Damp proof remedy - advice really appreciated!

[anobium]

Softus wrote

That's just a crass stride in the direction of a hijack. If you want an argument then go and start your own topic and I'll see you in there. The gloves will be off, so to dull the pain your headguard will need to be packed with even more of your stupid prejudices.

How do you make that out, I was responding to comments by the op and suggestions made by others to rectify his problem


Thirdly, if your set of moronic presumptions is aimed at me, then please note that I wrote "...if path splashing is the problem...", without any assumption that it is.

Go and read the topic properly for once.

Sorry to have to tell you but contrary to what you think the earth does not revolve round you.

The so called theory of external levels being 150mm below dpc level is that rain cannot splash back over the dpc.

Nonsense. The main problem with high ground is the attendant high water table. You are the one who's skating on thin factual ice here.

It may sound a silly question but what the hell happens to driving rain at upper levels?

You simply have no idea how silly that question sounds.

Not half as silly as your response, how do you equate high ground with a high water table, please elaborate

In any event if the cavities are clear the moisture will not gravitate to the internal leaf.

Is this a cavity wall? Has anyone said so? Have you asked? Is your advice being freely given without knowing all the facts? Are you a nothing more than a hypocrite?

Guilty, I should not have presumed it was cavity wall construction, for the benefit of the op if the walls are not cavity his first point of call should be to check the condition of the pointing in the vicinity of the dampness.
I suppose then that other suggestions made for remedial works in this post are incorrect or did others presume that the walls were solid?


For the record Softus you really must see somebody about your persecution complex, it does not become you

 

[Softus]

How do you make that out

Simply from your argumentative initial post.

I was responding to comments by the op and suggestions made by others to rectify his problem

In a pig's eye.

Sorry to have to tell you but contrary to what you think the earth does not revolve round you.

Firstly, you're not sorry.

Secondly, you're right, but you're backpedalling. How many of the other posters on this topic have claimed that rising damp does not exist, hmm?

how do you equate high ground with a high water table, please elaborate

How do you not equate them?

I suppose then that other suggestions made for remedial works in this post are incorrect or did others presume that the walls were solid?

You can suppose whatever you like, but as for your question the answer is contained within the topic; you merely have to read it.

 

[felixculpa81]

gentlemen gentlemen... handbags down!!!!!!!!!



No need to get your heckles up - it might help you to know that EVERY SINGLE person i have spoken to has given me a totally different remedy, and this includes :

4 different men out to give tests and quotes

Each different person on a forum

A builder who i considered very reliable

and a lady in Homebase who seemed to know what she was on about

This totals about 9 different remedies to take, not to mention the things i have read on web pages. And of course - with each different remedy comes the news that ALL other remedies are utterly wrong and will be a bodge.


I think i would have more of an idea of what was going on if i had flown to gibraltar, put on a kilt and danced a jig at the top of the rock (covered in monkeys).

After all the different responses, and also the fact that i have a humongous bindweed problem, and a massive crack going up the front of the house, i have decided to just sort the whole let out with some gaffer tape (does the trick for everything right?) and then donate the smegger to this weird old guy who hangs around the end of the street..

And i'm not a bloke BTW.

 

[jbonding]

gentlemen gentlemen... handbags down!!!!!!!!!



No need to get your heckles up - it might help you to know that EVERY SINGLE person i have spoken to has given me a totally different remedy, and this includes :

4 different men out to give tests and quotes
what did they say and how much?

Each different person on a forum
most said it was the concrete too high

A builder who i considered very reliable
what did he say?

and a lady in Homebase who seemed to know what she was on about
Which was what?

This totals about 9 different remedies to take, not to mention the things i have read on web pages. And of course - with each different remedy comes the news that ALL other remedies are utterly wrong and will be a bodge.
You either take the advise or look for an easier solution that doesnt work.

I think i would have more of an idea of what was going on if i had flown to gibraltar, put on a kilt and danced a jig at the top of the rock (covered in monkeys).
let us know when you get back what they said

After all the different responses, and also the fact that i have a humongous bindweed problem, and a massive crack going up the front of the house, i have decided to just sort the whole let out with some gaffer tape (does the trick for everything right?) and then donate the smegger to this weird old guy who hangs around the end of the street..

maybe you should of mentioned this in the first place.

And i'm not a bloke BTW.

and this

 

[felixculpa81]

4 different men out to give tests and quotes
what did they say and how much?

guy #1
The entire ground floor needs stripping back to brick 1.5m and then injecting with a new chemical course, then replaster over the top

guy#2
The damp is small isolated patches - you need to get it back to brick in just these areas and then just inject these areas

guy #3
Take it back to brick just in the living room and use a paint on susbstance and then replaster

guy #4
honestly can;t remember what he said.

Each different person on a forum
most said it was the concrete too high

Woody the first to reply, said i need to paint the outside bricks and do not need to lower the path, and then subsequent gents got into some sort of cat fight over it.

A builder who i considered very reliable
what did he say?

He said that rain splash back is not a problem, he also said "all you need to do is get a membrane and put it in behind the new plaster"

and a lady in Homebase who seemed to know what she was on about
Which was what?

She agreed with woody to paint the outside bricks, but also remove the path. She didn't think measures would need to be taken on the inside

You either take the advise or look for an easier solution that doesnt work.

arrgh! WHO's advise lol.

....bindweed.... massive crack going up the front of the house.....

maybe you should of mentioned this in the first place.

erm... would that crack be my root-cause right there??

Shouldn't the people doing the quotes have noticed the arsing great thing?

mind you it was only pointed out by my neighbor today...

