If you've got an old house, or if you simply want to avoid damp walls then the mantra is Breathability. Which translates as lime plaster on the internal side of exterior walls.
BUT - it's hard to get hold off, eye wateringly expensive, difficult to use, and if you can't DIY it then suitable plasterers are few and far between.
In other words for the average Joe/Jo it's just not an option.
Now one of me mates said - don't worry about all that, just baton out the wall, use normal gypsum plasterboard/skim and leave a inch or so gap at the bottom which is then covered by the skirting
This sort of makes sense, in that air would presumably circulate over 99% of the masonry not covered by baton. You could even dot and dab with a similar gap. Moisture that has condensated isn't trapped as long as there is a gap under the skirting - easy when installed over timber floorboards in an old house..
What do you think? Is this a legitimate and cheap way to control damp in an old wall or does the science not add up?
BUT - it's hard to get hold off, eye wateringly expensive, difficult to use, and if you can't DIY it then suitable plasterers are few and far between.
In other words for the average Joe/Jo it's just not an option.
Now one of me mates said - don't worry about all that, just baton out the wall, use normal gypsum plasterboard/skim and leave a inch or so gap at the bottom which is then covered by the skirting
This sort of makes sense, in that air would presumably circulate over 99% of the masonry not covered by baton. You could even dot and dab with a similar gap. Moisture that has condensated isn't trapped as long as there is a gap under the skirting - easy when installed over timber floorboards in an old house..
What do you think? Is this a legitimate and cheap way to control damp in an old wall or does the science not add up?