damp

[Anonymous]

i bought a victorian semi in the summer. i recently completed decorating the front bedroom but it has been ruined by the appearance of a salty deposit mainly in one corner but also on other parts of the exterior walls.the room suffers badly with condensation as there are pools of water on the windowsill every morning and there doesnt appear to be any airbricks.the builder recommends removing the plaster and drylining these two walls.they are solid brick. downstairs, despite a new dampcourse the house still `feels` damp and still smells a bit but i havent replastered yet. the previous owner had three layers of styrofoam under blown vinyl wallpaper everywhere. any suggestions please?

 

[Anonymous]

Away with the styro coatings, they will moisture up your wall. As you can see it, there is no effect by DPC. Perhaps your wall is too salty or your air humidity will not get out as you have airtight windows. In this case do the upper rubbers of the windows out to get permanent enough fresh dry air from outside in and enjoy better atmosphere in your rooms. Salty walls you can repair very easy: Give e new pure hydratic (not hydraulic!) lime morter on the salty wall, it will resorb the salt the first 2-3 weeks, take later the salty render away and give new render on the parts - your wall will be good for the next 100 years at least. So I did (as architect for restorating old buildings) in churches, castles, monasteries and other old houses and it works. More detailed info about dampness in buildings on the link.



Damp buildings - what to do

 

[Anonymous]

Your English, Konrad, is much better than my German but I suspect that English and German waters obey the same laws of physics. <IMG SRC="http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/discussing/smileys/smile.gif" BORDER=0 ALT="">

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for compliments, but regarding to your suspect - perhaps Matt did find out some new things? Maybe all the sea around the UK island will bring more water pressure in english grounds? Or the melting polar ice by climatic change? Or the misty english weather? Will also the sun laugh more at Germany? We will find it out with the next post of Matt, I hope.

 

[Anonymous]

non hydraulic lime limewash is a superb poultice (a synopsis of the above)

 

[Anonymous]

Some ventilation is A Good Thing too... open the window, add some vents...