Keim paint?

[Carol]

After taking off the cement render on the back of the house and having lime render done in March (and feeling very pleased with it and myself!) I am now faced with some water ingress at first floor level. Builder has suggested Keim (even builder says it's expensive!) onto the outside or possibly replastering (lime-mega bucks) the inside. I know it has been a grotty summer, but should lime render let in water at all? The wall is a solid stone 'turret' added to the rear for stairs and the stain inside is now about a metre square.

I am now feeling a bit nostalgic for the cement...can someone restore my faith in lime? Or do I blame the builder?

 

[JohnB]

I'm no expert, but I think it will take some time for the walls to dry out and start working properly. Is this water that was trapped in the wall coming through? If so, I think the problem should go away on its own gradually. I get the impression that's what's happening with my walls.

 

[tobydog]

Carol - as you're considering Keim paint, does this mean that the wall hasn't been limewashed since you re-rendered?

Assuming the wet patch wasn't there when the cement render was on the outside, I would be surprised if it's due to any residual moisture in the wall, particularly at this level. Also, re-rendering in lime on the inside is not getting to fix the cause of the problem. I doubt Keim paint on the outside is going to sort it either unless it inadvertantly bungs up a leaky hole somewhere.

I'm certainly no expert either but from the various posts / threads on PPUK, I've always understood that water ingress at first floor level is often caused by other outside factors like piping / guttering, particularly as the issue is clearly localised as you say.

I would have a good look outside for any obvious leaks from piping / guttering, gaps in the render around any windows, and particularly any cracks that might have developed in the new render especially if it hasn't been lime washed.

Just my personal thoughts and certainly not professional.

 

[Flyfisher]

I agree with Tobydog and I wouldn't be immediately reaching for any sort of external covering just yet.

It certainly has been a wet year but I'm not convinced this would cause specific damp problems, especially so high up. We have a section of guttering that is too long for the single downpipe (adding another downpipe is on the list somewhere!) and during the torrential downpours we've had this year the guttering overflowed in one spot creating a veritable waterfall down wall and window. But, there are no signs of any internal damp problems, even though the wall is mostly built from chalk block. My conclusion is that the relatively short deluges are more than compensated for by extended drying periods such that any moisture hasn't made it through to the internal face of the wall - at least, not in sufficient quantity to have any visible effects.

Next time it rains, grab a brolly and go outside and have a good look at what is happening around that area of wall.

Another possibility, though less easy to detect, is a fault in the roof allowing water to settle on the top of the wall and seep down within it. We had a number of instances of that.