Have a room with an old limestone wall (19th century if not older) where the previous owner plastered with cement mortar and then painted with some type of plastic paint. This is now going to become a small workshop, so I've started to remove the plaster as I think it's terribly ugly. My problem is that I want to keep the limestone as it is and not re-plaster. However, the old mortar (lime mortar?) is so soft that it's more like compressed sand and crumbles and falls down just by looking at it.
What to do??
Is it possible to clean off properly and improve with newer "mortar"?
Or is it possible to just clean it off superficially, patch up where needed and then bind it with oil or primer?
In the worst case, I could consider re-plastering and painting with a concrete/lime paint, but if it's possible to keep the limestone visible, I'm willing to spend some time on this.
What to do??
Is it possible to clean off properly and improve with newer "mortar"?
Or is it possible to just clean it off superficially, patch up where needed and then bind it with oil or primer?
In the worst case, I could consider re-plastering and painting with a concrete/lime paint, but if it's possible to keep the limestone visible, I'm willing to spend some time on this.
Member
· Västernorrland
· 12 012 posts
Do the stones need to be visible as they are then? Otherwise, you could make a lighter mix of lime mortar that you sort of brush out and fill in small damages. But then the stones might not be visible in their full glory afterwards. It would be more like a plastered wall where you can still see that it's stone. Personally, I don't think they've plastered with cement mortar; it would have adhered better or fallen off in large chunks. It looks more like a type of lime mortar.
In the worst-case scenario, I will do as you say and plaster the wall, but in that case, I will paint over with a lime paint as well.
Considering the other renovations the previous owner has done, I can guarantee that it is a regular plaster painted over with the cheapest plastic paint bought at any discount store
It might not be very visible in the pictures, but the plaster comes off quite easily in larger or smaller flakes depending on thickness.
What remains between the stones, however, is an old lime mortar.
Considering the other renovations the previous owner has done, I can guarantee that it is a regular plaster painted over with the cheapest plastic paint bought at any discount store
It might not be very visible in the pictures, but the plaster comes off quite easily in larger or smaller flakes depending on thickness.
What remains between the stones, however, is an old lime mortar.