Victorian Kitchen - Plaster or Plasterboard?

FreeBear

gabriel73195 wrote: »

Am I wrong to think that traditionally they just put on the old "Brown Plaster" and then a pink plaster on top of that. I'll have to research it but suffice to say you suggest better not to use plasterboard.

The walls are double brick with a gap in the middle so does this make a difference. No I definitely don't want to risk damp at all.

"Traditional (lime) plaster" is usually a white or cream colour. "Brown plaster" with a layer of pink over the top is common or garden gypsum plaster done the "old way". The current trend is (gypsum) plasterboard with either a coating of drywall mud or pink plaster.


As you have cavity walls, insulated plasterboard would be suitable as penetrating damp shouldn't be an issue - If you can get hold of one, a camera poked through a hole in the wall would be a good idea. Gives you a chance to see if there is any debris in the cavity that might cause problems.

Leon_W

gabriel73195 wrote: »

that sounds like a really good solution! Did you do this yourself or did a builder do it for you? Did someone tell you that this is a good way of doing it?
It's funny but I get more information from this site about how to do a job properly than from the standard trades I've spoken to.
I come here first and learn how to do it the right way and then see which tradesman agrees.

No, I didn't use a builder. It's a simple (if dusty) DIY job.

As you are doing now, I researched various options and opinions and as you are finding, they can all vary !

My house is a bit of a Frankenstein really as it is now a detached 3 bed cottage but used to be two, two up two down Victorian redbricks knocked together. There is no damp course and when I bought it it was virtually impossible to heat and had no insulation with a serious black mould problem !

Using the method above I have been through the whole house insulating outside walls with Gyproc Thermaline boards. Easy to cut and just dot and dabbed on with bonding compound. I guess if your walls are nice and flat you could use a notched trowel to apply the bonding (like a tile)? Downstairs walls were back to the brick and upstairs walls I stuck on over existing plasterwork. The boards are tapered on the edges so it is possible to scrim tape the joints, fill over, rub down and paint but I got a plasterer to just give them a skim over for a perfect finish.

Of all the options this one worked best for me. I'd thought of battening and using a rockwool type insulation and boarding over, that but with damp walls it's pretty useless using wooden battens, and you loose a lot of space internally making your rooms smaller !

Although Gyproc Thermaline boards are expensive depending on what thickness and spec you choose, if you shop around they are cheaper in bulk (think I used Ebay !) and they worked out a lot cheaper than an aluminium battening system and probably less time consuming.

A few years on now and I have no issues with internal damp at all, the boards are still on the walls, not even a crack on the joints (I did properly scrim tape them though) and after thoroughly insulating the roof the house is a lot warmer and no black mould either !

Doozergirl

We're not suggesting insulation because it's quicker. We're suggesting insulation because it's warmer and better for lower heating bills! But it is quicker.

This is the 21st century, not the 19th.

FreeBear

gabriel73195 wrote: »

So if we turned the clock back 100 years and you and I were plasterers FreeBear would we put brown plaster straight onto the brickwork with lime mixed into it then put one or two additional coates which were gradually thinner?

As I said in an earlier post, brown plaster is a modern gypsum plaster, as is the pink stuff. One does not mix lime in to either.
True lime plaster is a completely different product - A quick guide to its application can be found here - https://www.mikewye.co.uk/guidesheets/lime-plastering/