Exposing stonework to the elements

torontoboy45 · 16 October 2019 at 2:31PM

My sister has just bought herself a cottage dating back 200yrs as a renovation project. It's stone/rubble build which was clad in cement and pebbledash and she's been advised to remove and lime plaster.

The question is: once I've stripped all the render ( I'm a good brother) how long can I leave the stonework exposed to the elements? From what I've been told the cottage isn't suffering any serious damp problems but is there any possibility of damage from frosts, etc?

Asking as an absolute beginner.

FreeBear · 16 October 2019 at 2:55PM

Depending on the condition of the mortar between the stones, months, if not years. If the mortar is in poor condition, it will need raking out and repointing - As long as you don't get any early frosts, now is as good a time to do that type of work.

G_M · 19 October 2019 at 2:43AM

torontoboy45 wrote: »

My sister has just bought herself a cottage dating back 200yrs as a renovation project. It's stone/rubble build which was clad in cement and pebbledash and she's been advised to remove and lime plaster.

The question is: once I've stripped all the render ( I'm a good brother) how long can I leave the stonework exposed to the elements? From what I've been told the cottage isn't suffering any serious damp problems but is there any possibility of damage from frosts, etc?

I'm confused. I live in a stone house. No cladding; no pebbledash; no cement. Just stone with lime mortar (not cement mortar which can't breathe or move).

Mine has been exposed to the elements since (so far as I know) 1851!

'Rubble' of course may be different........

stuart45 · 19 October 2019 at 8:50AM

Most solid stone walls are fine without the need for render. Only the ones exposed to long periods of driving rain and a lot of freeze/thaw conditions seem to suffer.

Exposing stonework to the elements

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