Whats on my walls?

welnik

Not long moved in and have started stripping the walls in my hall. Under the paper there is what looks like black paint. Its only as thick as paint and I find it hard to believe anyone would want that colour in their hall.

Anyone know if it could be some sort of damp treatment? I always thought that the plaster was hacked off, the bare walls treated with a thick tar like substance and then they were replastered.

COuld it be a bodge job?

cheers
Wel

pboae

How old is the house, what are the walls made of and what sort of plaster is it?

If it is an old house with lime plaster you can find all sorts of bodged 'damp proofing'.

Then again if there was a waterproof wallpaper on top of it, it could be a thick layer of mould. We found that in the kitchen of our old house, where moisture had been trapped between vinyl wallpaper and the plaster.

welnik

pboae wrote:

How old is the house, what are the walls made of and what sort of plaster is it?

If it is an old house with lime plaster you can find all sorts of bodged 'damp proofing'.

Then again if there was a waterproof wallpaper on top of it, it could be a thick layer of mould. We found that in the kitchen of our old house, where moisture had been trapped between vinyl wallpaper and the plaster.

It appears to be just ordinary plaster and the house is about 50 years old. The black stuff is the same thickness as paint and the same sort of texture. There is a damp smell in that particular section of the house and there was a lean to thing at the front which was demolished and replaced with a hideous porch.

OddjobKIA

It might have been a paint covering to hide the colour underneath showing through the wallpaper.

Also A damp proofing paint on the inside walls in a hallway seems somewhat pointless that would be like tarmacking the inside of a car!

Or you could have just discoverd the 1950's version of Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen's 'rustic chic' look with gothic undertones and it is as you say black paint

welnik

OddjobKIA wrote:

It might have been a paint covering to hide the colour underneath showing through the wallpaper.

Also A damp proofing paint on the inside walls in a hallway seems somewhat pointless that would be like tarmacking the inside of a car!

Its really strange. It wouldnt surprise me if they have put some sort of "damp" treatment onto the plaster as the bloke that owed it before was a joke. There was a leak in the bathroom which he repaired by putting a saucer under it!

OddjobKIA

you can get a damp tester kit for free from your kitchen


Get some foil (about 1 foot square) Tape it to your wall making sure that it is air tight around the edges. Leave it a few days then cutt out a square with a sharp knife (stanley / scalpel) if the out side is damp then your fine if the underside is damp then sorry you might have a damp problem within your walls

pboae

As the house isn't that old, and presumably it has been decorated since it was built, so you hopefully won't be dealing with anything nasty.

Can you scrape or scrub it off?

Annabee

We found the same thing when decorating recently. Like you say, its all neat and looks like a coat of paint. Our house is early seventies.

welnik

pboae wrote:

As the house isn't that old, and presumably it has been decorated since it was built, so you hopefully won't be dealing with anything nasty.

Can you scrape or scrub it off?

I rang a timber and damp company that offer free quotations. When I said that the house was built in the 1950s they said that they would charge to come out. The reason being, it is unlikely that it is damp and probably something else.

I thought this was interesting.

I think I could scrape it off but looking more closely, it looks like its had a bit of replastering just in this particular section.