Hi all,
I first noticed I had damp when I decorated my lounge. At the time I was unaware.
When I stripped the paper off the walls I could see the outline of the bricks on the plaster, I thought the steam from the stripper had got into the mortar and created the outline. However, when I lined the walls the paper would not stick in areas, all below a metre from the floor. This is when I realised something was wrong.
I went outside to investigate and noticed the slabs and soil were all tight against the walls and at the damp proof height. I dug back the soil and moved the slabs back away from the walls to create a channel. The next thing I noticed was that the first 4 rows of bricks were rendered. The first row was under the slate damp proof course and the next 3 rows being above it. The render was hollow in places and cracked all over. I'm in the process of hacking this off now and have noticed that the hollow parts are where the bricks have blown. Once I've taken this render off I'm going to be left with a lot of bricks with no facing and a lot of pointing up to do.
I'm stuck now as to how I should proceed. Could I replace the whole 4 rows of bricks, point up the mortar and paint with masonry paint to seal the bricks or render the 3 rows of bricks above the damp proof course but not below to prevent bridging which I think happened first time round. I also read I should use lime based mortar/render rather than cement based So the walls can breathe? Would applying masonry paint prevent the walls from breathing? I'm confused at which path to take and want to get it right before hacking off the plaster inside.
Thanks for reading and any advice would be much appreciated.
I first noticed I had damp when I decorated my lounge. At the time I was unaware.
When I stripped the paper off the walls I could see the outline of the bricks on the plaster, I thought the steam from the stripper had got into the mortar and created the outline. However, when I lined the walls the paper would not stick in areas, all below a metre from the floor. This is when I realised something was wrong.
I went outside to investigate and noticed the slabs and soil were all tight against the walls and at the damp proof height. I dug back the soil and moved the slabs back away from the walls to create a channel. The next thing I noticed was that the first 4 rows of bricks were rendered. The first row was under the slate damp proof course and the next 3 rows being above it. The render was hollow in places and cracked all over. I'm in the process of hacking this off now and have noticed that the hollow parts are where the bricks have blown. Once I've taken this render off I'm going to be left with a lot of bricks with no facing and a lot of pointing up to do.
I'm stuck now as to how I should proceed. Could I replace the whole 4 rows of bricks, point up the mortar and paint with masonry paint to seal the bricks or render the 3 rows of bricks above the damp proof course but not below to prevent bridging which I think happened first time round. I also read I should use lime based mortar/render rather than cement based So the walls can breathe? Would applying masonry paint prevent the walls from breathing? I'm confused at which path to take and want to get it right before hacking off the plaster inside.
Thanks for reading and any advice would be much appreciated.