Distemper or not??

1

103daz

New Member
Hi all.
For those that have helped/advised (& had a bit banter) on my previous post before you will know that I'm a Chippy that does a lot of other stuff, but compared to proper plasterers my plastering skills is a lot less.

Okay.
To the point.
I've bought a house that has been empty for 18 months. Prior to that a guy bought it, got a lot of tradesmen in that done Everything wrong & basically there was no corner left uncut, so I'm now fully refurbishing it properly.
Now before completion/exchange of contracts, I never noticed any cracks in the top of the walls, but after completion & getting the key to the broken door, I spotted all the cracks around the top of the walls only??
I was relieved when I tapped them & they sounded hollow & I guessed the pva was missed at the top & a bit had came loose?
But once I started scraping the loose, one room in particular was the Worse & around 500mm around the top just came off with a white residue stuck to the plaster skim? The wall seemed white & powdery & I wondered if it was a residue from perhaps old artex that had been scraped off & next thought "I hope it doesn't have Asi in it!"
Now I've heard about distemper but have never came across it.
Older guy who I know is a plasterer & asked how I was getting on & when I told him he said it sounds like distemper & he's been very fortunate to not had to deal with it much himself, but when I asked him if he fancied having a look at it he said he was too busy, but gave me a bucket of stuff & said "Try that, never used it myself but its gritty & should help give it a key" And said if it works to let him know?
Another mate (Plasterer) I phoned & told but he didn't want to know when I told him & said I was wasting my time trying to skim it again cos the pva wont take to it & just try dot & dabbing the walls instead & "Hope for the best" & just laughed, & I was like "Yeah, cheers mate"

Anyway.
So here I am for Proper advice from those who have actually dealt with it, & not plasterers who are scared of it & run away & just tell me to "Hope for the best"
run away GIF
 
103daz said:
Hi all.
For those that have helped/advised (& had a bit banter) on my previous post before you will know that I'm a Chippy that does a lot of other stuff, but compared to proper plasterers my plastering skills is a lot less.

Okay.
To the point.
I've bought a house that has been empty for 18 months. Prior to that a guy bought it, got a lot of tradesmen in that done Everything wrong & basically there was no corner left uncut, so I'm now fully refurbishing it properly.
Now before completion/exchange of contracts, I never noticed any cracks in the top of the walls, but after completion & getting the key to the broken door, I spotted all the cracks around the top of the walls only??
I was relieved when I tapped them & they sounded hollow & I guessed the pva was missed at the top & a bit had came loose?
But once I started scraping the loose, one room in particular was the Worse & around 500mm around the top just came off with a white residue stuck to the plaster skim? The wall seemed white & powdery & I wondered if it was a residue from perhaps old artex that had been scraped off & next thought "I hope it doesn't have Asi in it!"
Now I've heard about distemper but have never came across it.
Older guy who I know is a plasterer & asked how I was getting on & when I told him he said it sounds like distemper & he's been very fortunate to not had to deal with it much himself, but when I asked him if he fancied having a look at it he said he was too busy, but gave me a bucket of stuff & said "Try that, never used it myself but its gritty & should help give it a key" And said if it works to let him know?
Another mate (Plasterer) I phoned & told but he didn't want to know when I told him & said I was wasting my time trying to skim it again cos the pva wont take to it & just try dot & dabbing the walls instead & "Hope for the best" & just laughed, & I was like "Yeah, cheers mate"

Anyway.
So here I am for Proper advice from those who have actually dealt with it, & not plasterers who are scared of it & run away & just tell me to "Hope for the best"
run away GIF
Click to expand...
Just T & G the walls.
 
103daz said:
Hi all.
For those that have helped/advised (& had a bit banter) on my previous post before you will know that I'm a Chippy that does a lot of other stuff, but compared to proper plasterers my plastering skills is a lot less.

Okay.
To the point.
I've bought a house that has been empty for 18 months. Prior to that a guy bought it, got a lot of tradesmen in that done Everything wrong & basically there was no corner left uncut, so I'm now fully refurbishing it properly.
Now before completion/exchange of contracts, I never noticed any cracks in the top of the walls, but after completion & getting the key to the broken door, I spotted all the cracks around the top of the walls only??
I was relieved when I tapped them & they sounded hollow & I guessed the pva was missed at the top & a bit had came loose?
But once I started scraping the loose, one room in particular was the Worse & around 500mm around the top just came off with a white residue stuck to the plaster skim? The wall seemed white & powdery & I wondered if it was a residue from perhaps old artex that had been scraped off & next thought "I hope it doesn't have Asi in it!"
Now I've heard about distemper but have never came across it.
Older guy who I know is a plasterer & asked how I was getting on & when I told him he said it sounds like distemper & he's been very fortunate to not had to deal with it much himself, but when I asked him if he fancied having a look at it he said he was too busy, but gave me a bucket of stuff & said "Try that, never used it myself but its gritty & should help give it a key" And said if it works to let him know?
Another mate (Plasterer) I phoned & told but he didn't want to know when I told him & said I was wasting my time trying to skim it again cos the pva wont take to it & just try dot & dabbing the walls instead & "Hope for the best" & just laughed, & I was like "Yeah, cheers mate"

