Please help assess our wall...

[Fizzer]

We have a wall that has been damp for a while. It's external facing and ground levels are low outside. However it's been rendered on both sides way back in 1960. It is the front wall of our house.

I'm carefully removing the internal render, the bricks are very soft and easy to damage. I've found two bits of wood in the wall where bricks should be, they have turned to dust (you can see one of them in the lower right corner of this pic).

There's also a long piece of wood above the lintel which is spongy and full of woodworm holes, It disappears towards the room next door so I don't know how long it is yet.

The render outside of here has diagonal cracks (hairline) from the corners of this window and the one above it. the wall on the left is a wattle and daub wall.


The adjoining wall on the right is made of blocks so we assume that it is a 1960 wall. We uncovered this large crack in it:

This goes all the way up to the ceiling of the 1st floor but doesn't appear to have a matching crack outside. i *think* that it hasn't moved much in a long time.

Our survey doesn't really mention this part of the house at all and I'm not sure it's actually moved much for a long time. However it all looks a bit iffy to me. Should we get a pro in to take a look? If so, who would be our best bet?
Also by drying out this wall/wood too quickly could we cause problems?
Is there anything we should do now to help prevent problems in the future.

 

[Craig]

Wooden noggins in walls are pretty common - gave the builder someway of tying together sections, fasten things to, etc.

 

[glayzell]

a quick observation....

you may find the render which i am guessing is cement based, will be a major factor in the condition of the bricks and rotten wood.

A 60's cement based 'repair' on my house has means replacing most of the ground florr timber fram due to moisture being trapped.

 

[Fizzer]

sooo, if my 'noggin' is really soft and full of woodworm holes, is it necessarily a problem?
If we just replace the window lintel, would the noggin be OK for a few more decades? - assuming we don't do anything that traps moisture in the wall?

 

[glayzell]

is this 'noggin' a wall plate?

If it is really rotten you should replace it as there will be a wall resting on it, and whilst it probably wont move, it could!

 

[Lady_Mari]

I've been reading your blog:

"the garden is 4’ high where it meets the back wall. This means that all of the water that travels through the soil soaks into the wall and then into our kitchen"

I would have thought this would be your main priority towards getting rid of the source of damp as well as hacking off the old render. once everything can breathe you may find the situation quite different.

I had oak studs & wall plate that was wet & spongy but after removing the cladding & 2 months of 'breathing' they are now as hard as old iron.
Initially, we had a builder to investigate when we first spotted the blown render & he pushed a spike into the wood to see how deep the rot was, in all but 2 of them it was barely 1/2 inch, the other 2 he said should be replaced but not to panic as they aren't structural.

However, I would have your crack (lol) investigated :shock:

"rather large crack in the wall; further investigation reveals that it goes all the way up to the roof"

 

[Fizzer]

you're dead right, the back garden drainage is being done next weekend, this problem is at the front wall.

We plan to strip all of the render off all of the older downstairs walls to dry them, no small job. Ho hum, good job we won't be able to afford to go out for a bit!

 

[Lime]

The picture of your brickwall is a sad and only too familiar sight.
Cement is a poor substitute for lime in such situations.

As for the crack, I wouldn't describe it as large (except in length) but it does need to be investigated.
If it is old and not moving (examining decorated parts can help you decide) then raking out and filling should solve the problem.

 

[Penners]

Presumably the long bit of wood above the lintel is the area that you've marked with red lines? If so, I suggest this could be a plate for the ceiling joists to rest on.

As others have mentioned, wood "grounds" were often set into walls, as a way of fixing things like dado rails, skirtings, picture rails and so on. Your lower bit of wood may be part of something like that. There should be no reason why you can't hack it out and replace it with brick(s).

I agree with what's already been said. Your best plan is probably to continue getting rid of the cement render on both sides of the wall, and let it dry out. If you can get the stuff off quickly you may get some warm, dry August weather that will help this process enormously. I would then re-assess the timber at the top (plate?). If it's still pretty spongy you may have to replace it. But be sure you understand fully what job it's doing before you attempt this.

Once the brickwork has dried out, then your best bet is probably to re-render outside with lime mortar. Inside, you might want to think about battening the wall and then dry-lining (with some insulation behind) ensuring that you leave an air gap and provision for air circulation against the brickwork.

 

[Fizzer]

Presumably the long bit of wood above the lintel is the area that you've marked with red lines? If so, I suggest this could be a plate for the ceiling joists to rest on.

good idea, I'll check the joist direction when I get home

If it's still pretty spongy you may have to replace it. But be sure you understand fully what job it's doing before you attempt this.

we will not attempt this ourselves, especially if there is cracking all around this area. W'll definately get someone in to assess it after it's dried out a bit.
I'm thinking of painting/filling the cracks now so that in a couple of months time we can see how far (if at all) it's moved.

Once the brickwork has dried out, then your best bet is probably to re-render outside with lime mortar. Inside, you might want to think about battening the wall and then dry-lining (with some insulation behind) ensuring that you leave an air gap and provision for air circulation against the brickwork.

With our limited budget we are weighing up the options we have to alleviate damp:

remove internal render on all walls downstairs
french drain at the back
2 inch gap round side of the house
french drain down the other side of the house
rerendering outside with lime
replacing the concrete slab throughout

Obviously the 1st job we've already started and the drain at the back is going in next week. Haven't scheduled the side drainage yet but think we will do it. The re-rendering and floor replacement are big bucks so not sure if we can afford that just yet.

I had an idea that we could just take off the external render and leave it till we could afford to replace it. Not sure we'd be allowed, we live in a conservation area (+ the house would look a right state).

 

[Nemesis]

The house might look in a state, but I don't think there would be grounds for complaint re the conservation area if you remove the render.

Mostly buildings in conservation areas have very little protection in reality.

 

[Penners]

I had an idea that we could just take off the external render and leave it till we could afford to replace it. Not sure we'd be allowed, we live in a conservation area (+ the house would look a right state).

I suppose that depends how long it would be in that state. If you're in the process of undertaking a genuine repair, then I don't think there are any stipulations abut how quickly that repair must be done.

 

[Fizzer]

In the Damp FAQ:

The only real solution to cement render is to remove it. However removal can sometimes be a problem, as soft some bricks and stones are liable to be broken when firmly adhering cement is removed. Use only the minimum amount of force needed to remove the cement, and if damage occurs, stop. Do not damage your brick or stone, as damaged bricks sometimes steadily deteriorate until they require replacement.

I now know that the bricks are going to be very crumbly, whereas inside I assume that crumbling bricks won't be much of a problem *inside the house* as there's no wind/rain/sun. Given our situation (as much as you can tell from the pics and information I've given) would you say that theres a risk in removing the external render?

*edit

 

[Nemesis]

Conservation area status confers very little protection! You can virtually demolish...

 

[Penners]

would you say that theres a risk in removing the external render?

There's only one way to find out. Try it and see. But do take heed of what NT said.