I've been stripping plaster off in preparation for some plumbing, damp-proofing and general building work.
Although the damp-proofing requests that any plaster is removed to a height of 1m, I've decided to have just about everything in the room renewed, plaster, ceiling, new sills etc.
As a result I have a couple of questions:
1) The plaster I've removed seems to fall into two camps; the original plaster which seems to crumble when it's taken off (in fact fine dark dust pours out of the cracks as soon as the surface is breached). This is very dense, and I can only fill a rubble bag to about half-way before it becomes too heavy and in danger of splitting.The second newer type seems to have a good hold, but comes off in large sections when it does move. It seems slightly porous behind, and I'd estimate that it's 1/4 to 1/5 of the weight of the older stuff (like polystyrene by comparison.
Pretty thin information, but any clues as to which each is?
2) I need to prepare the walls in advance by removing the plaster, radiators, skirting boards etc. I've stripped the majority of it off with an SDS drill, a cold chisel, and a fair amount of swearing. What else can I do to ensure that the surface is suitable?. They are rough-stone faced rubble filled walls for the most part (some breeze-blocks). Do I need to go over with a wire brush or something similar to remove the smaller traces of loose plaster? Any suggestions for something electrical and less time-consuming than doing it by hand?3) I've completely broken my Henry vacuum by using it to clear up dust and rubble for extended periods. It was red-hot to the touch, and now lifeless. Any recommendations for a replacement? I'll be getting a separate "house" vacuum, so it just needs to be robust with similar/better suction.