Stabilising lime plaster walls

[Guest]

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[Gail]

Hi

I have a brick terraced house built in 1914 and finished internally in 1920.  I have just had a new extension added to the back of the house and now want to redecorate internally.  The new extension has brick with a plasterboard/gypsum plaster finish so I can use modern paints on this.  The extension is however open to the original body of the house and the internal finish on those walls is lime plaster. 

The lime plaster is in reasonably good condition, a bit dusty but sound.  There are also some patches that have been done over the years, usually with modern plaster/cement based products.  I would like a consistent look through the two areas so was wondering if I could paper over the patchy lime plaster, however it would seem to need some sort of stabilising product applied before papering.  Do you have any suggestions?

I should add that my house has a stream running under it.  It has very high and solid foundations, but I need to keep damp out of the old walls where I can by keeping them as breathable as possible.

Many thanks

[Steve]

This isn't a good idea, as wallpapering over Lime plaster defeats the whole object of Lime plaster........Letting the wall breathe.

Your best bet is to re plaster using lime as this will renew all the plaster, and will also match consistently, then just Lime wash it, or use another breathable coating