Any wood worm experts on here?

[MoreWellie]

Thinking about what has been said here and what I have read about

If an old house wall doesn't have any damp proof course then it will be wet at the bottom (here it seems to go up to around 30 to 40cm up the wall) given that I appear to have at least some sort of lime render then should I not expect the wall surface to always test as damp on modern conductive damp meter?

If that is the case then presumably I just keep the house well ventilated and heated to degree and it will stay much the same without any further intervention?

Except for maybe every now and then replacing the skirting which rotted from the damp

 

[Mark 5]

Why is it, every time I learn something new I then find out there are so many more things that I don't know

Or, really-really wish it had remained that way.

 

[Monkey Harris]

Everything needs to be aired to dry the wood,

I had 100s of deathwatch beetles,

descend overnight,
on to piles of fresh cut Ash..
A couple of years ago


They do burrow into the bark, and tunnel around,
They also burrowed into some garage roof timbers that were not well aired..
New vents fitted and activity has ceased..

 

[Cobbler]

The house I grew up in was early 1600’s & I used to listen to the death watch beetles tap-tap & used to tap back to them on the windowsill, they used to get all excited & think I was a prospective mate. After I was married, I showed my wife this as she was unsure whether to believe me & we followed the taps & found the beetle.

 

[Monkey Harris]

Everything needs to be aired to dry the wood,

I had 100s of deathwatch beetles,

descend overnight,
on to piles of fresh cut Ash..
A couple of years ago


They do burrow into the bark, and tunnel around,
They also burrowed into some garage roof timbers that were not well aired..
New vents fitted and activity has ceased..

This is freshly chopped Ash wth deathwatch beetles entering it

 

[brewdexta]

Our house is 1700s, or possibly a bit earlier. When we bought it, it had no damp course and had stone flags directly on the earth so very damp. All the woodwork had worm, the FiL dropped a lump hammer on the landing, it went straight through the floorboards.

At that point I stripped out every stick of wood except the pitch pine beams that seem to be immune form worm. We burnt it in the field, attracting the local plod that thought it was a twokker burning a car.

The roof was ok had it had been replaced recently, but gave it a good spray anyway.

6 months later, when we finally got all the old deeds etc from the sellers solicitors, it included a 20 year wood treatment guarantee from a Manchester treatment firm that still existed and it still had a year to run. Too late, it was a pile if ashes.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Our house is 1700s, or possibly a bit earlier.

I'm about to embark on a similar voyage of discovery...1790s house.

The hundred page survey was an interesting read...and if taken at its word I wouldn't touch the house with a barge pole. But it's been standing since 1790....and I suspect it'll still be standing long after more modern houses are knocked down and rebuilt!

 

[MoreWellie]

When we bought it, it had no damp course

this implies it has one now. What have you done and how successful do you think it is?

 

[brewdexta]

this implies it has one now. What have you done and how successful do you think it is?

We rendered the inside walls with waterproof render up to about a metre high. I can't remember the proper term for the render, it was 25 years ago. This proved reasonably effective, I lined all the external walls with insulation backed plasterboard anyway. The internal solid walls with render have all been ok except for one area behind a bookcase in the library, where we get a bit of damp, that will be redone soon.

The mortgage company wouldn't listen to common sense and we had to have an injected damp proof course externally. It's sandstone construction with rubble fill meaning that this is completely pointless, but to get the mortgage we had to have it done. It hasn't caused any issues, and I lowered the cost by drilling all the holes in advance so the company issuing the " guarantee" and doing the work only had to inject the silicon then block up the holes with mortar.

 

[MoreWellie]

I am currently looking at an inside wall but hadn't considered using waterproof render as I have read that the wall needs to breathe to keep it healthy

Mine are solid brick walls and I was wondering about injected damp proof course but searching just leaves me with extreme opinions of waste of time to wonderful. and both extremes from "experts" with years of experience

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

We rendered the inside walls with waterproof render up to about a metre high. I can't remember the proper term for the render, it was 25 years ago

I've been doing lots of reading on this stuff...the current thinking is the stone needs to breathe but I think it's a recent way of thinking.

I'm thinking about building inner walls with a vented air gap. There seems to be lots of options but the main thing is to manage vapour and to allow it a route out of the stone walls.

