Hi, I've been reading on this forum for quite a while now and found lots of helpful information, but couldn't find the answer to my current issue:
I have a mudbrick house and would like line some of the internal walls with plasterboard or similar (I don't generally mind the mudbrick wall look, but still want flat & smooth walls in some areas). From what I could find, it looks like I need to build a stud wall on top of the mudbrick to fix the plasterboard to.
I'm wondering now whether I should put a vapour barrier between the mudbrick and plasterboard? I don't want to put insulation in between as I want to keep the benefits of the thermal mass of the mudbricks. Being in Victoria, it can get quite cold in winter and I don't want any condensation in the stud wall cavity. I am planning to add insulation to the outside of the external walls at a later stage.
Has anyone here done a similar project or used a different method to achieve a flat surface on a mudbrick wall? Any advice would be much appreciated.
Mudbrick walls - Internal lining
(16 posts) (7 voices)-
Hanno
MemberPosted Wednesday 11 Oct 2017 @ 12:15:17 pm from IP # -
angela
MemberHi I cant answer the question you are asking however if you have mud brick, wouldn't you want to retain the vapour permeability of that substrate? If you install anything between the brick and plaster, I would imagine it should be breathable as well. Unless off course you have some sort of synthetic paint or render that already hinders this. Sorry, just added another question for you.
Posted Friday 13 Oct 2017 @ 10:19:14 pm from IP # -
Hanno
MemberThanks Angela, that's what I was thinking too. There is no moisture barrier on the walls, and I didn't really want to put one either. I was a bit uncertain because I heard that a vapour barrier is recommended on the inside when lining a solid brick wall (in colder climates). But I guess that's more for when there's also insulation on the inside of the brick wall. Think I will go without any barrier.
Posted Saturday 14 Oct 2017 @ 3:07:19 am from IP # -
jdaley
MemberI would encourage you to look at having a solid plasterer apply a lime plaster directly to the wall. It will solve all problems and give you the outcome you want. Solid plastering is a skill, you may try it yourself, but I would not. Hope this helps.
Posted Monday 23 Oct 2017 @ 11:33:08 pm from IP # -
me too. lime based render is the obvious choice.
Posted Wednesday 25 Oct 2017 @ 8:03:54 am from IP # -
Hanno
MemberThanks for the answers. I looked into rendering as that would have been my preference in terms of materials. Unfortunately it's quite expensive ($3500-$4000) for one room. It also won't achieve the flatness that I'm after, as my walls are quite uneven and the render would need to be too thick.
I was hoping that by using a breathable paint on the plasterboard, it would maintain the vapour permeability of the walls.Posted Wednesday 25 Oct 2017 @ 8:31:45 am from IP # -
Hanno
MemberHi jdaley, if the professional plasterer already said he wouldn't be able to make the walls flat, I don't think I would have much hope doing it myself. Might try in some other rooms though.
Regarding our choice of mudbrick: It's a fair point that I shouldn't really expect perfectly flat walls in a mudbrick house (and I don't). I am planning to keep the mudbrick look in the living and possibly other rooms too. We didn't buy the house because it's mudbrick, but we didn't mind it being mud brick. The main reason was that it is on a bit of land and there wasn't anything comparable in that price range on the market (and hasn't been for long time). We actually have been renting the house for almost 5 years before we bought it, so got quite used to the walls. The rooms I want flat walls in are the kids room and the bathroom. Mainly for convenience in terms furniture, pictures, shelves etc. Hope this makes a bit more sense now.
Posted Wednesday 25 Oct 2017 @ 12:40:22 pm from IP # -
Greg
MemberHanno, would you consider partially tiling the bathroom? I'd assume there'd be one or maybe two internal walls in your bathroom and they would accommodate tiles without much drama I'd think. You could even sheet them as the internal walls with probably maintain a more regular temperature profile and vapor migration would probably not be an issue.
As to shelves etc, just be inventive. You can get away with a lot more rustic look with timbers that I think look great.
Posted Friday 27 Oct 2017 @ 12:29:34 am from IP # -
jdaley
MemberAre some of your walls curved?
Is that why there is trouble making them flat?
If so I can see the issue clearly.
As greg suggested a stud wall with steel to appropriate timber will be easy to do.You can ad insulation to the panels, or just run the walls to a lower height.
In the bathroom think about possible water leaks if anything breaks down or cracks.Posted Friday 27 Oct 2017 @ 2:08:00 am from IP # -
Hanno
MemberThanks for your replies. I went with a 70mm stud wall in the end and am about to put up plasterboard now.
For the bathroom, the problem is that the internal walls are mudbrick too, and they are build very uneven. I'm not sure what is common for a mudbrick wall (if there is such thing as a 'common' mudbrick wall), but my walls have steps of up to 70mm between the bricks. There are no curved walls though.Posted Tuesday 7 Nov 2017 @ 12:57:55 pm from IP # -
Johnnojack
Member70mm steps on the wall! Are you sure? That's not casual laying of mud bricks, that's a climbing wall. 7mm maybe?
Posted Wednesday 8 Nov 2017 @ 3:16:55 am from IP # -
jdaley
MemberI too am stunned, that is unusual workmanship.
Depending on wall thickness you may be able to chip it back and then solid plaster, but the stud wall seems best.
I hope you used waterproof timer so it does not rot and waterproof plaster as well.Posted Wednesday 8 Nov 2017 @ 6:45:37 am from IP # -
Hanno
MemberSorry, I didn't word that very well. It's 70mm across the height of the wall. Maximum step between two bricks is about 30mm. That's why the plasterer said he wouldn't be able to achieve a flat surface as the plaster would get too thick.
I have only done a bedroom so far, so didn't use waterproof materials. Will definitely do for the bathroom though.Posted Wednesday 8 Nov 2017 @ 8:02:52 am from IP #
