juleafield
Member
- Messages
- 2
I own a property built around 1830-1850. It was an end terrace 3 bedroom house until 1986 when a builder converted the house in to two maisonettes. I purchased the ground floor basement flat upon completion of the coversion in May 1987. The basement was tanked and utilized as a bedroom. This basement room has held out pretty well over the last 19 years for a basement which are known for having damp problems. The room has two windows at street level which back 1987 had an extractor fan in the window which operated when the light was turned on. This was the only ventilation to this basement room so I ran a dehumidifier most of the time.
In 2004 I installed double glazed windows with no vents in them. A mould patch which had appeared on the wall back in 1990 and which I kept re-plastering suddenly became much worse. I have had drip vents now installed in the windows to get some air from outside coming in.
Regarding the wall I have removed the plaster and double layers of render to reveal the bricks which were very wet. Upon removing a brick 2 courses up from the floor I came accross rubble and crumbling soil. It seems as if the builder used this 6 inch shaft to dispose of odd broken bricks, slate, and lumps of mortar. I have removed apprx 1 meter high of render from the floor up. I intend to keep the property for a minimum of 6 years and want to make sure this mould patch does not reappear in this time. I have at this stage removed 7 bags ( woman strength) of rubble and soil from behind the meter high of bricks.
Now I am not sure what to do next regarding the materials I should use to hold back the damp. My builder suggested a black bitumen sheet which has raised squares on it for the new waterproof render to get a grip on to first. Thinking of using Sika 1 as waterproof render.The bricks are drying out nicely, I have had two powerful dehumidifiers running 24/7 for over a week now. What concerns me is that the earth and rubble I removed is only as high as the bricks are currently exposed, when I put my hand in the wall where another brick was removed at a meter high there is more soil above which may in time fall back down to floor level and create damp in the future.
I am also installing a heat recovery unit in a different wall about 12 inch down from the ceiling which will vent out on to the gable end wall and extract the stale air out and draw fresh air in which is heated before entering the room.
I have many photos of the wall in question dating back to 2001 up to its current state yesterday and can email them if it would help explain better.
Thanks for reading this, I would appreciate any help and ideas you might have.
Julea Field
In 2004 I installed double glazed windows with no vents in them. A mould patch which had appeared on the wall back in 1990 and which I kept re-plastering suddenly became much worse. I have had drip vents now installed in the windows to get some air from outside coming in.
Regarding the wall I have removed the plaster and double layers of render to reveal the bricks which were very wet. Upon removing a brick 2 courses up from the floor I came accross rubble and crumbling soil. It seems as if the builder used this 6 inch shaft to dispose of odd broken bricks, slate, and lumps of mortar. I have removed apprx 1 meter high of render from the floor up. I intend to keep the property for a minimum of 6 years and want to make sure this mould patch does not reappear in this time. I have at this stage removed 7 bags ( woman strength) of rubble and soil from behind the meter high of bricks.
Now I am not sure what to do next regarding the materials I should use to hold back the damp. My builder suggested a black bitumen sheet which has raised squares on it for the new waterproof render to get a grip on to first. Thinking of using Sika 1 as waterproof render.The bricks are drying out nicely, I have had two powerful dehumidifiers running 24/7 for over a week now. What concerns me is that the earth and rubble I removed is only as high as the bricks are currently exposed, when I put my hand in the wall where another brick was removed at a meter high there is more soil above which may in time fall back down to floor level and create damp in the future.
I am also installing a heat recovery unit in a different wall about 12 inch down from the ceiling which will vent out on to the gable end wall and extract the stale air out and draw fresh air in which is heated before entering the room.
I have many photos of the wall in question dating back to 2001 up to its current state yesterday and can email them if it would help explain better.
Thanks for reading this, I would appreciate any help and ideas you might have.
Julea Field