Damp problem older house

[gaz1]

try 300+ years, property was on the very first property census

house has no foundations it seriously does not have no damp coarse
the internal walls are soiled filled and are 2ft+ thick
water rises at high water times ( bad rainfall or very wet years )

weve had a visit from leeds college to take photos of the roof rafters as they are original

 

[sako243]

Also bear in mind @fizzy that down here walls dry out an inch a month if you've cured all water ingress issues.

When I moved in there was sand cement render and plasticised paint on the vast majority of the house. I had the paint blasted off which helped no end with the damp issues. Unfortunately that revealed that the best plan was for all the render to come off. Since doing that and having some very wet winters the house has been drier than when I moved in.

It's now being repointed in lime, would have possibly rerendered had I been able to find lots of people to do it but there have also been repairs done in breeze blocks so repointing allows me to sort those out at a later date without having to rerender several hundred square metres of wall...

The crucial bit is to stop any ingress issues first and foremost.

 

[gaz1]

heritage found out the hard way that they was causing more problems than what was needed

Managing damp problems in old buildings

wasted money on PCA chemical damp proofing, damp plaster, mouldy walls, peeling wallpaper, crumbling brick and stone, rotting timber, damp proof old house, damp problems, rising damp solution, condensation on wall, damp proofing stone walls, sealing damp internal wall, how to stop rising damp fraud

www.heritage-house.org

the rule of thumb with soiled filled propertys is always let them breath

stone if oversaturated with water turns to mush/powder and collapses over time so tanking them out is really so bad in the first place

brick can also do the same but that is only on soiled filled propertys

old propertys also have the issue of heating the only way to get around this is a french drains internally and build partitions that are insulated

 

[OJCar]

Have you had any damp measurements made?
Do you have a damp meter?
https://www.toolstation.com/draper-mini-moisture-meter/p55818

Measure the dampness now, measure again in a month,
is it getting worse or better ?

Getting worse, find the source.
Getting better, let it continue drying out.

 

[mtt.tr]

heritage found out the hard way that they was causing more problems than what was needed

Managing damp problems in old buildings

wasted money on PCA chemical damp proofing, damp plaster, mouldy walls, peeling wallpaper, crumbling brick and stone, rotting timber, damp proof old house, damp problems, rising damp solution, condensation on wall, damp proofing stone walls, sealing damp internal wall, how to stop rising damp fraud

www.heritage-house.org

the rule of thumb with soiled filled propertys is always let them breath

stone if oversaturated with water turns to mush/powder and collapses over time so tanking them out is really so bad in the first place

brick can also do the same but that is only on soiled filled propertys

old propertys also have the issue of heating the only way to get around this is a french drains internally and build partitions that are insulated

Bloody well can't stand damp proof injection it's like changing a spark plug despite the hole in the block.

 

[nickk]

Gutter has now been fixed and new windows .feels dry so maybe the original problem has gone away.

20 minutes! Christ your a fast worker!

 

[mtt.tr]

Have you had any damp measurements made?
Do you have a damp meter?
https://www.toolstation.com/draper-mini-moisture-meter/p55818

Measure the dampness now, measure again in a month,
is it getting worse or better ?

Getting worse, find the source.
Getting better, let it continue drying out.

These are no good, they measure conductivity which changes with salts.

To do it properly you need a calcium carbide tester

 

[gaz1]

Bloody well can't stand damp proof injection it's like changing a spark plug despite the hole in the block.

the pictures at the bottom point to the damage thats is caused by each method

you will really see what damage is caused by sealing water in the wall with no where to go

concrete tanking, tanking slurry, or other sealing methods causes the issue and just rots the wall stone being the worst as its porous

 

[mtt.tr]

the pictures at the bottom point to the damage thats is caused by each method

you will really see what damage is caused by sealing water in the wall with no where to go

concrete tanking, tanking slurry, or other sealing methods causes the issue and just rots the wall stone being the worst as its porous

View attachment 383617

Shameful

 

[minimutly]

Mothers house has serious issues. Bloomin cavity insulation between concrete block walls (some white soft fibrous stuff). Then she had new upvc windows badly fitted, and they are not sealed at the edges. Add some cracks here and there, and on the south, rain facing wall it’s a disaster...

 

[Blue Chips]

the pictures at the bottom point to the damage thats is caused by each method

you will really see what damage is caused by sealing water in the wall with no where to go

concrete tanking, tanking slurry, or other sealing methods causes the issue and just rots the wall stone being the worst as its porous

Over the years, various masons have imparted a number of recommendations to me. For instance, as @gaz1 mentioned, it's important to avoid sealing the walls in a way that traps water internally and prevents them from breathing, and that freeze-thaw cycling of water-saturated porous stone is another factor that can rapidly weather stone.

Also, I'm not sure without inspecting it in person, but in the above photo posted by @gaz1 the pink mortar used to point the stones looks to me like it 'might' be harder than the stone itself, which can cause spalling, reduce breathing, and exacerbate the damage. Masons have always told me that mortar should be softer than the bricks or stones in a wall to prevent spalling, and to improve breathing to let the wall dry out.

