Today the first scratch coat of lime plaster gets added to the walls of the sitting room and the study. The mixer is on full capacity as they get through a wheelbarrow of lime in a matter of minutes!
Mitch is on mixing and wheelbarrow duty (as well as plastering).
It’s incredible to watch and astonishing how fast it goes on.
This is the haired lime so comes added with animal hair (commonly goat, cow or horse).
The study has its first coat of plaster. It feels bigger now the dark stone walls have been covered.
The patterns scratched in to the surface are for better adhesion of the next coat, hence the name ‘scratch coat’ I am guessing…
The sitting room wall almost done. The doorways and window recesses get rounded off rather than having sharp corners.
And then we had a go… Charlie showing us how to mix it on the hawk using the trowel.
Cat was pretty good at it.
You tip up the hawk so it is all on the trowel, then throw it back onto the hawk. Then repeat so it is smooth.
Then you push some onto the trowel and apply to the wall working it upwards. Bloody tough on the arms and shoulders.
Zanna’s turn. The mixing worked okay.
Then, hilariously, it all slid off the trowel onto the floor! You have to be quick and almost throw it on the wall.
And to think we were going to do this bit ourselves originally, Cat was going to go on a lime plastering course… Good god it is hard work and you need shoulders like Superman.
Thankfully the experts take over.
Where the plaster finishes and the exposed stone walls start, we are following the stones for the line, ‘Flintstone’ style.
The plaster gets emptied out of the wheelbarrow onto the mortar stand that sits in the middle of the room so everyone can easily access it.
The sitting room with its first scratch coat. It’s beginning to feel less like a derelict barn and more like a house again.
Our poor lawn.
Josh has moved up into the attic and has started sanding and oiling the huge timbers in the roof.
Cat progressing quite well with her bedroom window. Glynn will be repairing this tomorrow so this is a priority today.
Zanna makes a start on the last window, the smallest one in the house and the most wonky. Zanna has to stand on a ladder to do this which is awkward, uncomfortable and quite precarious.
Sadly this window is not looking at all good. We shall see what Glynn thinks tomorrow, but it may be beyond repair.
Pretty certain this sill is beyond repair!
Our old front door looking rather splendid.
The curved edge at the doorway between the sitting room and the study.
The staircase walls getting a coat of plaster (along with the wooden stairs! We shall have to cover these better for next week!)
This after one day of plastering… This is going to be extremely messy!
Wow! What a difference just a bit of plaster makes. I am also loving their beer crates. An official tool of the trade! 😆
I know, it’s looking so different already! Yep, the beer crates are perfect! x
Wow. Must feel a bit a sad covering up all those lovely stones, after you have spent so long sandblasting them and pointing them all?
Don’t worry, the walls we have had soda blasted and repointed inside will remain as exposed stone! We are not covering them up after all the hard work on them!!! x
Phew! X