Strange internal wall material falling to bits!

[lazydog11]

Hi all

I have just spent the last couple of days stripping the wallpaper from the spare room of my 1910 semi.

Had the usual aggravation of 4 or 5 layers of wallpaper, some painted some not! However i got as far as the interior wall which seems to be made of some type of cheap fibrous wood based material with membrane thin paper holding it together, which as you can imagine is coming apart in clumps as i scrape off the paper.

My question is, by the time i get the wallpaper off the wall is going to be a terrible state, does anyone know what this stuff is and is it salvageable by plastering or will i need to rip it out and plasterboard it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bosswhite]

Sounds a bit like "Stramit" Board, used in the 60s/70s instead of plaster board, or it could be lathe/plaster with horse hair to bind the plaster
A picture would help.
is it a stud wall, it might be better to fix plaster boarding over it, or replace it totally, depends on what sort of job you want to make of it.

 

[TheDec]

You say that your house was built in 1910, I am at this time almost and I mean almost sure that you have come across lathe/ and plaster. This was used in the era of which you speak. I at this time am not going to either delve or plunge myself into mere speculation, I or indeed we need to view a pic or in order to establish what we are dealing with.

And if my guess is correct, then yes, it can be repaired and made to look real good. Yet that pic and perhaps a few more questions will be of benefit to you.

Dec

 

[lazydog11]

Certainly - ill pop a picture on tomorrow evening


Oh by the way its not horse hair - thats everywhere else in the house except here!!

 

[emilybronte]

You say that your house was built in 1910, I am at this time almost and I mean almost sure that you have come across lathe/ and plaster.
Dec

I think you must mean 'lath and plaster', Dec. The laths are the battens, of course. (A lathe is a woodturning tool).

 

[emilybronte]

You say that your house was built in 1910, I am at this time almost and I mean almost sure that you have come across lathe/ and plaster.
Dec

I think you must mean 'lath and plaster', Dec. The laths are the battens, of course. (A lathe is a woodturning tool)

I don't think it sounds like lath and plaster, however. Op mentions a fibrous material, like cardboard, held together with a thin paper. Our house is full of lath and plaster walls and they are nothing like that. I agree a photo would help but I'd go for the Stamitboard as Bosswhite suggests.

It's probably academic, given that it's falling apart anyway - the wall will probably need replastering. My only concern would be whether it contained asbestos fibres.

 

[TheDec]

Yes I did Mean lath, and I will wait for the pics.

Dec

 

[sparkwright]

A house of that age will have a lot of history, so some things may not be original.

I wonder if the wall is fibre board, which was used around the 50s, I suppose. It is similar to plasterboard, but nowhere near as strong or versatile.

Fibre board is total crap.

 

[lazydog11]

Sorry for the delay all! Dont think its Lath and horsehair plaster - i have seen that in here as well in different places. Pretty confident its fibreboard.

Pictures below:

Closeup:

Whole interior wall:

As you can see - its pretty much impossible to not tear it up. The way i see it there are 3 options:

1. Cut it out and replace with plasterboard

2. Lining paper it

3. Something else

 

[JohnD]

I think it's insulation board.

Rip it out, see what's behind it.

If an external wall, consider insulated plasterboard, which has a rigid insulating foam on the back.

 

[lazydog11]

Pretty sure there will be a space with another sheet on the other side (upstairs hallway). Dont know it there are any battens or if it just attached top and bottom. I cant remember the name for it but the wall has glass panels installed at the top, is its velux or something?

 

[JohnD]

if it is insulation board, it is fairly soft and weak, so I expect it is on studwork.

 

[lazydog11]

No chance its holding up the transoms then??

 

[emilybronte]

Definitely not lath and plaster then!

 

[Bosswhite]

Looks like Fibre Board, used as insulation board, the glass windows above it are what are called " Borrowed Light" .There is probably a passage way the other side of the glass.
I would suggest the cheapest easiest way is to just fix plaster board over it, why take the old boarding off if you dont have to, replace the edging for the Framework above it, and paint. Job Done.