 

[Gareth J]

I know, I know, breathability. BUT! External breathability of masonry in an area with a lot of driven rain, or, frankly, more wet than dry in winter will not help. In these situations ye olde folk had to resort to wall hung slates/tiles. Or live in a damp house, which many did. My grandparents used to roll the carpet to the high side of the living room every winter as the water table was a bit intrusive.

Plastic and foil aside, most internal coverings are breathable to an extent, but low nhl, or non hydraulic like is better. The less breathable, the harder it is to drive the moisture from the walls, which means more heating and a stronger humidity gradient.

Externally, worry more about water ingress than breathability. Internally, worry more about breathability but don't forget that, in winter, you need to drive drying with heat and a humidity gradient.

Very best solution, in my opinion, external wall insulation with MVHR. Walls are warm, moisture is driven out, primarily internally, MVHR keeps internal humidity low. As it is, spending more on heating every winter, justified as "house maintenance" within the budget might be cost effective!

 

[Brad93]

Lime plaster and breathable paint

 

[addjunkie]

Lime plaster and breathable paint

Yes, but you need to stop it coming in in the first place, and that is the hard bit. A little leak on the outside can create a big damp patch, a long way from the little leak outside.

 

[Onoff]

Worst thing I ever did in my 1863 terrace was to hack of the lime/hair plaster and replace with modern sand / cement, PVA laden render.

 

[rtcosic]

... He relented in the end and got a company in to deal with it. Peter Cox i think. They identified and fixed it straight away for a modest sum.
...

Obviously, I had to Google Peter Cox.

The comments on this Youtube video aren't encouraging.
The company features in Peter Ward's list of Damp Wallies.

Edit: see posts #23 and #27

 

[Gareth J]

My little cottage; a case study. It's cement rendered outside. Plastered, papered and painted with all sorts inside. There are damp patches. They correspond to places that are underground or the plaster is cracked, or, there was one starting where, because of the mild autumn, I didn't light the Rayburn until late and water was getting into the chimney pot (cowel fitted now). All sources of wetness penetrating from outside, inwards.

Current plan of action includes; patching the external render (for now), going room by room and replastering with non hydraulic lime and whitewash on external walls. And I really want to fit MVHR to the main house. Have a small unit in a lean to and, despite drying all washing there, it keeps it at 40-50%. Ultimately, I'd like to externally insulate and plaster with something more flexible. External breathability is not a priority, flexibility, in a house that is essentially slowly collapsing, is. But that probably a new roof and more money than is available. Ripping off old external render, battening and cladding would be a quicker, cheaper, comprise solution. Pointed stone would look lovely but be worse than the current render.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

I'm refurbing a house up t'north at the moment...it had a bit of damp in the dining room...on the outside wall theres a cement drive and my theory is in heavy rain the rain bounces up the brick work (ground slopes away at the rear so the DPM is quite close to ground level at the front). Cement laid right up to a house wall is a pet hate of mine...I much prefer just have some stone and a channel to aid drainage and evaporation.

 

[brightspark]

Worst thing I ever did in my 1863 terrace was to hack of the lime/hair plaster and replace with modern sand / cement, PVA laden render.

water proof pva is useless it re emulsifies when it gets wet thats why damproof firms use sbr bonding agent on tanking . it can be painted on wet surfaces mixed with a bit of cement and cure dry

 

[gaz1]

I know, I know, breathability. BUT! External breathability of masonry in an area with a lot of driven rain, or, frankly, more wet than dry in winter will not help. In these situations ye olde folk had to resort to wall hung slates/tiles. Or live in a damp house, which many did. My grandparents used to roll the carpet to the high side of the living room every winter as the water table was a bit intrusive.

im going to point this out the banks have been the worst for idiots and surveyors its all been a big money con

If they even MENTION Rising Damp - they are incompetent. Do NOT pay them.. Walk away from the survey, and get someone who knows about old buildings. Stephen Boniface, former chairman of the construction arm of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS )

Do NOT let any building society or bank force you have any form of damp treatment before they approve a loan. If they do, contact us and we will stop this rubbish. Be aware that times are changing, and more and more people are questioning this ridiculous practise - it is only a matter of time before banks drop this expensive and unneccesary habit - but we all need to put pressure on them to stop it.

the banks have been the main culprit and have caused so many issues with there refusal of loans for propertys unless you have the work done ( now in some cases this is right ) the suyveyer has caught what is right but where damp has come into it

with old buildings the suyveyer is highly wrong by incompitance of having no knowledge about the workings of the building

Dont think the historical soceity is right either they have found out the hard way over the years, even they have been so wrong caused by there own surveyors and even they have caused alot of damage themselves to old propertys that they have saved over the years by using the wrong stuff and been advised about using the wrong stuff

even that stuff has had to be removed and repaired and put back to old school methods as they even learnt why they used them