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Anyone know how to tell if my plaster is lime or gypsum?

12 replies

babyboyHarrison · 09/04/2022 17:39

Hi, we've had our house rewired and we need to plaster where the walls are chased out. But, I can't tell if our plaster is gypsum or lime. House is around 1920-1930 I think and is is a picture of where some sort of rail has been removed off the walls. The plaster is quite pinky colour but I have seen a few hair fibres and it is quite soft. Hoping someone more knowledgeable will be able to help. Thanks

Anyone know how to tell if my plaster is lime or gypsum?
Anyone know how to tell if my plaster is lime or gypsum?
OP posts:
Littlecaf · 09/04/2022 17:41

Looks like rough gypsum to me.

Friedappletart · 09/04/2022 17:45

I can't tell from your pictures, but I live in a house the same age & I've used modern plastering materials with no ill effects.

babyboyHarrison · 09/04/2022 18:24

Thank you, I have bought modern plaster but then suddenly got paranoid. Thanks for the reassurance.

OP posts:
Shadowboy · 09/04/2022 19:32

Leave it in vinegar for a few hours!

babyboyHarrison · 09/04/2022 20:15

@Shadowboy

Leave it in vinegar for a few hours!
Interesting, what am I looking for? I love an experiment?
OP posts:
PurpleToeNail · 09/04/2022 20:24

A tip I was given when filling any holes in the house was to pva the hole/channel first & let it dry. It gives an added adhesion to the filler. You can get pva quite cheap in B&Q

Geneticsbunny · 10/04/2022 10:51

If it is lime it will dissolve.

The top plaster which is white is lime plaster and the backing plaster with the hair in has a specialist name (which I can't remember) but is the standard backing for lime plaster. You can use gypsum for patch repairs but if you have any damp issues or are having a whole room skimmed then it might be worth looking into a lime plaster repair instead.

Dillidilly · 10/04/2022 11:31

We have 2 rooms with lime plaster. It's white and sort of chalky, and comes off on your fingers if you rub it.
HTH

babyboyHarrison · 10/04/2022 13:53

Vinegar experiment after only 1 hr. There has definitely been some fizzing so thanks for that tip. Any recommendations as to what product I should use to fill the chasings with?

OP posts:
PigletJohn · 10/04/2022 15:19

the brownish stuff in your pic is gypsum, but you likely have old lime plaster underneath or in parts that have not been repaired or replaced/

Lime plaster is off-white and gritty. IME it is much heavier.

Gypsum plaster is usually brownish or pink, goes chocolate coloured in damp conditions, sometimes is grey.

Any plaster often has a finer, harder, smoother skim on top, and a thick rougher layer underneath.

Gypum is just lime that has been treated with sulphur gas. Plaster of Paris I believe is limestone that had millennia of volcanic gases passing through it, and some modern gypsum is made by using broken lime to absorb sulphur dioxide from power station chimney fumes where coal is burned. This will be getting rarer now coal is unfashionable.

PigletJohn · 10/04/2022 15:34

btw if you are repairing electrician's chasesand fillig round boxes, yoiu can use Easiplast, or, easy but more expensive, Plasterer's Joint Cement which is intended for filling cracks and joints in plasterboard. You can buy it, ready mixed, in a big (heavy) plastic tub with a yellow lid. Keep the lid on.

plaster products are much cheaper, and much better, than DIY filler.

clean and scrape the wall first. Slodge your plaster into the hole and use a wide metal filling knife (a plasterer's trowel is better if you learn to use it) to press it, very very hard, into the chase, running the knife or trowel so it is flush with the existing hard plaster on both sides. you must not have your new plaster sticking out. If you can't press it flat, use a broad metal scraper, like a razor, hard against the existing flaster on both sides of the case, to cut it off, while it is still soft and cheesy.

The first layer has not got to be smooth and perfect. It may shrink and crack. You can apply a thin second layer, as soft as custard, to press into any blemishes once the backing is hard.

Even easier, mix sand and cement mortar, and use it for your initial fill, scraping it back to 1/4" or so below the finish level. Mortar is very easy to work with and does not set hard quickly, so you have plenty of time. It will take a couple of days to harden, after which you can skim it smooth with plaster.

All your tools must be kept perfectly clean and bright and you must never wash plaster or mortar down a drain or into a sink.

PigletJohn · 10/04/2022 15:37

I meant Easifill (not Easiplast)

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