Sealing Old Lime Wall

[Martin109]

I'm going to paper (lining + Anaglypta) an old lime plaster wall.  It's in good condition, with some repairs made using fresh lime plaster.

It's previously been limewashed, before paper was inexpertly applied, so didn't stick very well.  I need to brush down and seal the wall, but I'm keen to keep the breathability of the wall (going to use breathable Claypaint on the Anaglypta).  Would wallpaper paste used as size be sufficient, or should I use something else?  If so, what, and what would be breathable?  PVA, for example, wouldn't be.

[inc]

Assuming it is an old building I think limewash  directly on the wall is the time proven solution. Clay paints are good ( but expensive)  but they are still a covering on the lime plaster whereas the limewash becomes a homogeneous part of the wall Are you sure the paper has lost adhesion because of poor preparation or application, it may be caused by condensation as water vapour is not being absorbed by the wall but the paper.

[sub55]

 
wallpaper past +lining paper+ Anaglypta + clay paint = wall that  wont breath

[rwa.martin]

The issue is whether the wall needs to breath or not. Non cavity walls don't prevent moisture penetrating them and lime is used to allow the moisture to come in and go away. If its a cavity or internal wall that doesn't require the properties of lime then decorate as you like. However, I would advise against doing anything that might damage the breathability if there is a need for it. ie outside solid wall/no dpc etc.
The only suitable decorative materials that should be applied in this case are limewash or distemper; limewash being the most appropriate.

I'd be a little concerned that the previously applied wallpaper paste may well have damaged the breathability of the wall.

Having spent the last 7 years rebuilding a damp, stone house in Pembrokeshire using lime I've got first hand experience of the value of lime on walls!

[Jaded]

as sub55 says, avoid clay pants at all cost!! 

[sub55]

as sub55 says, avoid clay pants at all cost!! 

  sorted

[dippy2]

The previous wallpaper didn't stick very well due to paint failure causing  poor adhesion.

Wallpaper such as Anaglypta expands when pasted by as much as 12 mm and when drying on the wall it tries to return to its normal width and puts severe stress on the surface below thus paint failure.

Get a very sharp blade and make a number of scratches on the paint surface as in the game of xs and os, on a square inch portion of the wall, apply a piece of sellotape to this area and rub on before quickly pulling off, if any of the paint comes off on the sellotape you will have paint failure on that wall.

It is very rarely successful to Wallpaper over Lime washed or Calcimined painted surfaces. Best practice is to remove these products by washing off the wall before applying Wallpaper 

[Martin109]

Thanks, dippy2, and others, that's very helpful.  The limewash is flaky, so I was intending to remove as much as possible anyway, and just wondered whether wallpaper paste mixed as a size (different proportions) would be the thing after I'd removed all I physically could of the old covering, using scraper and stiff brush.  Your post suggests I might need to wet the wall in order to get more of the old limewash off, by softening it in that way.  Have I got that right?

I do want to paper this room.  Just to be clear, by Anaglypta I mean embossed paper (quite thin, Salisbury RD353), not any kind of vinyl or plastic product.  It's in the part of the cottage which is late 18thC or very early 19thC.  In the older part of the cottage, dating from 17thC, I am intending eventually to repair the lime plaster where possible, or renew if necessary, and then use limewash (or modern equivalent) as a finish.

[dippy2]

Martin wetting the wall is the only way to remove the lime wash, fill a bucket with hot water and add a good shot off washing up liquid and wet a 1sqr metre area of wall and leave for a few minutes then scrub it using one of the little kitchen scrubby with sponge on one side and scrubby on the other. Then after doing that area give it a good rinsing to remove any residue.

Before you start cut a piece of plastic the full length of your wall and about a metre deep and tape this to the top of your skirting board and drape down on to the floor and place old sheets/cardboard on top of it to absorb the water/limewash and prevent it ruining the floor/carpet.

Also be aware that Anaglyta in its original form was made of pure paper pulp, but a lot of the more modern patterns are made from paper/vinyl composites, if in doubt tear a small corner slowly from the paper and if its paper pulp it will tear just like paper if its paper/vinyl you will see a slight stretching before it tears.

Chhose your lining paper carefully as a lot of them are made from recycled paper and contain a lot of bleaches and chemicals, best to use Erfurt MAV Lining Paper 1000 grade as it is virgin pulp.

A lot of modern day pastes for example Solvite packet paste contain PVA to promote adhesion, so if you want a paste without PVA you will have to use a starch based paste or a premixed tub paste as supplied by the like of Cole and SON.

[Martin109]

Thank you, d2, that's very, very helpful!

[Martin109]

A lot of modern day pastes for example Solvite packet paste contain PVA to promote adhesion, so if you want a paste without PVA you will have to use a starch based paste or a premixed tub paste as supplied by the like of Cole and SON.

Something like this for example?

Here's a starch-based powder.

LAP is a starch paste I already know and have liked.

Anything to choose between these?

Thanks again for your help.

[dippy2]

Much of a muchness there Martin, prob best to use what your familiar with.

Apply the same paste diluted as a size to the entire wall area, let it dry overnight and engineer the walls (measure and mark the walls to ascertain where your seams are going to be positioned).

Apply a 2-3 strip of full strength paste along all seams lines and along the entire ceiling and skirting board line and leave to dry.

Hang your lining paper.

Repeat the same steps as above when the lining paper is dry in preparation for your finish wallpaper and that way you have taken as much care as possible to achieve as much adhesion as possible where you typically will have the most adhesion problems.

You will find that where you have pre pasted the walls along the seam lines will get tacky when you apply your pasted paper and in turn will dry faster and help prevent your wallpaper edges lifting and also prevent seam shrinkage.

[Martin109]

Very helpful tips there, dippy2, obviously from a professional.

Belated welcome to yacf - if you hadn't joined this year, I wouldn't have benefitted from such good advice.

Isn't yacf a great place!?

[dippy2]

And be careful while working with Lime or Lime residue, make sure to wear Safety glasses and gloves. I can attest to the pain involved in getting it in your eye.