Recent content by Frederick

This is technically possible, but usually only makes sense for very expensive houses in central London.

The floor-wall junction is the most common area of water ingress in basements. You could try filling the fillet with a waterproof mortar such as Unimortar 1 - see http://www.cellars.co.uk/basement-products.php The trouble is that damp is likely to track round the fillet and show as damp...

They don't shout about it, but Thompson's Waterseal isn't actually a silicone, it's a much cheaper stearate product. The problem with stearates is that they break down in ultraviolet light, so they stop working after a couple of years if they get a lot of sun. If you do go down this route, look...

I think you'll find that cellar conversions produce a positive return on most houses with decent cellars in SE England. My sister lives in Portsmouth and spent £25,000 having her cellar converted and according to her local estate agent it has added at least £40,000 to the value of her house...

If you've ground it back to the original concrete you could try using Vandex Super. You apply it as a slurry and it penetrates into the pores of the concrete to make the actual concrete waterproof. It tends to be used on large civils projects, but I have seen it in Builders Merchants. The only...

I've also seen them used like that Andy. Quite an elegant solution.

Try a search for "sliding doors" on http://www.archisearch.co.uk/ Coburn do some nice interior ones, but their website is a nightmare to get around - just download the brochure instead.

Dryzone is an excellent product - definitely the best of the damp-proofing creams. However it will only stop damp rising up the wall and can't do anything about the salts that have risen into the wall over the years. It is these salts that the plastering additive is supposed to protect against...

The British Standard that covers basement waterproofing (BS8102) says that it should be assumed that water will come to bear against the basement at some point during its life. This effectively forces companies to recommend a sump pump. If you are doing the work yourself, you can make that...

You really ought to think about waterproofing the basement before drylining - see http://www.safeguardeurope.com/products/fastframe-drylining.php I suppose you could use this type of system without the waterproofing membrane, but I'd think it would be asking for trouble. The main thing to note...

I reckon you're asking for trouble if you do that. The bond between the paint and the wall is highly unlikely to take the weight of the render even if you use a PVA or SBR to bond the render to the paint.

Condensation is actually the most common cause of dampness in buildings so is a likely suspect - There is an excellent article about it on the PGA website - see http://www.specifypga.com/index/articles/articles_section_list/1/Condensation%20Myths%20and%20Facts/

There are quite a lot of independent timber merchants that will deliver - see http://www.archisearch.co.uk/results.htm?cx=011049979321250842344%3Alyogdfld_e0&q=timber+merchant&sa=Search&cof=FORID%3A10

That's the stuff. I think the gully is just for when you are using it in a basement. The following detail shows it being used above ground and tied into the dpm under the floor - http://www.safeguardeurope.com/cad_drawings/XV-010.pdf I'm not quite sure what you would do if you are not...

An approach that is often used on heritage properties is to use a cavity drainage membrane with a special mesh on that can be plastered onto - e.g. Newlath, Oldroyd P, or Delta. See the following pages for examples of how these products are used...