Brick house

[wyseass]

Our house is about 150 years old and is made of solid brick 18 inches thick. In the winter it is sooo cold!! We don't have double glazing and suffer bad condensation as the walls internally are rendered in cement and plaster. The outside has been stripped back to the brick and rendered in lime plaster, we have also lowered the land outside put down a sloping cement path around the house to take water away and dug french drains. So far we have done everything right but it is still soooo cold. At this time of the year i'm not on the computer very much as it is in the hallway which is totally freezing. Is it okay to dry-line inside? Or will the bricks behind the dry-lining get damp and therefore increase the risk of dry-rot which we have already had and hopefully treated successfully?

 

[NT]

if the interior is cement lined it wont be evaporating dry there, so adding insulation & PB is ok, but you'll need to use a vapour barrier to stop condensation forming and clogging the insulation.


NT

 

[andrew gayton]

but if the walling is saturating - due to the internal plastering - then the wall will continue to saturate, remain cold and perform abysmally thermally...... surely it is best to get the walling performing properly.... a solid permeable wall will be more thermally efficient than an insulated dry lining..... notwithstanding the longevity of the walling itself.

 

[wyseass]

when we bought the house half of one wall in the sitting room was dry-lined very badly, it was basically black plastic with plaster board, when we took it down the wall behind stank of damp and was running wet. I just thought that if there was insulated plaster board and a little gap for the batons then it would be even warmer than without, am i just wishful thinking and should i just get thermals or a new house?

 

[MdB]

...should i just get thermals or a new house?

Why is the wall wet? If you dry the wall out, you will greatly improve its thermal performance and make it last longer. Once you have done that (if possible) additional insulation could be considered.

 

[wyseass]

aah to the crux of the matter. What additional insulation would be appropriate? The outside is lime rendered. And people always say that double glazing is not a good idea, especially in a house that has no ventilation.

 

[Penners]

I think what Andrew is saying is that you need to get rid of the cement and plaster lining the inside of your wall.

If you do that, and given that the exterior is rendered in lime, the wall will then be able to dry out, and will perform much better thermally.

Once it's dry, you could then replaster internallywith lime, which will allow it to breathe (thus remain dry) and will add a certain amount of further insulation. I'm not sure how much, but I'm sure I remember Gervase mentioning that lime plaster will have this effect.

 

[wyseass]

It is 2 years now since we removed the cement from the inside and 4 years since the outside was lime renderd and still the wall is wet in parts. Not all is rising damp, we feel that the only way to have decent looking walls is to dry line. My husband feels that if it lasts and looks good for 20 years he'll be happy. I just worry so at the thought of all the damp behind the dry lining doing damage and not being seen.

 

[Mark]

You still haven't established why the wall is wet.

Is it condensation? What heating do you use and what ventilation is there?

ground levels ?

Have you read the damp FAQ sticky ?

 

[NT]

While youre figuring it all out a dehumidifier could make a big difference, and get you some insulating effect back relatively quickly.


NT

 

[Lime]

"Cold" houses tend to be part of a downward spiral.
The colder the occupants feel the less likely they are to open windows.

Cement on walls makes the situation far worse as it is a very dense and cold to the touch anyway.

However throughout this thread there has been absolutely no mention of what is causing the damp.
For all I know the house could be at the bottom of the sea!
Until the true causes of the damp are decided upon and proper remedies taken it will continue.
Dry-line by all means, it doesn't appear that things could get much worse.

 

[wyseass]

When we moved in we removed soil from all around the house and had a cement parhway put down around the house sloping away, we also had french drains pit in to divert any water. So I think we did everything recommended. But still the damp persists. There is a single glazed window in the room and a fireplace, and that is all the ventilation there is.
I have put the dehumidifier in there, but I would normally open the window in there every day for a few hours even in the depth of winter (I'm a bit of a fresh air freak). There is a radiator in the room, but needless to say it is not in use at this time.
I love this house and am my wits end as to what to do with it.

 

[Penners]

Your cement paths may slope away from the house, but how close to the walls are they? There are two other possible problems that they might be causing:

1. Have you checked how much splash bounce comes off the paths and on to the walls during rain?

2. If the paths are up against the walls, they could be preventing evaporation of water from the soil around the house.