1800s house damp

[Debfro]

Recently bought an 1800s farm house. Got damp. Some patches are bad, but all on external downstairs walls. Surveyor said cause was higher external ground and that damp proof course would work. But that French drain should also be created, and old pebbledash render should be removed for lime plaster
Reading more I'm not sure about dpc. Our builder has given us quote for damp injection systemand vandex barrier. He then intends to cement walls.
Are we wasting our money? Can we then not hang radiators on this wall (we intend to...)
The most severe areas of damp are clearly along one wall where the ground outside is noticeably higher than inside. The problem is, it's not our land so we can't just dig a trench to remove the land against it.
Advice please!

 

[Burnerman]

Your surveyor is correct - he is probably referring to an injected damp course anyway.
So long as the wall is pretty solid and not filled with random rubble then the DPC should work well enough.
However, the high land next to the affected wall must be lowered for you to have any chance of success at all......simply adding radiators to clear the damp wont work.
A French drain is dramatically effective if installed correctly!
John

 

[Debfro]

Thanks john.
The builder includes injection system, but builder also using vandex.
What do we do if our neighbour (whom we think is a developer currently) will not permit us to dig up their land to solve our problem?
Is there anything we can do externally, rather than internally?
Also, if French drain done correctly do we need dpc?
And how is a French drain done correctly?
Thanks
Debbie

 

[jeds]

Resolve the ground level problem first. Chemical damp treatments are unlikely to be effective on your type of house and may cause more problems. If the neighbour won't give access you could make an application under the access to neighbouring land act. Not a great way to start off with a new neighbour but if he won't let you sort your issue out he's probably not the sort of neighbour you want round for a barbi anyway.

 

[TheVictorian]

Agree with the above, your house will be damp free if it is restored to the original design - lower the ground.

 

[Debfro]

Other than digging a trench how can I resolve the issues?
Are there any external systems that I can put in place that then means we can replace their soil / ground, making it undetectable when looking externally?
Or is a French drain / trench the only options?
Thanks again.

 

[jeds]

A French drain necessitates a trench but it needn't be open. It could be covered at ground level and made good to match the existing surface.

 

[Debfro]

thank you so much, feeling a bit more informed about it.
I went and spoke to the neighbours - really nice guys, both the owner and foreman of the work.
They have removed some rubble between our two houses already, which there was stagnant water sat in. But have now concreted a channel which drains into the main drain. An improvement, but not the solution... They seemed happy for our builder / us to discuss with them about any other amendments (hoping they stay that way!!!)
The foreman particularly seemed very confident working with old properties and said about the vandex, but not the chemical injection system - so thank you for making me aware of that first.
Is there somewhere reliable that I can check about a French drain is 'created' correctly so that I can inform them exactly what will be done etc.
Thanks again,
Debbie

 

[mattice]

These are the pages I used for exactly the same problem. Ended up with a gully to hold back the soil with a perforated drain at the bottom.

http://www.pavingexpert.com/drain03.htm

 

[Burnerman]

If you look at the Wikipedia you'll see how a French drain works.....basically it absorbs water from the surrounding soil,and channels it away.
If there's no chance of forming a soak away pit to absorb the water, the building can still be trenched down to the foundations and this will allow the bottom courses of stone / brick to dry.
Just a wee tip - fall out with your neighbours at your peril, if you need access to your building. If he says no, you have one hell of a battle on your hands. Most people are perfectly biddable but some just aren't !
Do send is some pics of your project - we love being nosey!
John

 

[Debfro]

John.
As requested - photos of the property (hope you can see?) Still very much a work in progress as you can see. these aren't of the damp.
We bought it and it was looking ok, so we thought, gut it - make it messy!!!
Really chuffed to find the stone fireplace - we thought it was a stud wall as it was plasterboard over wood cladding, over plaster directly onto the fireplace!!
The concrete floor had lino squares on it, covered with underlay, with carpet on top of it with laminate on top of the carpet!!! (You can see why we stripped it back to basics hey!!)
The smaller fireplace we are hoping to knock some out to allow log burner to bve placed in the sitting room. The pic of the walls are walls that will be removed to allow heat to travel from sitting to dining room.
Debbie

Untitled

• Debfro
• 10 Sep 2014
• 2

Untitled

• Debfro
• 10 Sep 2014
• 1

Untitled

• Debfro
• 10 Sep 2014
• 2

 

[Burnerman]

My my you must have a heart like a lion - thats quite a project!
Get it fully watertight first, and follow the construction methods of the day, such as lime mortar for the stone and such like.....old buildings need to breathe.
A beautiful county, too - nearly as grand as Northumberland!
Be lucky
John

 

[JohnD]

. He then intends to cement walls.

cement render on an old stone and lime wall is a very bad idea.

 

[Debfro]

hoping to talk to builder tonight about plans for walls.
hoping we can get our neighbour to agree for us to dig out ground between our two houses, which means our builder won't have to touch our external walls, some of which are fine.
That should not only save us money, but solve the problem completely (for both of us as he told me they also have damp in their house!!)
I have been advised to match the plaster type if we are 'patching up' as if we use lime plaster all the moisture will come out of that section, meaning it will need to be redecorated frequently.
I have also been told that using lime plaster requires frequent (12-24 months) re-painting. Is this true?
Thanks John, it is a huge project hence need for lots of advice on here!!!

 

[JohnD]

I used to live in a house with lime plaster. Some parts were not redecorated for 20 or 50 years (e.g. in the pantry behind cupboards; the gardener's WC, spare rooms, inside the airing cupboard.

If you suspect damp, use a breathing paint such as Dulux Trade Supermatt which is non-vinyl and porous. It is not hard wearing so may not last long in kitchens and bathrooms. It is available in white or magnolia, or mixed to order in a range of 150 colours. You can paint over it with vinyl or other emulsions once the wall is dry.

It is usually considered better to patch up an old house using lime plaster again, not gypsum plaster or cement. Not all builders and plasterers are familiar with it. Ask on the "plastering and rendering" section here.