Hi,
I live in an 1890’s house with an exposed flank wall which appears to suffer from damp at about cill level to the left and right of a window. Damp has caused the plaster to blow at a few locations and you can hear by further tapping that some other locations remain live. I was also experiencing a brown mark continually appearing through the plaster so today I decided to address the problem. I chipped off all the loose plaster at cill level and below the window and also removed the radiator to get at everywhere else likely to be a problem. On the right hand side of the window I exposed a 10mm dia (appx) pipe running from floor level to 6’ up the wall which was buried in the plaster. The slightly damp wall over the years has caused this pipe to rust and brown marks have leached through the plaster work all along its length. I’m guessing that this pipe is an old gas supply pipe which I will need to deal with prior to progressing with the plaster repair.
Firstly, is this pipe likely to be live or can it be just sawn off at skirting level, or will it need to be capped off at skirting level by a gas man. Perhaps the pipe can be covered by something to stop the leaching and buried in the plaster once more?
Next, how do I deal with the wall, the sand cement mortar on the brickwork which I removed had just turned to sand. The wall is of solid construction which has pebble dash render to the exterior and there does not appear to be anywhere the rain is getting in around the widow frame and cill. The internal brickwork joints at many locations do look suspect, however, as in some locations you can push a screwdriver half way through the wall.
Anyway, any assistance with how to deal with this problem will be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
dave
I live in an 1890’s house with an exposed flank wall which appears to suffer from damp at about cill level to the left and right of a window. Damp has caused the plaster to blow at a few locations and you can hear by further tapping that some other locations remain live. I was also experiencing a brown mark continually appearing through the plaster so today I decided to address the problem. I chipped off all the loose plaster at cill level and below the window and also removed the radiator to get at everywhere else likely to be a problem. On the right hand side of the window I exposed a 10mm dia (appx) pipe running from floor level to 6’ up the wall which was buried in the plaster. The slightly damp wall over the years has caused this pipe to rust and brown marks have leached through the plaster work all along its length. I’m guessing that this pipe is an old gas supply pipe which I will need to deal with prior to progressing with the plaster repair.
Firstly, is this pipe likely to be live or can it be just sawn off at skirting level, or will it need to be capped off at skirting level by a gas man. Perhaps the pipe can be covered by something to stop the leaching and buried in the plaster once more?
Next, how do I deal with the wall, the sand cement mortar on the brickwork which I removed had just turned to sand. The wall is of solid construction which has pebble dash render to the exterior and there does not appear to be anywhere the rain is getting in around the widow frame and cill. The internal brickwork joints at many locations do look suspect, however, as in some locations you can push a screwdriver half way through the wall.
Anyway, any assistance with how to deal with this problem will be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
dave
