Rendering Stone Wall footings

[Roddas]

I have a 1910 weatherboard house with stone wall footings about 2 foot high, all the way around the house (well the orignal part of the house).

I am wondering whether I can safely render these to make them look presentable. The driveway side has been rendered a while ago (guessing 50's or 60's) with what looks to be a crumbly lime stone mixture, that is now falling off. Would I need to remove all that before giving it a new coating?

Am I correct in assuming that the stone walls would be held together by a lime stone mixture? Would i need to seal them first to attempt to stop them absorbing moisture from the render?

What products would people recommend for this application? Is it something I can do myself, or is it best left to a professional?

Cheers,

Rodney

[Bleedin Thumb]

Hi again Rodney,
what are the pine studs in the photos?
The second photo show a very rotten ledger(?) plate is that getting replaced and a membrane installed between it and the wall.
As far as render goes if you want a smooth straight finish go professional.

[Roddas]

The pine studs are batterns which a fake brick cladding was installed on over the weatherboards. A very dodgy job.

Yeah the bottom plate has to be replaced for that section of the house (although I haven't worked out how as yet), as there isn't much left of it (as most of it has rotted away).

I was also thinking of attaching metal flashing to the frame that goes over the stone wall and down towards the gorund, so water can't get underneather thte weatherboards to the frame.

[johnc]

Rough as it is it would be fairly straightforward to render. I would suggest you tack bird wire or similar to the stone then apply a first coat of sand/cement render to gain a flatter surface, while the surface is damp you should score the render with a few strikes of the trowel to provide a key for a second coat. The first coat is to fill in holes and gain a more even base for a top coat. After the base is dry apply a second coat rubbing up and trowel off to the desired finish.

This is a longish area and if your first attempt at render you might be biting off a bit more than you can chew. The job could be done in sections if you wish. The wire provides a bridging material that strengthens the render allowing movement at the substrate to occur without cracks appearing on the surface. Not a guarantee but a good chance you will not have visible cracking.

The main thing is to make sure the edges are vertical, the middle will take care of itself if a little out of skew.

John.

[johnc]

I have a 1910 weatherboard house with stone wall footings about 2 foot high, all the way around the house (well the orignal part of the house).

I am wondering whether I can safely render these to make them look presentable. The driveway side has been rendered a while ago (guessing 50's or 60's) with what looks to be a crumbly lime stone mixture, that is now falling off. Would I need to remove all that before giving it a new coating?

Remove old coating if crumbly or painted, it is probably a weak sand cement mix.

Am I correct in assuming that the stone walls would be held together by a lime stone mixture? Would i need to seal them first to attempt to stop them absorbing moisture from the render?

No seal neccessary.

What products would people recommend for this application? Is it something I can do myself, or is it best left to a professional?

Straight sand cement render mix will be fine, with or without lime added.

Cheers,

Rodney