Next steps for damp front wall

S

SamG

New Member
Hi Folks,

After a bit of advice if possible - We have a relatively minor damp problem on the front wall of our house. It's 1860ish, solid 11 inch walls obviously originally finished in lime

When we came to decorate the front room once all the wallpaper was stripped off this wall was a pigs ear with a real mix of crap on it. Looks like someone had put up some kind of silver foil type paper. Don't know if this was meant to be some kind of damp proofing. There was then some sand and cement (I think) over the top and then badly skimmed. It was so bad I ended up taking the wall back to brick.

We had a few plasterers round to quote for doing the room who had different ideas as to what we should be doing. In the end we went with someone who convinced us there wasn't an obvious damp problem (To be fair there was no evidence of damp in the wall once everything was stripped off) and finished the wall in hardwall and multifinish.

Around 2-3 weeks after finishing the wall the damp started to come through and was steadily getting worse. Not major but we didn't want to leave it. So I bit the bullet and hacked it all back off.

My next course of action was to try and get some tanking slurry on it but the walls are such a mess (See attached picture) I've no idea how i'm going to get anything like a proper barrier unless I do a load of filling first. If I do this what should I be filling with? And what should be going over the top. Sand and Cement or some kind of renovating plaster? Can I go straight over the wall with renovating plaster without tanking slurry?

In terms of the causes, there are no major issues other than soil up to the front of the house which probably doesn't drain very well. There's no damp proof course.
34255


Just trying to get some opinions as to what's the best course of action. The guy we used originally used is not responding to us
:confused:

Any help appreciated. Thanks
 
SamG said:
Hi Folks,

After a bit of advice if possible - We have a relatively minor damp problem on the front wall of our house. It's 1860ish, solid 11 inch walls obviously originally finished in lime

When we came to decorate the front room once all the wallpaper was stripped off this wall was a pigs ear with a real mix of crap on it. Looks like someone had put up some kind of silver foil type paper. Don't know if this was meant to be some kind of damp proofing. There was then some sand and cement (I think) over the top and then badly skimmed. It was so bad I ended up taking the wall back to brick.

We had a few plasterers round to quote for doing the room who had different ideas as to what we should be doing. In the end we went with someone who convinced us there wasn't an obvious damp problem (To be fair there was no evidence of damp in the wall once everything was stripped off) and finished the wall in hardwall and multifinish.

Around 2-3 weeks after finishing the wall the damp started to come through and was steadily getting worse. Not major but we didn't want to leave it. So I bit the bullet and hacked it all back off.

My next course of action was to try and get some tanking slurry on it but the walls are such a mess (See attached picture) I've no idea how i'm going to get anything like a proper barrier unless I do a load of filling first. If I do this what should I be filling with? And what should be going over the top. Sand and Cement or some kind of renovating plaster? Can I go straight over the wall with renovating plaster without tanking slurry?

In terms of the causes, there are no major issues other than soil up to the front of the house which probably doesn't drain very well. There's no damp proof course. View attachment 34255

Just trying to get some opinions as to what's the best course of action. The guy we used originally used is not responding to us
:confused:

Any help appreciated. Thanks
Click to expand...

A photo from the outside will be more useful than the inside!
 
SamG said:
Hi Folks,

After a bit of advice if possible - We have a relatively minor damp problem on the front wall of our house. It's 1860ish, solid 11 inch walls obviously originally finished in lime

When we came to decorate the front room once all the wallpaper was stripped off this wall was a pigs ear with a real mix of crap on it. Looks like someone had put up some kind of silver foil type paper. Don't know if this was meant to be some kind of damp proofing. There was then some sand and cement (I think) over the top and then badly skimmed. It was so bad I ended up taking the wall back to brick.

We had a few plasterers round to quote for doing the room who had different ideas as to what we should be doing. In the end we went with someone who convinced us there wasn't an obvious damp problem (To be fair there was no evidence of damp in the wall once everything was stripped off) and finished the wall in hardwall and multifinish.

Around 2-3 weeks after finishing the wall the damp started to come through and was steadily getting worse. Not major but we didn't want to leave it. So I bit the bullet and hacked it all back off.

My next course of action was to try and get some tanking slurry on it but the walls are such a mess (See attached picture) I've no idea how i'm going to get anything like a proper barrier unless I do a load of filling first. If I do this what should I be filling with? And what should be going over the top. Sand and Cement or some kind of renovating plaster? Can I go straight over the wall with renovating plaster without tanking slurry?

In terms of the causes, there are no major issues other than soil up to the front of the house which probably doesn't drain very well. There's no damp proof course. View attachment 34255

Just trying to get some opinions as to what's the best course of action. The guy we used originally used is not responding to us
:confused:

Any help appreciated. Thanks
Click to expand...
Tanking slurry sand and cement your killing the wall if it’s been originally done with lime ? So why not lime plaster?
 
SamG said:
Hi Folks,

After a bit of advice if possible - We have a relatively minor damp problem on the front wall of our house. It's 1860ish, solid 11 inch walls obviously originally finished in lime

When we came to decorate the front room once all the wallpaper was stripped off this wall was a pigs ear with a real mix of crap on it. Looks like someone had put up some kind of silver foil type paper. Don't know if this was meant to be some kind of damp proofing. There was then some sand and cement (I think) over the top and then badly skimmed. It was so bad I ended up taking the wall back to brick.

We had a few plasterers round to quote for doing the room who had different ideas as to what we should be doing. In the end we went with someone who convinced us there wasn't an obvious damp problem (To be fair there was no evidence of damp in the wall once everything was stripped off) and finished the wall in hardwall and multifinish.

Around 2-3 weeks after finishing the wall the damp started to come through and was steadily getting worse. Not major but we didn't want to leave it. So I bit the bullet and hacked it all back off.

