Tidying up an old stone wall

[davidscones]

Hello. I am trying to clean up an old internal rubble wall before I lime wash it. I want to give the individual stones some definition so that when it is all white the original workmanship can still be appreciated.

In some areas the mortar is relatively soft so I have been able to carefully rake out the joints by no more than 10-20mm deep. In some areas however the mortar has been smeared across the stones and is rock hard. Please see photos attached of different areas.

Is there any harm in what I am doing? What tool could I use to tackle the tougher areas without harming the stones? Thank you so much in advance for any thoughts. David

 

[worms]

I’m surprised that you’ve not had any answers to this! Personally, I suspect that once you whitewash it all, anything you do beforehand to increase definition will have very little impact on the final effect. Perhaps you should whitewash a less important wall first and see if you can live with that?

If you really do need to get off mortar that has been smeared across the face of the stones (and remember that “slobbered lime” is a thing and might be a truly authentic finish in your area) I would try tapping lightly with a scutch hammer to see if it will neatly chip off. Otherwise you are perhaps heading down the brick acid or chemical stripper route, which would be a lot of work, possibly for very little reward.

 

[Bogart]

Why do you want to whitewash it at all? Mortar can be removed with a wire brush on a drill which if you whitewash will not show any marks small as they will be.

 

[steveb]

we had our rubble wall raked out and re-pointed and were quite pleased with the result as it was - it didn't darken the room as much as we expected so kept it as an "unoriginal feature" however it could be overbearing if every wall was like it.

The chimney and the flank wall were rendered because the rubble was less attractive - full of chunks of bricks and other detritus.

 

[CliffordPope]

I confess to an intense dislike of "feature" details in a house that otherwise is finished in a later style. The more modern that style the more the feature stands out like a sore thumb.
So I like bare stone walls in a mediaeval castle, perhaps hung with tapestries, or in a small cottage with an open fire in a massive inglenook and a Victorian sampler on the wall. Perhaps smoke-blackened in the inglenook and dirty whitewash elsewhere.
But not in a room with sliding sash windows and moulded skirting boards and electric light switches.

 

[LadyArowana]

I confess to an intense dislike of "feature" details in a house that otherwise is finished in a later style. The more modern that style the more the feature stands out like a sore thumb.
So I like bare stone walls in a mediaeval castle, perhaps hung with tapestries, or in a small cottage with an open fire in a massive inglenook and a Victorian sampler on the wall. Perhaps smoke-blackened in the inglenook and dirty whitewash elsewhere.
But not in a room with sliding sash windows and moulded skirting boards and electric light switches.

I agree, much more in keeping to plaster the wall and then put up some nice wallpaper https://www.iwantwallpaper.co.uk/a...ux-effect-realistic-rustic-brick-668900-p4773 :lol:

 

[dan1million]

Hi David, If you're still here I'd love to see what you ended up doing. I am going through the same thought process at the moment and keen to find inspiration

 

[leucothea]

I have walls like this to deal with in a bathroom. I know I ought to lime plaster them to fit the rest of the house, but nevertheless I've been considering lime wash.

 

[dan1million]

this is the stonewall I've unearte=hed by hacking off two layers of thick cement render and plaster. I've started cleaning out the joints with a view to light lime washing over the stone as it's quite friable in places

 

[LadyArowana]

We have a limewash on a patchwork of allsorts in some storage vaults, it is quite prone to transfer if you brush against it. It doesn’t matter for where ours is, but for a bathroom or particularly by a front door it might be problematic. In our half basement area which is part of the house we used a Rose of Jericho caesin distemper as that was recommended for a slightly harder weating finish that was still breathable. It doesn’t seem to have such a ‘chalky’ surface as the other, but isn’t on a bare stone surface, so not a true test I suppose

 

[Cubist]

I have walls like this to deal with in a bathroom. I know I ought to lime plaster them to fit the rest of the house, but nevertheless I've been considering lime wash.

View attachment 13968

View attachment 13969

The rather massive random stone built chimney breast in our abode, whilst quite attractive and forming an important feature of the house, is a royal PITA....

...due to its propensity to gather large volumes of dust and the favour it finds among the local spider population for their webs. These, together, mean that at least fortnightly the darned thing has to be swept down with a soft brush in one hand and a vacuum cleaner nozzle in the other.

Maybe this one should have gone in Grump of the Day but I've been saving a contribution to that thread for Adult Proof Food Packaging!

 

[johncraig8229]

we had our rubble wall raked out and re-pointed and were quite pleased with the result as it was - it didn't darken the room as much as we expected so kept it as an "unoriginal feature" however it could be overbearing if every wall was like it.

The chimney and the flank wall were rendered because the rubble was less attractive - full of chunks of bricks and other detritus.

View attachment 8510

this looks lovely, also where did you get flooring from looking to get some of this put in my house, seems to be very in at the moment