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Stone cladding was popular in the 1980’s when homeowners had a yen for new houses built in the English Village mode. Thin slices of real or artificial stone were cemented to external walls, fortunately adding no structural value in the process. Hence, stone cladding can be chipped away – this will leave an ugly mess though, and you will need to find a plasterer to make good. I included this picture to remind you how the job was originally done, and that you have to take it down, piece by piece in the same way.
You will also need the following tools to do the job:
Strong extension ladder.
Hard hat, safety goggles and builder’s gloves
Large flat screwdriver
Hammer, flat and pointed chisels, and crowbar
Large paint scraper with wooden handle and rubber mallet
o Clean your safety gear and put it on. Position the ladder so that you can reach the cladding at roof level near a convenient place to start. If you can, secure the top of the ladder to the roof beams. If the wall is double-storey height, have scaffolding installed or call for plasterer quotes on Mr-Skill.
o You may find that the cladding is secured on both sides with metal clips or finished off with wooden trim. Remove these using the screwdriver, starting at the top and working down.
o Starting on one side of the wall, bash away at each individual piece of cladding until it cracks or splinters, and then chisel it away completely.
o Use the scraper and mallet to tidy up before proceeding to tackle the adjacent piece. If you do not, then you will have to go up the ladder a second time.
o When I was having a small job like this done myself by plasterers from London, I noticed that they were stripping the wall diagonally. This way they had the choice of two sides to work from. Believe me, this trick does help a lot.
Does this sound like hard work to you? It surely does to me. Why not hire a rated tradesmen on Mr-Skill to do the work instead?