So after reading various methods on here and other pages, We have decided that we need to go back to the beginning and do our home some justice. It is a stone cottage from 1820, (found the information out from the archive center, although we aren't sure which parts are still original. We have had various problems with damp since we moved in nearly 2 years ago and could never understand why it was happening. The previous owners just told us to keep the dehumidifier on it wouldn't be a problem. I never had any of these problems in a previous cottage so couldn't understand why I would in this one. Anyway to cut a very long story short about how we have finally got to this point, we have to deal with the following things. Install french drains around the back and side of the house as a solid patio is several feet higher than floor level, strip all stone walls from paint, and the cement slurry that have been put on them, Hybrid the cement floors in the house that are pushing water into the walls with they have cement slurried, blackjacked and painted. take out all cement render from the walls where large granite stones have been removed. I swear you couldn't make it up. I have land as well which they left go to bracken and I'm trying to cut that back so it a usable small holding again for my animals,. but finding that I'm going around in circles at the moment. I used to think this was all the work of a conversion back in 1990, but am coming to the conclusion that it has been more recent events just before I moved in that have caused the problems. Either that or we have just been unfortunate. Could someone please give me some advice on the best ways to remove the cement off the wall without damaging the stone too much. There are various schools of thought on sand blasting and I can only afford to do it once and get it right. Thank you
- Thread starter Nannynags
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Abi Cott
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I'm afraid I'm no expert, but the more information you can give about how the various walls effected are constructed the more helpful advice you will get.
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We're in a similar position (18-something Victorian stone farmhouse that's been cement-rendered). Speaking to somebody who's done it (and who very kindly invited us around to look at the results) it seems a hammer and chisel and a lot of careful work is the answer ...Nannynags said:
88v8
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Nannynags said:
I was hoping someone would have a magic solution for you, but I fear it's a matter of carefully hacking it off. How much damage is done to the stone depends on how well the cement was adhered.
What is the stone? Is it soft or hard? If the latter, then sand-blast is out as it will erode the stone faster than it will remove the render.
French drains can help with external damp, but only to a degree. They will not deal with high ground levels. Are you able to reduce the ground level so it's below the floors? Perhaps by inserting a retaining wall adjacent to the house?
Ivor
Thank you all for your replies so far. I am currently stripping the back wall of the weatherproof paint and have by some trial and error worked out a solution for taking it off in sheets using cling film. A lot of the cement slurry is becoming brittle from the stripper exposure and will if you tap it gently fall off. I've probably spend about 10 hours working on it so far, many more hours waiting for the stripper to cure and some stone is starting to appear. The stone is granite as we live in Cornwall and if needed I'll have to steal it from the garden. (Fake wall beams and wall, but about 6 tonnes of faced granite in the front garden wall?????) :lol: We are looking at taking the patio out around the back of the house as it is 2-3 feet above the living floor, so would need to take it down 4 feet or so. The problem we have is the back porch has been built straight onto the slab so it needs to come down as well. This turns taking the whole patio out into a much bigger job although I know I'm going to have to bite the bullet and just knock it down and rebuild it straight away. It's only a single block construction. The thick render fools you into thinking its more. At the same time I need to more the soak away with is right next door to the house on the wind facing external wall. We feel this may also be causing some problems because of it's location so it seems prudent to move it and insert some new drainage. I have found out a lot of things on here and look forward to more of the problem sharing
FamilyWiggs
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Hobden said:
An SDS drill and chisel bits is cheaper and easier.
Care is needed. There is no substitute for doing it carefully by hand though.