Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
sibster

hi all 1910 house in dire state

sibster
11 years ago

Hi all, recently retired fromt he Army and moved to the wifes country, czech republic we bough a house that was built in 1910. Well the wife did I was not there to see before we bought due to dam army stuff lol. But on to the serious note.

I started on the back room and ripped all the old plaster down wich was a mud/straw/sandy lime sort of mix not sure what was in it lol, got to the brick work the bottom quarter is good solid brick but the top 3/4 are the very old clay brittle type brick. Now I want to render it but I cant use a browning mix as this is not good for these old type buildings that need to breath. I really dont want to go down the lime mix as this can take so long to dry. Now my plan was to fit furring strips run a vapour barrier and insulation then plasterboard over the top. In your eyes could this work????

Many more problems to come as this is a self done restoration.

Once again. thanks all.

Comments (9)

  • User
    11 years ago

    I'm sorry, I can't make head or tails of your post. If English is your second language, then perhaps you might run your post through a translation program first to see if that could make it clearer rather than attempting to put it in a language that you are not familiar with.

  • sombreuil_mongrel
    11 years ago

    Natural lime plaster is still the best bet. Very likely that there in the old country there are plenty of skilled workman to redo it.
    Casey

  • columbusguy1
    11 years ago

    I'm not an expert at all, but if the majority of brick is unfired, then you certainly don't want any chance of trapping moisture close to it...if the vapor barrier isn't installed right, you will be causing your brick to fall apart. I'd stay with the lime-based plaster, and maybe there are some additions which can be made to it to increase the drying time.

  • energy_rater_la
    11 years ago

    house built in 1910 has plenty of areas
    to breathe through. old homes are very leaky.

    while the spelling is a little off..I don't
    really see a problem with the post.
    granted I don't have a clue what this means:
    "I want to render it but I cant use a browning mix"
    could you clarify this please?

    you are wanting to add furring strips to this
    wall with vapor barrier & insulation, and finish
    interior of wall with sheetrock?

    with furring strips there won't be much room for
    insulation. you might want to consiter 2x4 wall
    so that you can insulate to R-13-15. then
    caulk sole plates & top plates to stop air leakage.

    not sure where vapor barrier location would be
    in your area..next to brick..or between insulation
    & sheetrock.

    is this an exterior wall?
    are all walls built the same way?
    was there a problem with the walls the
    way they were?

    lots of questions!
    best of luck.

  • sombreuil_mongrel
    11 years ago

    Render in this case means to plaster the surface.
    Casey

  • sibster
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks for the replies not to sure why you can not understand what I am saying. But will try again. I dont know if this is an American or british forum but this could be the reason why maybe different terms of speech.

    The wall I am working on is a interior wall.
    The old bricks are very brittle, like the old handmade ones.
    Render with a browning mix, i have just googled this and Is more a british saying so it mean plastering with a a course plaster mix to cover all the brickwork with a 25mm layer. But doing this locks in moisture close to the bricks.

    Sheetrock is what I call plasterboard. I like the Idea of making studwork frames and then mounting the insualtion and vapour barrier inside this just means loosing a lot of space around the property. But could live with that.

    Lime mix really annoys me its not the working with it I can do that its the drying time plus the lime wash paint after that leaves a residue that never goes so when ever you brush against a wall you get covered.

    English is my first language I come from the UK but spelling is not my thing hence why I joined the Army lol.

  • sombreuil_mongrel
    11 years ago

    Hi,
    This is primarily US users. There are now better lime paints that don't rub off as badly. We have Virginia Lime Works who makes a line of masonry/mineral paints for plaster, and they are also green products.
    Casey

  • energy_rater_la
    11 years ago

    this is an interior wall..so there isn't need
    for a vapor barrier. interior walls are insulated
    for sound, unlike exterior walls where temps
    are the reason for the insulation.

    why not just paint the brick?
    that would seal it, and cover any imperfections.
    just use a good quality interior latex paint.
    I, for one, love the look of painted brick.

    what is the reason for stripping the walls
    of the existing finish? something wrong with
    the finish?
    are all the walls (interior and exterior) built
    the same way?
    if you'll answer the questions, we can give you
    better advice. answering piecemeal questions is
    difficult at best.

    if you are re-doing exterior walls, then this
    is where I'd spend the time & effort to stud up,
    insulate & sheetrock.

    best of luck

  • sibster
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks again, I need to replace a few of the bricks as they are quite bad I removed all the old plaster as the man who lived here before us done a bad job fixing the cracks under it, also I wanted to see the condition of the bricks. The part I am working on is these horrible brittle bricks and a lot have crumbled away. The rest of the house is breeze block then coated with lime so this will just have the rubbish bits removed then probaly dot and dab it all.