Stone built property, circa 1700, situated in wet Cumbria. Gable end walls have had poor quality, crumbling concrete render removed and the stone has been lime mortared. Looks fantastic and no problems with lime mortar falling / washing away. However, when the persistent rain began in winter 07/08 - it came late this year (typically its Oct, but we had a dry autumn and instead it started raining non-stop in Dec 07 - ceasing in about Feb 08)- anyway, the wet winter has seen previously dry / mould free internal walls, shimmering with droplets of moisture and lots of mould growth. Both upstairs and downstairs rooms on one gable end (no chimney - so no opportunity for this to be a cause of damp ingress)- and it seems at the front of the house where the gable end is most exposed to the weather (a neighbouring bldg shields the rear gable end portion of the hse).
There's nothing bad said about using lime on the internet it seems - but our experience is not looking good. What could be going on? Do we need to replace internal plaster? The problems extend upwards from ground level to almost roof elevation - I didn't think rising damp would extend that far? Interestingly, if you go in the loft and examine the gable end wall (above the wet first floor wall below) the stone is exposed and the wall looks dry - so it doesn't appear water is coming in from above? Where's the water likely to be getting in and how do we check for it (the quality of finish on the exterior walls looks good). Tips, thoughts etc greatly appreciated. We so wanted the lime to work - to start helping the old house to breathe but the result has been more rooms with damp / mouldy walls - exactly what we were hoping to avoid...
Perhaps its just condensation - the affected walls are very cold. Maybe we need to improve ventilation in the affected rooms - perhaps a dehumidistat or air vent type device?
Tho, don't understand how the upstairs room (which didn't have a sodden wall when the poor quality concrete render was on) can now be suffering condensation. Wondered whether the internal plaster might be sodden (particularly the mouldy downstairs room) and maybe this needs to be replaced - we have found in other rooms in the house that the wrong type of plaster has been used by previous occupants on internal walls. Tho again have to point out that the room above had no dampness / mould in/on plaster before the lime mortaring.
There's nothing bad said about using lime on the internet it seems - but our experience is not looking good. What could be going on? Do we need to replace internal plaster? The problems extend upwards from ground level to almost roof elevation - I didn't think rising damp would extend that far? Interestingly, if you go in the loft and examine the gable end wall (above the wet first floor wall below) the stone is exposed and the wall looks dry - so it doesn't appear water is coming in from above? Where's the water likely to be getting in and how do we check for it (the quality of finish on the exterior walls looks good). Tips, thoughts etc greatly appreciated. We so wanted the lime to work - to start helping the old house to breathe but the result has been more rooms with damp / mouldy walls - exactly what we were hoping to avoid...
Perhaps its just condensation - the affected walls are very cold. Maybe we need to improve ventilation in the affected rooms - perhaps a dehumidistat or air vent type device?
Tho, don't understand how the upstairs room (which didn't have a sodden wall when the poor quality concrete render was on) can now be suffering condensation. Wondered whether the internal plaster might be sodden (particularly the mouldy downstairs room) and maybe this needs to be replaced - we have found in other rooms in the house that the wrong type of plaster has been used by previous occupants on internal walls. Tho again have to point out that the room above had no dampness / mould in/on plaster before the lime mortaring.