The lounge of our old cottage smells of damp and the plaster is peeling off in the lower 2' of some of the walls. It's been worse than ever this Summer. Curiously it's better in the Winter.
The walls are a mixture of solid brick and sandstone rubble from the fields. The inside floor level is approximately a foot below ground level. The outside of the house is hard rendered with pebble-dash (yes, I know). Two rows of slates have been applied to the foot of the wall. These go below outside ground level and appear to be in good condition. I dug an exploratory hole against the outside wall and the walls seem to extend little beyond the indoor floor level. The soil by the way is heavy clay - not sure whether this is a good or a bad thing. Drainage is good - there is a well close to the problem area of the house with water level approximately two metres below ground. Makes an excellent soak away for the downpipes!
The previous owners had a survey carried out in 1980 by Abbey Preservation. This recommended a damp proof course which was carried out. It also recommended "Clients own builder to remove affected plaster and replaster with a sand cement and lime rendering to the ration 6:1:1. Final skim to sirapite. Use of a vertical Synthaprufe seal prior to replastering." I have no idea if this was carried out. I realise damp proof courses were in vogue at the time but applying one above the indoor floor level seems a bit nuts to me.
Where the indoor plaster has fallen away it exposes a hard, rough cement like layer. Is this lime render? It's certainly not browning. Careful examination of the wall reveals a faint line approximately 3' above the floor. This could indicate the re-plastering but what with? What is the current recommendation for plastering damp walls?
Is there any mileage in trying to reduce the outside ground level? I was considering replacing the clay with gravel in an attempt to increase drainage.
There is evidence that the lounge floor has been lowered by five inches. The stairs are sitting on a raised area of floor which I assume is the original floor level. There is a slight gap between the wall and floor where the edge of a plastic sheet is visible in places. I assume this is evidence that a DPM was laid under the new lower floor. However when we removed the marley tiles from the floor when we decorated many were loose due to damp so it doesn't seem to be working. We applied a coating of a bitumin based compound prior to laying carpet. We even went as far as ensuring that carpet grippers were glued rather than nailed down. However, this Summer, when low lying furniture (eg. a wooden chest) has been moved the carpet has been found to be slightly mouldy which suggests to me the damp is still penetrating. Unless this is condensation? We could go all out and get the floor relaid possibly with an insulating layer. However we have low exposed beams and we really cannot afford to lose any height!
Any suggestions gratefully received!
The walls are a mixture of solid brick and sandstone rubble from the fields. The inside floor level is approximately a foot below ground level. The outside of the house is hard rendered with pebble-dash (yes, I know). Two rows of slates have been applied to the foot of the wall. These go below outside ground level and appear to be in good condition. I dug an exploratory hole against the outside wall and the walls seem to extend little beyond the indoor floor level. The soil by the way is heavy clay - not sure whether this is a good or a bad thing. Drainage is good - there is a well close to the problem area of the house with water level approximately two metres below ground. Makes an excellent soak away for the downpipes!
The previous owners had a survey carried out in 1980 by Abbey Preservation. This recommended a damp proof course which was carried out. It also recommended "Clients own builder to remove affected plaster and replaster with a sand cement and lime rendering to the ration 6:1:1. Final skim to sirapite. Use of a vertical Synthaprufe seal prior to replastering." I have no idea if this was carried out. I realise damp proof courses were in vogue at the time but applying one above the indoor floor level seems a bit nuts to me.
Where the indoor plaster has fallen away it exposes a hard, rough cement like layer. Is this lime render? It's certainly not browning. Careful examination of the wall reveals a faint line approximately 3' above the floor. This could indicate the re-plastering but what with? What is the current recommendation for plastering damp walls?
Is there any mileage in trying to reduce the outside ground level? I was considering replacing the clay with gravel in an attempt to increase drainage.
There is evidence that the lounge floor has been lowered by five inches. The stairs are sitting on a raised area of floor which I assume is the original floor level. There is a slight gap between the wall and floor where the edge of a plastic sheet is visible in places. I assume this is evidence that a DPM was laid under the new lower floor. However when we removed the marley tiles from the floor when we decorated many were loose due to damp so it doesn't seem to be working. We applied a coating of a bitumin based compound prior to laying carpet. We even went as far as ensuring that carpet grippers were glued rather than nailed down. However, this Summer, when low lying furniture (eg. a wooden chest) has been moved the carpet has been found to be slightly mouldy which suggests to me the damp is still penetrating. Unless this is condensation? We could go all out and get the floor relaid possibly with an insulating layer. However we have low exposed beams and we really cannot afford to lose any height!
Any suggestions gratefully received!
