300 year old property and damp

[wozzy]

Hi,

Hopefully someone can point me in the right direction...

We purchased an house 5 years ago which is damp in areas, which is understandable as the house sits at the side of a river and the house runs parallel to a road which is slightly higher than the house.

Incidentally the house does not have flood issues.

I don't think we can eradicate the damp fully but would like to know of ways without "Tanking" so that we can stop the damp coming through to the inside and ruining the decorating.

Your thoughts would be very much appreciated.

Kind regards

Mick

 

[MdB]

Hi Mick,

The number one most common issue is ground levels. What are your outside ground levels relative to inside?

 

[MatthewC]

Hi Mick,

The number one most common issue is ground levels. What are your outside ground levels relative to inside?

Also, if the road is higher than the house, where does water from the road drain to, and how much is the house above the river?

 

[DJH]

It might not be the solution for you Mick but where I had problems with damp I firstly gave the wall a wash over with bleach and then whitewashed it. This has two effects. Firstly the bleach kills anything that might grow there and secondly the whitewash to stop it smelling damp and deter creepy crawlies. I've then put up some foil backed plaster board up to about 3ft high from the floor. At the base of the plasterboard I've cut away the foam in a zigzag pattern about 6" high and then paneled it over. In the panelling I've fitted grills so that the cold air can escape........ So far it's worked.





It also gives Mrs DJH somewhere to put things. No pictures of me anywhere

 

[middi]

The first think to do when damp occurs in any building walls is to establish the cause of the problem before you can eradicate it.
Any type of damp on any house elevation can be eradicated, establishing the cause will dictate the steps to take to cure the problem.

In the brief description of you house situation the cause may be more than one, for example --1) dampcourse ( iF any !!) bridged by high exterior ground level, 2) continuous damp splashes against the house walls,3) the house foundation themselves are built on poor draining and permanently sturated ground or 4) a combination of these or other

Investigative ( and tedious) work is required to determine which of the above, or a combination of these, is the culprit for your problem.
"Guess work" and "quick fixes" is a shot in the dark and may only serve as an expensive way for the road to nowhere.

If the building, because of it's position and/or fabric construction, is and may have always been prone to damp you may have to resort to drastic ( and possibly expensive) measures to cure the problem.
It would be extremely difficult for anybody on this ( or any other) forum to suggest the best cure to your problem. you will be offered or suggested a number of valid solution none of which may be totally suitable in your case.
I apologise for what appears to be a negative response for your problem but I can assure you many of us will be very glad to chat about your problem to try and help you towards an happy ending.

Middi

 

[tobydog]

Mick - exactly which parts of your house are actually showing as damp?

 

[DJH]

I should have added that our house is built straight on clay and damp is something we live with but minimize it's effect by doing the paneling as I described. We accept it as part of living in an old Irish farmhouse with fantastic views, some (5) outbuildings and a field for our donkeys. A very small price to pay we think and a perfect solution using modern materials concealed by contemporary ones..

Doug, a long way away.. Tipperary in fact.

 

[wozzy]

Hi Mick,

The number one most common issue is ground levels. What are your outside ground levels relative to inside?

There are 2 different ages to the property. The main house which is dated 1703 which if you take the foundations into consideration is probably three foot below the pavement. The newer part of the house dated around 1800 which joins the main house goes from maybe 1-2 feet below the road to pretty much zero. Any excess water on the road does run down the drain

 

[MdB]

Hi Mick,

The number one most common issue is ground levels. What are your outside ground levels relative to inside?

There are 2 different ages to the property. The main house which is dated 1703 which if you take the foundations into consideration is probably three foot below the pavement. The newer part of the house dated around 1800 which joins the main house goes from maybe 1-2 feet below the road to pretty much zero. Any excess water on the road does run down the drain

Sorry, I don't quite follow this. The foundations don't come into the question. The question, is the difference between inside floor level and outside ground level. Ideally outside should be 150mm or more below inside floor level so that there is no issue with penetrating damp.

With old properties, it is very common for outside ground levels to slowly increase overtime for various reasons which then causes internal damp problems as the moisture travels through the wall. From what you have written, it sounds like this is very much the case in your situation.

The best solution is to drop the outside ground levels though this may not be possible, especially if you don't own the land. Let us know if this is a solution or not for you and we can then move on to other less preferable options.

 

[wozzy]

Hi Mick,

The number one most common issue is ground levels. What are your outside ground levels relative to inside?

There are 2 different ages to the property. The main house which is dated 1703 which if you take the foundations into consideration is probably three foot below the pavement. The newer part of the house dated around 1800 which joins the main house goes from maybe 1-2 feet below the road to pretty much zero. Any excess water on the road does run down the drain

Sorry, I don't quite follow this. The foundations don't come into the question. The question, is the difference between inside floor level and outside ground level. Ideally outside should be 150mm or more below inside floor level so that there is no issue with penetrating damp.

With old properties, it is very common for outside ground levels to slowly increase overtime for various reasons which then causes internal damp problems as the moisture travels through the wall. From what you have written, it sounds like this is very much the case in your situation.

The best solution is to drop the outside ground levels though this may not be possible, especially if you don't own the land. Let us know if this is a solution or not for you and we can then move on to other less preferable options.

The main part of the house runs parallel to the pavement which is probably 25 feet which goes from maybe 2 feet below the pavement and gradually shallows to maybe 1 foot. The newer part of the house extends another maybe 100 feet and from 2 feet to 0. The inside wall facing the pavement is ok as the previous owner actually built a false wall. Well I say ok but actually isn't as the wall behind will be sodden. We can live with this.

Therefore we can't drop the ground level.

The house facing the river has soil going all around. Maybe there is something I can do here to cut down on the damp from the river side.

 

[MatthewC]

So the pavement is actually up against the wall of the house, above floor level? Some photos might help.

You only need to lower the ground on the river side if the outside ground level is less than 6" below the floor level.