Little advice please?

[ritman4]

Hi im a first year Surveying student at University and we had to survey a building, But ive hit a snag and was wondering if any1 here could advice me on a few of these problems.

Around the Bottom of the exterior wall theres a concrete skirting? covering the bottom 4-5 brick courses. ITs breaking and wearing away and From what ive learnt is that this can cause rising damp by acting as a moisture bridge.


Would i advice that it be removed or just to repair?

Also the Timber Vents on the roof of the stable are wearing, would i recomend they reapply the finishing or replace the timber vents?



And finally there is what looks to me to be a over flow pipe which has rusted along with damaging the vent beneath it.
What would i recomend for this?



I know this forum isnt really for this, but im quite desperate for help and only have today to finish the Coursework And we havent really been taught How to carry out or identify Faults.

Anyways Thank you to any1 how can shed some light

 

[wavetrain]

My 1928 house has such a 'skirt'. I call it a plinth, but I don't know the correct name. If you remove it you reveal the ugly common bricks and slate DPC formed from multi layers of slate. Its purpose is to conceal the rough slate DPC and to weatherproof the common bricks.

Yes it does bridge the DPC, but the DPC is not perfect anyway as the seperate slates do not form a continous damp proof seal. I would repair it with 3:1 sand cement plus the best waterproof additive you can find.

What do others think?

 

[hotrod]

I think the OP would learn and retain far more knowledge about building defects by getting himself down to the university library and actually reading about the subject.

The idea of being spoon fed information isn't what a degree is about - it's about researching and learning for yourself. Which is precisely what the OP should do. Giving him the answers is not helping him.

You will have a reading list - use it. If you want some suggestions on books to buy, post back and the guys on here will advise.

 

[ritman4]

Thnx for the Advice Wavetrain i was also leaning towards that too. I dont really know what its called either jus chose skirt cos its the only way i could think of to describe it

@ Hotrod, i get what your saying. I have been down to the library to check this stuff out, even checked out a few books. But its still pretty hard because i dont know much of the technical terms and names to even know where to start for alot of defects.

 

[^woody^]

The skirt concept is not perfect, but it has been there for a long time, and the issue seems to be just one of repair, rather than trying to deal with a definite damp problem, in which case re-rendering it with a suitable render would be most appropriate

If you remove it, then there are problems with deciding what to do with the poor brickwork behind it

So unless there is a damp problem to be addressed, just repair it

For the vents, if the timber is not rotten then you can just redecorate with a suitable exterior grade paint. Otherwise new timber needs to be spliced in

The location of the vents means that a scaffold and and lot of time (and expense) is involved, so it's not worth doing a job which wont last. In addition it might be worth considering complete replacement with a maintenance free solution - UPVC or metal

For the pipe and vent, they look like cast iron, so it would be best to just rub them down and recoat with a suitable paint. But if the pipe has been dripping, then identify the casue and remedy that (ball valve?)

Next time don't leave it till the last minute!

 

[investigator]

Hi im a first year Surveying student at University and we had to survey a building, But ive hit a snag and was wondering if any1 here could advice me on a few of these problems.

Around the Bottom of the exterior wall theres a concrete skirting? covering the bottom 4-5 brick courses. ITs breaking and wearing away and From what ive learnt is that this can cause rising damp by acting as a moisture bridge.


Would i advice that it be removed or just to repair?

Also the Timber Vents on the roof of the stable are wearing, would i recomend they reapply the finishing or replace the timber vents?



And finally there is what looks to me to be a over flow pipe which has rusted along with damaging the vent beneath it.
What would i recomend for this?



I know this forum isnt really for this, but im quite desperate for help and only have today to finish the Coursework And we havent really been taught How to carry out or identify Faults.

Anyways Thank you to any1 how can shed some light

The render at the bottom should be removed, it is not doing anything just making matters worst, most likely put there by a cowboy builder. (plinths are normally done this way as long as there is rendering above main wall and bell created at dpc)

At the front is protruding bricks which could be covered with lead, form a mortar/concrete slop to allow water to be sent away from the wall.

The pipe i would remove and replace with a plastic one also replace the vent while up there to plastic.

The roof vent i would check to see if it needed rubbing down and re painting but im not a joiner.

 

[ritman4]

The skirt concept is not perfect, but it has been there for a long time, and the issue seems to be just one of repair, rather than trying to deal with a definite damp problem, in which case re-rendering it with a suitable render would be most appropriate

If you remove it, then there are problems with deciding what to do with the poor brickwork behind it

So unless there is a damp problem to be addressed, just repair it

For the vents, if the timber is not rotten then you can just redecorate with a suitable exterior grade paint. Otherwise new timber needs to be spliced in

The location of the vents means that a scaffold and and lot of time (and expense) is involved, so it's not worth doing a job which wont last. In addition it might be worth considering complete replacement with a maintenance free solution - UPVC or metal

For the pipe and vent, they look like cast iron, so it would be best to just rub them down and recoat with a suitable paint. But if the pipe has been dripping, then identify the casue and remedy that (ball valve?)

Next time don't leave it till the last minute!

Great Post!
The pipe and vent is what i was most stuck on. I assumed that replacing them would be the only option but i think recoating them would be better becuase i dont know if the building will be there for much longer.
I belive the pipe must have been some sort of overflow. Althought the the building is no longer in use (Its a stable) so leaking wont be a problem.

Yeah leaving it last minute was a bad mistake but had no choice.
But HAPPYILY enought im pretty much finished!!

Just need some 1to comfirm these two things which im not 100% on.
This is Leeching right? and could just be washed off.



And this Looks quite cool (same building). I recommend that they remove the plant maybe the surrounding bricks too and treat the area with some sort of weed killer. (left it as "treat the area")



I cant investigate further into the cause because i dont have the gear and we could only visit once. Almost finished!

 

[ritman4]

At the front is protruding bricks which could be covered with lead, form a mortar/concrete slop to allow water to be sent away from the wall.

Uve just thrown a whole new concept at me. Ill need to investigate into this but it does Sound expensive.

The pipe i would remove and replace with a plastic one also replace the vent while up there to plastic.

Im with you on the Vents, should be cheaper and easier than resurfacing and painting it. As its a Grade 2 listed building think i might have to check if we can.

 

[investigator]

At the front is protruding bricks which could be covered with lead, form a mortar/concrete slop to allow water to be sent away from the wall.

Uve just thrown a whole new concept at me. Ill need to investigate into this but it does Sound expensive.

The pipe i would remove and replace with a plastic one also replace the vent while up there to plastic.

Im with you on the Vents, should be cheaper and easier than resurfacing and painting it. As its a Grade 2 listed building think i might have to check if we can.

Silicone

Being a listed building shouldnt be a problem as there is not really any structural alterations, is it your own home or a course you are doing?

The cement/concrete on dpc would have to be removed as repiaring would be an annual thing due to water getting behind it all the time, the bricks behind should be ok as i said the water would have made the cement detach from the wall, a hammer and chisel would just need a little tap for it fall away.

 

[Nige F]

The wall is Leaching ( leeches are for medical students) . the pipe is iron barrel and maybe the socket on it could be unscrewed and an elbow fitted so any overflow would not run down the wall - but you may have found in your survey that it is indeed redundant - good luck to you , If I`d got more than 2 O levels I`d have gone for surveying or Architect - And Uni would have been free in `73