Hi, a little bit of background, myself and parter bought a 1920s property which was very dated and so we've spent the last two months renovating.
Unfortunately when we started on the bedroom we noticed the chimney breast (which had been covered at the front with some mdf on a frame) was damp on the left hand side. We called in a roofer to take a look at the flashing and believe that (plus the fact it doesn't have a cover at the top) is the reason there is damp. The roofer however suggested that we should hack off the old plaster as it was no longer in a repairable shape.
After many hours of chipping away, we were surprised to find the chimney breast seems to be made of a mixture of brick and concrete? This has now left us in a quandary as to how best to make good again. (Were going to put the fireplace back in as a feature but leave it unused)
We would prefer to use plasterboard but are then worried about the surface. It's not smooth due to the concrete so will we be causing ourselves problems in the future by not sealing the surface?
Could we cover it with a coat of waterered down PVA to stop any bits falling away?
Should we use a special type of plasterboard? Can we dot and dab directly on the surface or should we build a frame?
Or is the best thing to plaster, but then again what type should we use?
Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks
