Damp Proofing Question *PIC*

[Anonymous]

Myself and my girlfriend have recently bought a cottage.

It is in quite a state, with no work done for at least 30 years to it. The cottage is predicted to be about 100 years old and is built from sandstone.

Stage one of our building work is being done solely by our builder who is excellent. At the start he described to us how he would be damnp proofing the property, which would involve smashing the plasterwork off all the ground level walls 1.5m high. He would then drill holes in the wall all around the rooms and inject a silicone based product.

However this seems to of change slightly. Now i am not imagining i know more than the builder or know beter but i don't know why the method has changed.

What he has now done is, remove the plaster as above, he has then re-plastered it with a scratch coat. He said he will then use a tanking method and SPRAY the walls.

Now i personally can not see how re-plastering and spraying the walls will cure damp of this kind. I think it is rising damp, through looking at pictures on the internet and comparing their pictures to ours. Pictures of our damp problem can be seen on the attached image

 

[Anonymous]

Please STOP him from doing either of the methods you have mentioned. Spend some time going through previous posts in this forum regarding damp and then decide YOURSELF what is best for YOUR house. A great deal of damage can be done by using inappropriate methods on older buildings. Please read lots and lots before you go any further. And, if you need any more help, ASK. This forum is crammed full of people with excellent knowledge and practical experience of dealing with all manner of situations you might come across whilst renovating your cottage.

Welcome to the forum - stick around - it's VERY addictive!!! )

Jaqy

 

[Anonymous]

Hi There

Does the house not have a physical damp proof course?

What is the construction of the walls, solid or cavity?

Who assessed that you needed damp proofing in the first place. A surveyor, damp proofing company or the builder?

Hoping to help,

PC

 

[Anonymous]

I'm having great difficulty understanding how your damp can be cured by (a) leaving the plaster in place on a damp wall, and (b) spraying something on the inside of the plaster. Frankly it sounds like a load of nonsense.

You need to get rid of the damp that's already in the wall - and the only way to do that is to hack off the plaster up to a height where the wall is dry. And you need to discover why the wall is damp. If it's rising damp, you may need to consider a french drain outside the wall. But first look carefully at other possible causes. Is there a high soild level outside the wall? Is there a damaged drain near the wall? Could rain be bouncing up from a path against the wall? Study the situation carefully and try to see precisely why the wall is damp.