adrianhand
Member
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Dear knowledgeable folks of the periodproperty forum,
My girlfriend and I are embarking on a room by room renovation of her house in Sheffield which I understand is around 300 years old, probably best described as end terrace though the layout of the eight or so houses is pretty unique.
The principle reason for this project is the level of damp present in the house, which isn't half as bad as some of the examples I've seen on this forum, but enough to cause distress regardless. We are starting in the living room/dining room, the worst parts of which featured crumbling gypsum plaster, peeling wallpaper and walls wet to the touch, as well as a tangibly damp climate evidenced by the dehumidifier which fills up at least once a day.
The construction of the house is simply brick walls, concrete render in and out, and gypsum plaster. The concrete floor has a layer of around 1cm thick black stuff, which appears to be bitumen of some description. The floor itself is free of damp issues. We had an old building renovation expert in last week, who presented the facts as regards breathability of lime and un-breathability of concrete as I have become familiar with recently. He said that were he doing the project, he would get rid of everything on the inside of the room down to the brick and re-plaster with lime, then get rid of all the exterior concrete render and re-point or re-render depending upon the condition of the bricks (also with lime).
Given the damp problems exist only at ground level however, he suggested that the best compromise was to hack off the plaster + concrete down to the brick on the inside, but only as high up as the dado rail, and replace with lime. Also of merit would be the addition of air bricks, opening up the fireplace and retrofitting vents to the windows for added ventilation.
There was no argument as regards the fact that the existing internal concrete render and gypsum had to go, since upon inspection in parts it practically came away with the wallpaper. We set about it this weekend, and revealed brickwork in a variety of states (pictures going up when I get home). The concrete render was as much as 3 inches thick in places, and was very much keyed to the wall.
We are at the decision making stage now as regards how to proceed. What we really want to do is fix the problem as cheaply as possible - budget (or lack thereof) is the principle concern - and the cost of lime is looking rather prohibitive at the £100/sqm which has been intimated to us - that's about £3000 just for the bottom metre we have removed. There is no doubt that all lime is the best solution, but is there a compromise we can make which might not last a hundred years, but will be a little cheaper?
I feel that the majority of the damp is water that comes from inside the house - it is practically hermetically sealed, coupled with various offences like radiators being used to dry clothes, and I am beginning to doubt that there would be any problems at all were it not for the way which the house is lived in. The conclusion towards which I am edging is that whilst it might not be the best long term solution, adding some ventilation (open chimney/vents), reducing the amount of moisture brought into the house (by using a tumble drier & drying clothes outside, kitchen/bathroom extractor fan etc), and keeping the temperature a little higher so we spend less time below the dew point would mean that we could probably get away with a concrete re-render and normal gypsum, but I would very much appreciate any and all thoughts on the matter.
Many thanks for your having taking the time to read!
My girlfriend and I are embarking on a room by room renovation of her house in Sheffield which I understand is around 300 years old, probably best described as end terrace though the layout of the eight or so houses is pretty unique.
The principle reason for this project is the level of damp present in the house, which isn't half as bad as some of the examples I've seen on this forum, but enough to cause distress regardless. We are starting in the living room/dining room, the worst parts of which featured crumbling gypsum plaster, peeling wallpaper and walls wet to the touch, as well as a tangibly damp climate evidenced by the dehumidifier which fills up at least once a day.
The construction of the house is simply brick walls, concrete render in and out, and gypsum plaster. The concrete floor has a layer of around 1cm thick black stuff, which appears to be bitumen of some description. The floor itself is free of damp issues. We had an old building renovation expert in last week, who presented the facts as regards breathability of lime and un-breathability of concrete as I have become familiar with recently. He said that were he doing the project, he would get rid of everything on the inside of the room down to the brick and re-plaster with lime, then get rid of all the exterior concrete render and re-point or re-render depending upon the condition of the bricks (also with lime).
Given the damp problems exist only at ground level however, he suggested that the best compromise was to hack off the plaster + concrete down to the brick on the inside, but only as high up as the dado rail, and replace with lime. Also of merit would be the addition of air bricks, opening up the fireplace and retrofitting vents to the windows for added ventilation.
There was no argument as regards the fact that the existing internal concrete render and gypsum had to go, since upon inspection in parts it practically came away with the wallpaper. We set about it this weekend, and revealed brickwork in a variety of states (pictures going up when I get home). The concrete render was as much as 3 inches thick in places, and was very much keyed to the wall.
We are at the decision making stage now as regards how to proceed. What we really want to do is fix the problem as cheaply as possible - budget (or lack thereof) is the principle concern - and the cost of lime is looking rather prohibitive at the £100/sqm which has been intimated to us - that's about £3000 just for the bottom metre we have removed. There is no doubt that all lime is the best solution, but is there a compromise we can make which might not last a hundred years, but will be a little cheaper?
I feel that the majority of the damp is water that comes from inside the house - it is practically hermetically sealed, coupled with various offences like radiators being used to dry clothes, and I am beginning to doubt that there would be any problems at all were it not for the way which the house is lived in. The conclusion towards which I am edging is that whilst it might not be the best long term solution, adding some ventilation (open chimney/vents), reducing the amount of moisture brought into the house (by using a tumble drier & drying clothes outside, kitchen/bathroom extractor fan etc), and keeping the temperature a little higher so we spend less time below the dew point would mean that we could probably get away with a concrete re-render and normal gypsum, but I would very much appreciate any and all thoughts on the matter.
Many thanks for your having taking the time to read!