 

[felixculpa81]

The minor movements of all structures sometimes cause brittle dpc's to crack thereby creating a path for wicking moisture. The slate and mortar dpc's in older brick homes are most likely to suffer, but tar and sand dpc's can also become brittle enough to crack.
from: http://www.archicentre.com.au/qa/buyers.html

feck.

 

[jbonding]

If you have a crack in the house the chances of water getting in are increased.

If you didnt ring them too look at a crack in your house they maybe didnt notice it but if youve got damp anyone worth their salt would of picked up on it unless they were only interested in selling you dampproof injection that doesnt work or make sense.

 

[Softus]

Woody the first to reply, said i need to paint the outside bricks and do not need to lower the path, and then subsequent gents got into some sort of cat fight over it.

There's a history to the cat fight that's irrelevant to this topic. Apologies for the distraction.

....bindweed.... massive crack going up the front of the house.....

maybe you should of mentioned this in the first place.

erm... would that crack be my root-cause right there?

Is the crack on the same wall of the house where you're seeing damp?

Shouldn't the people doing the quotes have noticed the arsing great thing?

Was it hidden by foliage?

 

[felixculpa81]

yes jbonding i thought that too - DPC companies just wanting to sell a product not really caring about the cause, and i've read the horror stories about the guarantees basically being worthless.



hello again Softus,

The crack is at the right hand side of the front wall,
damp readings in this area were at ok levels but as the crack passed through the line of the front door, and from below the door, i am not sure how this will influence anything. (hope this is making sense... it's late!)

The damp patches are on the front wall, but at the far left hand side.

And there is no foliage near to the house or on it.

 

[Chud]

What soil type are you on?

If you're on sandy soil it might be worth cutting the concrete at 12" from the wall and removing it, dig down 12" and install a french drain? Would be quicker than lowering the entire pathway.

If you're on clay then there's not much point...

 

[anobium]

You have still not told us if it is a cavity or solid wall, it could be very critical in identifying the cause of the dampness.
A photo of the brickwork would help together with, if possible a measurement of the thickness of the wall.
It's relatively simple just measure the thickness by the front door.
Oh and by the way could you tell us if you have timber suspended or solid floors downstairs, as this can also have a bearing on the cause of the dampness.
Sorry for the digression previously,

 

[felixculpa81]

Hello,
thanks for the replies again.

I am really not sure what soil type it is, the house is near the coast so would assume it is likely to be a sandy soil? But once you get down about 40cm it is very sticky and i would say it's clay...


Yes, it is a cavity wall, i shall have to measure the width of it once home on Monday.
There is cavity wall insulation, which was installed last year, I guess this could be bridging the gap.

you can see a photo of the external brick work here:

http://s113.photobucket.com/albums/n226/felixculpa81/?action=view&current=3cm.jpg

And the floor is wooden (and hollow) at the front of the house (where the problem is) but solid concrete at the back of the house. The wooden floor at the front is very well ventilated.

Thanks for all the help so far. [/b]

 

[JerryM]

with damp you really need to find the cause before treating.

i always mark the profile of the damp readings along the internal walls. if it's a relatively straight line not exceeding 1m then it's very likely to be rising damp. often you get spiky profiles which can be penetrating (blocked cavities) or a mixture of penetrating/rising.

from just the details provided i would play safe and tank the internal walls to 1.5m, render and skim. the path could then be left as is (the ht would need 6" /150mm to the dpc for a chemical dpc).

given your need for diy then the options become more limited in what is proven to work.

i've no experience of using plaster membrane. the special plaster would be of no help. my preference would be to try to find a suitable paint on membrane, render and skim (i don't know of a paint on other than what i use which is K11 through trade). i do use aquaproof successfully on small areas but this has problems in getting a good key for the render when used on large areas. maybe use this before the membrane but i'm not sure how the membrane is being held in place. use silicon in any holes drilled for plugs.

i am only not keen on the plaster membrane approach as it's effectively a dpm and will trap moisture "damp" on the face of the wall. as long as this moisture is trapped around the perimeter of the membrane then all is ok. the difficulty is achieving this in practise.

if there is a concrete floor then you also need to leave an air gap to the skim plaster typ 25mm to prevent potential bridging.

 

[Yanni]

One of the best DIY solutions is tanking the affected area as the last reply suggested.
Strip the affected area down to the brick. Mix 2 parts of cement with SBR solution to a creamy consistency and apply with brush the wall. Leave it to go tacky and apply a second layer. When second layer is still wet, mix 3:1 sharp sand/cement with SBR at 1:5 cement/SBR ratio.

Render the wall, you can use two layers of render 6mm each allow to dry for no more than 8 hours between coats. Scratch the surface. You can then multifinish on top, or best wait until render completely dries out and SBR or PVA the surface before skimming.

They are using this method for basements that are always wet.

Try also re pointing the bottom layer of the external wall as I see some cracking.

 

[Joe Malone]

Clearly the guy wants a pragmatic solution in light of the fact that he isn't yet able to lower external ground levels.

These are cases where it's very important to be clear about what constitutes management and what constitutes cure. The cure would be to lower external ground levels back to 150mm below dpc level, hack off the internal plaster and leave the wall dry out before replastering. There may be other problems but I'm going on what I've seen in the photograph.
The 150mm rule isn't just for rainsplash as suggested, it's also to ensure there's a free area below dpc level for wall base ventilation. Rainsplash has been recorded well above 150mm and in my opinion 150mm simply isn't enough. The management solution would be simply to hack off the plaster and use a waterproof render or limelite plaster to dam in the damp. To all intents and purposes it will give a dry wall finish but it will also push the damp further up the wall due to the fact that you'll severely hinder the evaporative process.
I've said before that you should never use waterproofing agents on wall exteriors, they also trap in the moisture and are a really bad idea.
These are the options, I'd go for cure every time but I'm aware this isn't always possible.