I need to do a bit of repair to the concrete foundation of an outside paved area close to the house. Can anybody advise me what the mix is for ‘limecrete’?I’m guessing it’s probably a mix of NHL5 and a ballast but as I say I’m just guessing. Could you also advise on curing time, minimum thickness to avoid brittleness and crumbling and any other relevant info e.g. does it need any reinforcement in certain ground applications etc.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Limecrete?
- Thread starter michael
- Start date
JanJonWestWales
Member
- Messages
- 141
- Location
- Carmarthenshire + Cardiff
look here....
http://www.lime.org.uk/products/limecrete-and-sublime/
ive done a limecrete floor in the allway of our cottage...worked really well...dry and breathable !
http://www.lime.org.uk/products/limecrete-and-sublime/
ive done a limecrete floor in the allway of our cottage...worked really well...dry and breathable !
Penners
Member
- Messages
- 17,294
- Location
- Suffolk, England
What do more qualified people than me people think about using limecrete for an external paved area? I'm not sure that I see any benefit to it, as compared with concrete.
MatthewC
Member
- Messages
- 1,733
- Location
- Central/South England
I was wondering the same, although could there be a point if it goes up to the wall of the house?Penners said:What do more qualified people than me people think about using limecrete for an external paved area? I'm not sure that I see any benefit to it, as compared with concrete.
Penners
Member
- Messages
- 17,294
- Location
- Suffolk, England
Again I must preface my remarks by stating my lack of expertise here, but I would have thought that - when a paved area abuts a house wall - it doesn't make an enormous difference whether it's concrete or limecrete. Limecrete may offer a degree of breathability, but for a real improvement to the property's damp management ability, no paving at all against the walls is by far the best solution.
I imagine Limecrete will also create rain-bounce, just like concrete.
I imagine Limecrete will also create rain-bounce, just like concrete.
I too lack knowledge on this subject but I think I did hear once that where floors within a house had been filled with concrete, it often caused dampness to rise up the walls. I believe I also heard that one solution to this problem, short of completely removing the concrete floor, was to excavate the concrete away from the wall by about a foot or two and replace with limecrete, but then again I might have heard wrong. I guess I was thinking that the same logic might apply to the outer face of a wall but it would seem from your comments that this would not be the case.
My building was built around 1880 and it has solid 9” brick walls covered with an original cement stucco render on its outer face (I think a kind of roman cement used at that time and not a Portland cement). I don’t think therefore that rain bounce wouldn’t really be a problem.
The internal face is however quite breathable in as much as the floors are generally timber floorboards with ventilated void under and the walls are t&g pine panels all around to a height of 4’ 6” with lath plaster above that, all of which stands proud of the internal brickwork face by an inch or two, so sufficient ventilation from the inside I think.
The building (an old chapel) is surrounded by solid pathways and paved areas which abut the building, some repaired /replaced during the course of the twentieth century often it would seem with modern cement based foundations. Whilst I don’t seem to have any serious damp issues, I did wonder if an external limecrete surround abutting the walls would provide additional protection against any potential damp rising in the brickwork behind the stucco i.e. by absorbing the water from the ground close to the wall like a wick and allowing it to evaporate away in a kind of osmosis fashion? If this were to be a prudent measure then I would have to make these alterations a small section at a time as and when repairs became necessary. If on the other hand the hard ground surfaces were completely removed adjacent to the external walls (not a task I wish to undertake) then wouldn’t the ground abutting the wall become at times completely saturated thereby encouraging the brickwork behind the stucco to absorb water?
My building was built around 1880 and it has solid 9” brick walls covered with an original cement stucco render on its outer face (I think a kind of roman cement used at that time and not a Portland cement). I don’t think therefore that rain bounce wouldn’t really be a problem.
The internal face is however quite breathable in as much as the floors are generally timber floorboards with ventilated void under and the walls are t&g pine panels all around to a height of 4’ 6” with lath plaster above that, all of which stands proud of the internal brickwork face by an inch or two, so sufficient ventilation from the inside I think.
The building (an old chapel) is surrounded by solid pathways and paved areas which abut the building, some repaired /replaced during the course of the twentieth century often it would seem with modern cement based foundations. Whilst I don’t seem to have any serious damp issues, I did wonder if an external limecrete surround abutting the walls would provide additional protection against any potential damp rising in the brickwork behind the stucco i.e. by absorbing the water from the ground close to the wall like a wick and allowing it to evaporate away in a kind of osmosis fashion? If this were to be a prudent measure then I would have to make these alterations a small section at a time as and when repairs became necessary. If on the other hand the hard ground surfaces were completely removed adjacent to the external walls (not a task I wish to undertake) then wouldn’t the ground abutting the wall become at times completely saturated thereby encouraging the brickwork behind the stucco to absorb water?
plasticpigeon
Member
- Messages
- 2,462
- Location
- Birmingham
The one issue I would have with concrete is that it usually sticks so well to everything that if it is necessary to remove it, it damages what it is stuck to. I need to concrete around a couple of gullys and under the pavers/edgings around the gulley. I think I will do it with a weak enough cement mix that I will be able to remove it without damage in the future. I was thinking 1:1:6 but don't really know.
MatthewC
Member
- Messages
- 1,733
- Location
- Central/South England
Michael
The detail which you haven't mentioned is the level of the ground outside with respect to the floor inside. You really need the exterior level to be six inches or more below the inside to prevent dampness inside. This fall lets the wall breathe and so helps a limecrete floor to work - without it the wall and floor could still get damp and in your case it would do nasty things like rot your floorboards and joists.
If the external ground level is close to the floor level then you do need to remove the hard surface (whether concrete or limecrete) from beside the wall; then don't fill the resulting ditch completely - use gravel and leave a small drop to give the required fall.
Matthew
The detail which you haven't mentioned is the level of the ground outside with respect to the floor inside. You really need the exterior level to be six inches or more below the inside to prevent dampness inside. This fall lets the wall breathe and so helps a limecrete floor to work - without it the wall and floor could still get damp and in your case it would do nasty things like rot your floorboards and joists.
If the external ground level is close to the floor level then you do need to remove the hard surface (whether concrete or limecrete) from beside the wall; then don't fill the resulting ditch completely - use gravel and leave a small drop to give the required fall.
Matthew