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Housing - Renovation: Wood Fibre IWI/lime plaster - Natural Finish?

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  1.  
    • CommentAuthorTomasz_P
    • CommentTimeMar 17th 2021
     
    I am trying to decide on what IWI to use for our 17C coach house. It has 550mm brick walls. EWI isnt an option. Downstairs it is damp in places but i will be installing a limecrete floor and improving the french drain. I know there are loads of opinions on this. I am leaning towards 100mm woodfibre.
    One of my concerns is that everything is going to end up looking too straight and new! What final finish can people recommend that will be most sympathetic? Also what is the recommendation for reveals or corners where i would prefer to have a rounded corner?
    • CommentAuthorkristeva
    • CommentTimeMar 18th 2021
     
    Posted By: Tomasz_PI am trying to decide on what IWI to use for our 17C coach house. It has 550mm brick walls. EWI isnt an option. Downstairs it is damp in places but i will be installing a limecrete floor and improving the french drain. I know there are loads of opinions on this. I am leaning towards 100mm woodfibre.
    One of my concerns is that everything is going to end up looking too straight and new! What final finish can people recommend that will be most sympathetic? Also what is the recommendation for reveals or corners where i would prefer to have a rounded corner?


    With Lime Green Solo you can 'float' the final coat which gives you a nice textured finish, this might suit you rather than a troweled, polished finish. I tried this on the wall under my stairs.

    Careful with the thickness of the IWI, you don't want to make your external wall too cold.
    •  
      CommentAuthordjh
    • CommentTimeMar 18th 2021
     
    Posted By: Tomasz_POne of my concerns is that everything is going to end up looking too straight and new! What final finish can people recommend that will be most sympathetic? Also what is the recommendation for reveals or corners where i would prefer to have a rounded corner?

    You can put any finish you like on lime, from a mirror-smooth polish to a rough stone appearance. Using a sponge instead of a steel trowel will give a different surface texture. etc etc. You can parget it to look like carved wood. It's all in the skill of the plasterer.

    For rounded corners just roughly shape a substrate with a keyed surface and then put lime over the top and smooth it to the shape you want. We used some carved wood fibre boards and some doubled chicken wire in places.
  4.  
    I use the Baumit plasters on, usually, 100mm W-F board , so my comments relate to these. The RK70 base plaster can be used as a top-coat too. Trowelled up, it finishes quite 'tight', which sounds like the sort of finish you *don't* want. Get to your final coat, let it stiffen, and sponge up with a car-washing sponge. If you want to get it really flat you can (the sponging, if done at the right time, is like moving custard about under the skin!), but if you think gentle undulations and a slightly grittier surface is the one for your building, leave it there.

    I have used rasped corners on several occasions. Use quite a big radius. It's quite hard to trowel, as it's hard to keep the pressure on as you go round the corner, but I find the best way is to build it up, leaving lots of spare, let it stiffen up, and then my first pass is with the skin (glove) between my thumb and forefinger, using that to form the radius. If you have caught the plaster at the right time it works excellently. Then you just 'tweak' with the trowel or sponge.

    I have also used broomsticks! This was easier when most W-F was glued in 20mm 'slices'. Just cut out 20 wide x 20 deep and insert mopstick. Coarse screws with a good countersink were, in my experience, enough. I imagine it would be much more of a PITA with the 'monolithic' W-F.
      DSCF7382 - Copy.JPG
    • CommentAuthorTomasz_P
    • CommentTimeMar 18th 2021
     
    Thanks for all of the advice. That corner looks lovely.
    I think i read somewhere that the Steico is laminated from 20mm. Can anyone confirm this? This would be ideal for me because i thought that if i am going to attempt to make the ground floor insulation meet the first floor insulation i could cut back a step where the two meet, which would hide any mess that will be created trying to cut back the ceiling, which is currently intact.
    I am undecided on the thickness. Since posting i also read that some manufacturers recommend a max of 80mm. Obviously thinner would be easier for me and cheaper too. The exterior of the walls are not in great condition right now but we are in Norfolk so the climate is fairly mild. On that note, if anyone knows of any lime plasterers or other good tradesmen here, let me know!
    • CommentAuthorArtiglio
    • CommentTimeMar 18th 2021
     
    The steico i purchased new is formed in one slab ( 40 and 60mm protect dry) i did buy some old surplus 60mm that does look as though its formed from 3 layers of 20mm steicotherm. The vendor said it was no longer in the current product list.
  7.  
    Tomasz, one of the suppliers is still doing WUFI (dynamic) condensation risk analyses, and reckons 100mm should be OK for a job I have on.

    If you want to whisper me I can give you their details.

    P.S. I forgot to mention that rasping is jolly hard work, but don't stop half-way. It's tempting (I know!) to think 'oh, I've got a bit of a curve on; that'll do', but you need that wide radius to get an easier-to-work curve.
    • CommentAuthorTomasz_P
    • CommentTimeMar 18th 2021
     
    Thanks everyone. I am going to speak to a local lime plasterer tomorrow. I do have a very cheap plasterer that I have used for odd jobs. I gave him some solo to try out and he didn't love using it! I did end up with quite a rustic finish though!

    @DJH I am just south of Norwich.
    • CommentAuthorTomasz_P
    • CommentTimeMar 19th 2021
     
    I spoke to a local lime plasterer today who will come and quote. He said that a few customers recently have have been pleased with the results from cork insulation. I am going to do a little research but does anyone have any first hand experience?

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