Replies

1. 
   DanH | Dec 31, 2013 06:23pm | #1

   Probably a bad idea, but in any event you need the advice of a good mason.  The chimney could be constructed a dozen different ways, some halfway suitable for the treatment you want, others not at all.  And in many cases the chimney would at least need to be tuckpointed before you do anything else.

1. 
   Rinchard | Jan 02, 2014 09:22am | #3

   Fieldstone extneral chimney rendering

   I don’t understand your Melville quote. It’s really a manner of quiet esthetics and not criticism of the habits of the poor. The fieldstone wall was a recent addition to a 250 year old house and disturbs the simplicity.

   Could you explain what you mean by tuckpointed.

   Can I plaster directly on the field stone and the interstices between them.

   Thank you for your help.

1. 
   DanH | Jan 02, 2014 06:41pm | #5

   Tuckpointing is digging out the joints and re-mortaring them.  The reason for doing this would be that old mortar can be a bit unstable (somewhat by design), and so if you simply mortared over it the new mortar would quickly crack at the joints.

2. 
   florida | Dec 31, 2013 08:52pm | #2

   Are you looking for smooth flat walls or just to cover the stone?   If you just want them covered any good plasterer could do it for you but it will always look like plastered fieldstones. If you want it to be flat and smooth you'll need a good lather to get it flat and square for the plasterer. It would be a lot of work and take a lot of cement plaster to do.

1. 
   Rinchard | Jan 02, 2014 09:24am | #4

   Fieldstone extneral chimney rendering

   Thank you for your help. Can one cement plaster directly onto the stones and into the interstices between or does one have to put on some kind of a lath?

1. 
   florida | Jan 04, 2014 08:48am | #6

   You can plaster right over the stones but it will take a lot of material to get it smooth.

1. 
   Rinchard | Jan 07, 2014 09:29am | #8

   Thanks for taking the trouble of responding.

3. 
   MarkH | Jan 04, 2014 11:34pm | #7

   I would just paint it with a suitable paint.

1. 
   Rinchard | Jan 07, 2014 09:29am | #9

   Thanks for taking the trouble of responding.