 

[brewdexta]

Neighbours just had their whole house refurbished. The inside walls have been rendered with a breathable render that also insulates, I believe it contains cork amongst other stuff. The idea is that it is breathable, I'm guessing you can't just paint it with normal vinyl paint or that will stop it breathing. Probably some kind of chalk paint maybe?

Edit.

The missus says the neighbours internal cork render is 40mm thick and finished in lime plaster

 

[Monkey Harris]

Neighbours just had their whole house refurbished. The inside walls have been rendered with a breathable render that also insulates, I believe it contains cork amongst other stuff. The idea is that it is breathable, I'm guessing you can't just paint it with normal vinyl paint or that will stop it breathing. Probably some kind of chalk paint maybe?

Edit.

The missus says the neighbours internal cork render is 40mm thick and finished in lime plaster

Yes Cork, lime render is a possible answer

 

[MoreWellie]

I'm guessing you can't just paint it with normal vinyl paint

I hadn't even thought about what the walls have been painted with even though there are 5 to 10cm paint bubbles in places on them. Removing all that vinyl paint will be interesting. Think I will try one section of wall first and see what difference it makes

It's a completely different mindset. Our last house was only 72 years old but it had cavity walls and never had any damp

 

[MoreWellie]

Earthborn claypaint looks like it was made for the job https://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/product/earthborn-claypaint

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

It's a completely different mindset. Our last house was only 72 years

Stone buildings require a very different approach to vapour management.

From what I've read you "can" have an impervious inner insulation wall if there's a vented cavity to allow the stone to breath. But internal moisture levels need to be managed...maybe with an mvhr.

It's so complex I think I'll probably consult an expert before I do anything....I'm still a few months away from it being a problem I have to fix!

 

[addjunkie]

Stone buildings require a very different approach to vapour management.

From what I've read you "can" have an impervious inner insulation wall if there's a vented cavity to allow the stone to breath. But internal moisture levels need to be managed...maybe with an mvhr.

It's so complex I think I'll probably consult an expert before I do anything....I'm still a few months away from it being a problem I have to fix!

Ive dabbled in this with a house built late 1600s and rebodged after a fire by a farmer with no insurance. The house been so bad regardless of what the full structural survey ( waste of money ) said. As we decided to reroof after I saw the 3x2 sagging roof timbers once I got some boards off.

For damp management after taking the hole house back to bare stone, concrete non membrane floors out too. Water proof render to about 3 foot and then insulated 50mm foil backed plasterboard. Floors were redone before with 5 inches hardcore, with sand blind. 4” fibre reinforced concrete, membrane below it. Then 6 inches king span with foil layer, underfloor heating pipes, thin polythene covering sheet. And a liquid screed pumped in 75mm thick. Only place we have had any damp has been when a muppet smashed all the cement pointing round the chimney trying to clip network data cables on. Tiny bit on the side of the chimney breast too, but think thats again pointing as its stone all the way inside to out. The house was well beyond the lime mortar solution. Bedroom ready for render and concrete.


Next I converted two 1800s stone barns to holiday cottages. Floors are as per the house, but didnt bother with any render. Once the concrete subfloors were in with membrane, we built a frame inside, about roughly an inch inside the stone. Frames then fitted with foil backed kingspan, and joints taped. Insulation (150mm) underfloor heating pipes thin polytene and manual screed above 80mm.


So far so good, no signs of damp, 5 years in.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

we built a frame inside, about roughly an inch inside the stone. Frames then fitted with foil backed kingspan, a

This is exactly the approach I want to take too ...let the stone do it's thing and keep the insulation separate. I'm planning an insulated plasterboard on the inside to reduce cold bridging through the wood studs.

I wasn't sure about a cement floor with a membrane but it sounds like it works fine?

 

[addjunkie]

This is exactly the approach I want to take too ...let the stone do it's thing and keep the insulation separate. I'm planning an insulated plasterboard on the inside to reduce cold bridging through the wood studs.

I wasn't sure about a cement floor with a membrane but it sounds like it works fine?

I used insulated plaster board on the sloping ceilings where I used kinspan rather than fibreglass on the flat ceiling. This as you say stops damp lines on the roofs. They are 8x2 timbers in the house, and parts of the barns. 150 mil kingspan in between timbers, then 30 mil insulated boards.

I still have the design drawings showing wall and floor build ups if you want them.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

I've also discovered aerogel recently...very expensive but a 15mm sheet is similar I think to 75mm+ of regular insulation...handy when needed.