Anyway.
So here I am for Proper advice from those who have actually dealt with it, & not plasterers who are scared of it & run away & just tell me to "Hope for the best"
run away GIF
Click to expand...
Lots of hot water a scraper and elbow grease.
 
Distemper will wash off easy ish with sponge and water but a right job doing a lounge ceiling or walls and could easily take several days plus a arm killer. It's similar to contract emulsion with the chalky feal and no sealing properties.
These days i dustless sand off the worst of it then seal with products like beeline sealer or gardz.
Then pva and skim but others like bluegrit.
If you had enough to remove it would be worth hiring a drywall sander and vacuum and get the worst off then a quick wash over and beeline sealer ready for spread.

Distemper is an early emulsion made only in a few colours and yellow / cream was the most popular, but not as dusty as white wash with came in powder form and mixed.
Distemper was good for walls as never transfered to clothes but has deterated over the last 70+ years and lost its strength. Modern resins in paint can struggle to hold to it over time as it degrades.
 
Bluegrit seems to stick well but the distemper will still continue to degrade. When I phoned paint technical they said don't go digging at the surface paint because once you start you can't stop plus you need to deal with the distemper. Some distemper is not bad while others is soft and poor condition. Most seem to pva and skim or overboard. I'd rather get what I can off
 
If you are doing the house for yourself, then the benefit from improving the insulation of the property will pay off in the long run.
Look at doing dot and dab or batten and plasterboard with insulation.
If you are buying to sell on and make a quick profit, then go and f**k yourself.
 
Hi 103daz I’m doing up a house atm with exactly the same thing. Removed all the paper and the walls are covered in yellow stuff that goes slimy when you PVA it and the top 2 ft or so of the walls are white and powdery. The whole house is like it. I’ve stripped most of the walls back to brick and hardwalled them - this is the best thing to do but generates a lot of mess. On some walls that were ok I found the quickest thing was to saturate the walls with a roller then just use filling knife to scrape it all off. It is a bit of a s**t job but once it’s off you can PVA or Bluegrit and crack on. Bear in mind the multi needs to be able to bond to the wall so if there’s not much key bluegrit might be better than PVA
 
@Giddy1
Beeline sealer then bluegrit is betrer. The beeline is like bluegrit but without the grit. Its still pva but don't go sticky and sticks to many surfaces rock hard and good sealing properties. Cheap too
 
MakeItSmooth said:
Since you're already on the topic, where do you find best value to buy Beeline?
Click to expand...
Buy 4 for free delivery
www.univarsc.com

Beeline Primer Sealer 2.5KG

Buy Beeline Primer Sealer 2.5KG online at univarSC.com. Univar Specialty Consumables are UK distributors of Beeline Primers. Free delivery over £30
www.univarsc.com www.univarsc.com

Water down to spec. On bricks and old masonry I spray with £20 hvlp for speedy application
 
Hi all those who have took the time to post the helpful answers, & sorry for the delay in replying as the last time I checked it was just people taking the p!$$.

Anyway.
Lots of helpful replies & info there, so cheers everyone for the helpful info, it appreciated.
Couple of questions out of curiosity though?
1. Was it also used for artex? as a neighbour said most of the house was artexed & I know plasterers usually just PVA & skim over the top of it rather than disturb it incase it has azi in it.
2. any idea why 2 different plasterers weren't interested at even looking at it let alone re-skimming it for me? Is it just a case of one of those jobs that you don't want to risk doing if there's a chance that it will be a nightmare of a job & possibly go t!t$ up & end up back & forth sorting it? Just that's the only reason I can think of why 2 lads I know didn't want to know.
 
Need to seal artex day before and dig at older paper tapes to see if they will pull out. Will blow sometimes with the damp.
If white tapes then not asbestos.

I seal day before with beeline sealer.
Fill channels and tape if I've have pulled tapes and leave.
Following day beeline over channels. Give it 30 mins pva and when sticky skim.

I think applying pva then wet plaster can cause the amount of water to effect the artex. It's too much. Better to seal and let it harden and dry to stop the pva and skim softening the artex.

As for asbestos get it tested if you think it's a 1995 or before
 
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