Hi guys. I'm new to this forum, and am new to diy but im enjoying what I've done so far but I have questions for my next project. We have a double story house on a hill, in which the first floor is cut into the hill. So it's almost completely below ground apart from the front of the house. In one room we found mould on the walls while we removed the previous owner's built in cupboards and skirting boards so we removed all the affected plaster (the rear wall where the cupboard was and the side exterior wall). Behind the plaster on both walls is brick, the plaster was just glued straight onto the brick. The Brick on the side wall is the exterior brickwork I believe. I've got some mould killing compound that im going to wash all the walls down with, but am wondering what to do with the walls and flooring afterward. Can I leave the brickwork as is and have a brick wall? Should I coat it with something? Should I put up some plaster again? Is there something I should be doing in this area to protect the brickwork from more mould? Also I was looking at putting laminate flooring down and wondered if I should put something down first to protect against mould again. The floor is currently just the concrete slab of the foundations. There are also a few cracks in it should I be worried? I can take some pictures when I get home if it helps describe what I'm talking about. I just need to know the best options I have for finishing the walls and flooring with the least chance of mould coming back again. Thanks! - Nick

I'm really looking for someone to say why this is a bad idea for my current situation, and then learn how to do it for future reference. 130 year old house in western New York. Balloon Frame construction. Previous owner blew in some insulation. In a perfect world, I'd love to tear down the lath and plaster, put in some spray foam or roxul, and drywall it. I assume; 1) This is not worth the cost (especially since this will be rental income property soon), and 2) There are a lot of issues in doing this. My main question is; what are the issues and where can I look to learn about them. 1) Is it best to add furring strips to bring the wall thickness out to the window casings and allow for more insulation? 2) Can I go back later to do work on the ceilings, or should that be done first so wall drywall can help support? 3) Will there likely be structural issues taking down lath and plaster 4) Anything else that should be done while the walls are exposed? Just giving me links is fine. Thank you.