Recent content by JohnCo

I`ve always thought the reason we use masonry inner/outer skin is because our little island has a predominately moist atmosphere. Most of our winds come off the atlantic ocean but america is so vast a land mass, the air is a lot drier? Regards JohnC.

We have found a major cause of damp appearing from the base of an interior wall to be the plaster making contact with the finished floor! Always eliminate this as a possible cause by cutting it away at least 25mm above FFL. Damp has been known to travel under the floor covering for this reason...

A typo! I forgot you were having the ceiling on the rafters! You don`t have to use fibreglass, plastic dpc will do the same job - it`s just not so durable. Regards JohnC.

If you take the advice of `noseall`could you use a couple of lengths of waste pipe in the screed to vent the hole? Regards JohnC.

Motorised wheelbarrow and a small digger? Regards JohnC.

Has the house stood empty? Are the vents blocked in the larder? It certainly won`t be much causing the damp! Amongst other trades, I have spent some time` damp proofing`and in all, bar one house, there was a reason and a solution for the damp that didn`t require us to drill and plaster 1 metre...

Your ceiling joists will have to sit on a plate inboard of the party wall supported on either a steel or timber lintol. The facia board needs to fit close to the gutter so that the tiles hang 50mm over. Before felting the roof it is good practice to seal something from the top of the rafters to...

Er -- what was the base sat on? Regards JohnC.

Agree, hydraulic lime won`t move if you add cement to the mix. Regards JohnC

My understanding of these blocks is that the water can get away through a larger gap between the blocks, rather than through the block itself. All it really means is the larger gaps will take a little longer to fill and block up - another government con! Regards JohnC.

You can have a floor on the same joists as the ceiling!! :wink: I didn`t know if you were aware of it - so just to be on the safe side I asked the question. Regards JohnC.

If you tap the wall the sound will tell you if the render has lifted - use an angle grinder to cut above the loose area. This will stop the area getting bigger when you knock it off. Regards JohnC.

You DO mean ceiling and not floor/ceiling? :oops: Regards JohnC.

You can cut the roughcast just above and below the DPC, but the best way is to cut 4" or so above and render on a `bell cast `bead to just cover the join from the eye. Regards JohnC.

Roughcast to me is a render the has shingle thrown on to it when it is still wet. Some cover the stone with cement wash before hand. To match the exhisting, you must pick the same size and shape of stone. Of more importance in your situation is finding out why there is a wet patch at that point...