rojaire Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 We have a stone built, (very modest) property about 600 years old and have just started to remove some very damp plaster from an interior wall. The wall is about 2ft thick and the plaster comes of easily because it is damp. The question is, do we rake out the old crumbling mortar and leave the stone in it's natural state, do we repoint it (and with what?) or do we re-render it (and with what?). There are no obvious reasons for the damp.Also if we keep the exposed stone, what is the best way of cleaning it to give a decent finish.You advice is very much appreciated.Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeb Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 The dampness of the plaster may have been caused as the stone couldn't breathe underneath.We've just raked out and pointed a large wall with Parex which is available in sacks (about 13 eurs for 25 kg) at your builders' merchants. They will have a colourchart but usually stock the locally used colours. You could always use a mixture of sand and lime but this is messier (but cheaper) than using Parex.When you repoint do small sections at a time and brush the new pointing down with a wire brush (or stiff kitchen brush) BEFORE it has dried out and you'll find your stones get cleaned up at the same time.Our wall looks great, and soo much better than it did! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rojaire Posted November 14, 2005 Author Share Posted November 14, 2005 Thanks for that, I'll have a go when the wall dries outcas I would prefer to repoint than render / paster.Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rojaire Posted November 14, 2005 Author Share Posted November 14, 2005 Thanks for the info, I will try that when the wall dries out as I would prefer mortar to render and leaving the stone natural will probably be very dusty.Thanks again,Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0The Plan ManAll the best,<br><br>StewartddMMyyyy0Falseen-USAll the best,<br><br>StewartTrue Posted November 16, 2005 Share Posted November 16, 2005 Roger,As with all stone walls, it is advantageous to allow the walls to breathe. The norm here is to repoint using a sand and lime (chaux) mix. Three sand to one chaux gives the strongest mix. I personally use a produce called Tradiblanc, which has a little white cement added to give it an initial 'grab'. You can use different colours of sand - I do 3 of white sand, 2 of grey (sable de batir) and one of soft yellow (jaune) to two measures of chaux - see www.gite-les-roches.com for the outcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rojaire Posted November 17, 2005 Author Share Posted November 17, 2005 Once again thanks, I'm definately going to try this. Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
storeysinfrance Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 agree with the other posts on this topic... just scrape out all the old cruddy stuff and re-point... the sand / chaux mix is really all you need to get right... 3/1 with ordinary builders sand - 250 kilos at your local big mat or similar should cost you about 6 euros or so... add in a bag of chaux (i use the green bag personally) will bring the bill to not much more than ten euros. i tend to mix in a bucket as opposed to using anything larger as a bucketfull (12/4) is just enough to work with before it starts going off... the trick is little bit by little bit and always wire brush it back as its going off - ie, firm to the touch... initially, this was a job i (somehow) was really scared of but, having re-pointed many walls now, its become one of the most pleasurable and satisfying... bonne chanceneil (24) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rojaire Posted November 19, 2005 Author Share Posted November 19, 2005 With all this information I'll be a master stonemason by next year!!.Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David M Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 Great. you can come and do mine.David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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