace/chimney in the room (chimney pot has an 'elephants foot on top') and the window trickle vent is always open. I did initially (unknowing at the time the issues) dry clothes in that room. Now we grow a few plants in there. I highly doubt I'd be able to raise the temp of the external solid stone wall here in the west of Scotland. I think studding out is my best bet.

Still think removing the paint will be a good idea though!

Thanks, Blakes.

 

[Chud]

Well the only thing I can suggest for removing the paint in that case is to use a corded drill or angle grinder equipped with a wire-brush/ abrasive flap/paint removal wheel...of course you don't need to do a perfect job of it if you just want the wall to breathe. When you dry line the wall it would probably be a good idea to install a vapour barrier beneath the plasterboard.

 

[Blakes]

Well the only thing I can suggest for removing the paint in that case is to use a corded drill or angle grinder equipped with a wire-brush/ abrasive flap/paint removal wheel...of course you don't need to do a perfect job of it if you just want the wall to breathe. When you dry line the wall it would probably be a good idea to install a vapour barrier beneath the plasterboard.

Yeah I was thinking along those lines pal, at least at the end of it I'll have an angle grinder in my tool collection!

So if I leave a 50mm gap between the studwork and the wall, vapour barrier behind plasterboard, would the 50mm gap need vented at all as it will be between floor and ceiling?

 

[Burnerman]

A needle descaler is perfect for this but I don't know how viable that will be - unless you can hire a compressor?
John

 

[Chud]

Yeah I was thinking along those lines pal, at least at the end of it I'll have an angle grinder in my tool collection!

So if I leave a 50mm gap between the studwork and the wall, vapour barrier behind plasterboard, would the 50mm gap need vented at all as it will be between floor and ceiling?

Not sure tbh, i just know you need to stop warm, relatively damp air from hitting cold stone.

 

[lostinthelight]

Have a dig around in the joints to see if they are lime mortar . If it is, it should be easier to remove the paint by raking into the mortar joint where most of the breathing takes place.
If the joints are portland cement I dont know if you will gain anything by removing the paint off the stone surface if the joints cant breathe
litl