A friend of mine has inherited a Victorian brick terrace house which has been partly used as a hairdresser's and has been empty for some time. They have had a quote from a builder to repair and improve it. The construction seems to be mostly solid brick walls and the insides of the walls have been largely finished with sand and cement some time in the 20th century. There is quite a bit of damp at the base of the all the ground floor walls and the outside of the front wall has a lot of erosion to the brick work especially at lower levels where it is constantly splashed from the nearby road. The lower part of this wall has been repointed in the past with cement (the original mortar is lime) and the repointing is proud of the eroded brickwork. The quote includes insulating the inside of the external wall (not sure how - probably celotex) and, more worryingly, "tank all ground floor walls to 1.5m high, including hack off, plaster and tight render coat" and "grind out and re-point front elevation". I have expressed concern that these treatments will not solve and may exacerbate the problems. Am I right and if so, what should they do as they are just about to commission the work to start? Is there a source of independent and reliable advice in the area (near Preston)? I have taken various pictures and can post these if necessary.
Many thanks in advance for any prompt replies!
Many thanks in advance for any prompt replies!