Home DIY

It can be removed with the right solvent before it curesv, once it has cured forget it.

Thanks, this looks like an interesting option. It advertised as self priming - did you use a primer?

Aha, well that would be the serious grown up thing to do but it’s a lot of mess and would require us to empty the room. I had in mind a temporary fix pending later demolition, so was just wondering about those washer things.

I've taken up the carpets in my house. They've probably been there about 30 years. Got some lovely parquet flooring underneath. What do I need to do to restore and protect this? Internet says sand, buff then oil/wax. There's many different opinions on whether oil or wax is better, and which to specific product to use. Anyone got any guidance?

I can't give any proper advice, but also interested in any answers as this is on the to-do list in our new flat - though was leaning towards lacquering as it seems a bit lower maintenance and toddler-proof(ish).

Thanks all, I'll try the expanding foam and tape off everything in sight.

Yeah, low maintenance and toddler proof is exactly what we want

My concern with the washer things is that the plaster in traditional lathe and plaster surfaces is very different to modern gypsum plasters. It has fibres in it to strengthen it (usually something like horse hair) these make the plaster elastic hence it is currently sagging rather than flaking then falling off. What you may find with the washers is that they only support a small area around them and the problem will continue where there is no washers. If this is the case you'll end up with a washboard look with sagging between the joists.

Osmo polyx, is spendy but durable and once it's off gassed is child friendly. Are you planning to sand the floor yourself?

Thanks.

Yes. Any tips? Sanding with/at 90 degs to the grain seems to be impossible.

Or, could we get away with not sanding, and just buff and Osmo?

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I'd need to see the state of the floor but if there is an existing finish on there it will need to come up before you apply something different.

Edit. Didn't see the pics of the floor until after I posted the took a while to show.

horse hair

Ahh that’s what it is! Quite creepy when dealing with old plaster.

There’s lots of horse hair around our house. Not just in the plaster. There’s a weird void above the bread oven that has fistfuls of the stuff in it. Presumably left there by a plasterer centuries ago.

Random orbital sander and hoover, then finish with Osmo. If you want to go polyurethane instead of hard-wax oil, I've been using Fiddes Clear Glaze a bit recently, impressed by the durability and ease of application.

I’ve had a load fall on my face when sorting lighting out - possibly used as insulation between floors?

How long would one of those sanders take to do a 5x5m room? Don't mind paying/hiring something bigger if it's quicker.

Horse hair and urine.

Don't forget the urine.

Errr no. There are proper tools for sanding floors and a random orbit sander isn't one of them. If you sand an entire floor with a random orbit sander you will increase any existing humps and hollows in the floor, plus it will take days once you have worked up through the grits. Much better to hire a proper drum sander and edging sander from HSS (other tool hire companies are available) for a drum sander and edging sander package it's £50 for the first day and £20 per day thereafter. I would expect to complete a decent size room in a day using this kit.

@CheeseWheel I'm a bit busy ATM but will spend some time writing out how I sand floors it at some point today.

If it's a REALLY old wall shit is a distinct possibility too.

Cheers, that's appreciated. No rush.

We've had a leaky ceiling due to some problems with our roof which are now fixed. The plaster on the ceiling hasn't sagged but there was a wet patch that's made a big brown tide mark. There was also some black mould in the middle of the wet patch, which I've treated with Ronseal mould killer.

What are my next steps to getting the ceiling looking normal? I'm planning to leave it for a few weeks to let it dry out fully and go over the whole thing again with mould killer at least once. But then I'd like to make sure that the tide mark doesn't come back through any paint I go over it with. Should I be using a damp barrier undercoat or are the one-coat options actually any good?

After it has dried out probably some Zinnser 123 would be able to seal it and also act as a primer before repainting? This worked for me when I accidentally knocked over my full dehumidifier in the loft and it stained the ceiling below.

The plaster being damp might have caused the existing paint to come unstuck. You may find it coming off on in small sheets on your roller as you paint. You might want to do a certain amount of poking around with a scraper once it's dried out to check if any flakes off easily.

Hey, I used a random orbital through three different grits on our 3x4m linoleum kitchen floor, no problem.

just kidding