My next course of action was to try and get some tanking slurry on it but the walls are such a mess (See attached picture) I've no idea how i'm going to get anything like a proper barrier unless I do a load of filling first. If I do this what should I be filling with? And what should be going over the top. Sand and Cement or some kind of renovating plaster? Can I go straight over the wall with renovating plaster without tanking slurry?

In terms of the causes, there are no major issues other than soil up to the front of the house which probably doesn't drain very well. There's no damp proof course. View attachment 34255

Just trying to get some opinions as to what's the best course of action. The guy we used originally used is not responding to us
:confused:

Any help appreciated. Thanks
Click to expand...

Is there a fireplace in the room and do you have afire still?

Is there central heating?

Is there any ventilation such as trickle vents on the window etc?

Has the ground level outside been raised with a ew driveway etc?
 
Hi Folks, thanks for the input, it's very much appreciated. I'll get a photo externally in the morning.

We're redecorating the room. The radiators were off for a bit but I got them back on a few weeks ago. The window is a sash with reasonable ventilation. We've just had a solid fuel fireplace fitted with a new wall vent.

I have put heaters and fans on the wall which would make the damp areas dry out temporarily but the patches would always come back.

If it's condensation how long would you expect it to last before drying out with the heating on and proper ventilation in the room? I left it a good few weeks and it was only getting worse...

The wall doesn't appear damp at all. I have a cheapo Damp meter - I don't treat it as gospel but it seems capable of distinguishing between the damp walls I know we have downstairs 40%ish reading vs 0% reading upstairs - And it's picking up a bit of damp on the wall but not as bad as downstairs.

Ironically the plasterer I went with in the end I picked out as he had lime experience but he ended up talking me out of it... The problem for a layman like me is there's so much competing information out there it's hard to know what will work. We had 3 totally different recommendations from 3 different plasterers.
 
Here's the external wall. I think there's a bit of damp present. There's no air bricks in this side of the house. The new vent for the fire is just out of view on the right.
34281
 
Wall needs repointing in places with lime also get rid of the soil it looks to close to wall ? Maybe fancy gravel ? I’m no expert just guess work .
 
Bagrat said:
Wall needs repointing in places with lime also get rid of the soil it looks to close to wall ? Maybe fancy gravel ? I’m no expert just guess work .
Click to expand...
I’d go with this, get rid of all that soil and replace with gravel. I’m no expert either though
 
I can certainly dig that out and fill up with gravel but would still like to know what the best thing is on the other side. Something like the limelite or dryzone hi-lime?
 
Tinytom said:
Really? That’s a new one to me where would the condensation come from?
Click to expand...

Let me go find where I read it....

IO know when I was looking at heating options it came up like horrible storage heaters create more damp issues than you would expect
 
Danny said:
Let me go find where I read it....

IO know when I was looking at heating options it came up like horrible storage heaters create more damp issues than you would expect
Click to expand...

I'm gonna join the "I'M NO EXPERT BUT...." gang.

Condensation happens when warm air collides with a cool surface. I'm no expert but I do know that one for fact.

9 times out of 10, if you've got 1 damp wall in a room, it's an external wall. Often it might well be because there is rain or moisture coming through the outside because of a problem with the pointing, the render, soil up against the wall, etc.

However it can also just be that because it's an external facing wall, it's significantly colder than the other walls in the room. So any warm air in the room is drawn to that wall and you get condensation on it.

That's why it's better to put the radiator on an external wall and why you often see them under the window. Warm air is drawn to the coolest part of the room and if it's that much cooler than the rest it condenses on it.

@SamG you have lots of helpful suggestions from others about external problems. Like moving the soil away from the wall, etc and repointing with lime. But that wall does look bone dry in the pictures so if you are still having issues with the damp spots after all that maybe condensation is actually your issue and you could to look at keeping the wall warmer as your solution. Radiator on that wall and/or some kind of insulation possibly? Have you ever noticed drops of moisture forming on it or running down the wall?
 
cornsack said:
I'm gonna join the "I'M NO EXPERT BUT...." gang.

Condensation happens when warm air collides with a cool surface. I'm no expert but I do know that one for fact.

9 times out of 10, if you've got 1 damp wall in a room, it's an external wall. Often it might well be because there is rain or moisture coming through the outside because of a problem with the pointing, the render, soil up against the wall, etc.

However it can also just be that because it's an external facing wall, it's significantly colder than the other walls in the room. So any warm air in the room is drawn to that wall and you get condensation on it.

That's why it's better to put the radiator on an external wall and why you often see them under the window. Warm air is drawn to the coolest part of the room and if it's that much cooler than the rest it condenses on it.

@SamG you have lots of helpful suggestions from others about external problems. Like moving the soil away from the wall, etc and repointing with lime. But that wall does look bone dry in the pictures so if you are still having issues with the damp spots after all that maybe condensation is actually your issue and you could to look at keeping the wall warmer as your solution. Radiator on that wall and/or some kind of insulation possibly? Have you ever noticed drops of moisture forming on it or running down the wall?
Click to expand...

If it's a condensation issue it will begin in the corners as a rule.
 
cornsack said:
I'm gonna join the "I'M NO EXPERT BUT...." gang.

Condensation happens when warm air collides with a cool surface. I'm no expert but I do know that one for fact.

9 times out of 10, if you've got 1 damp wall in a room, it's an external wall. Often it might well be because there is rain or moisture coming through the outside because of a problem with the pointing, the render, soil up against the wall, etc.

However it can also just be that because it's an external facing wall, it's significantly colder than the other walls in the room. So any warm air in the room is drawn to that wall and you get condensation on it.

That's why it's better to put the radiator on an external wall and why you often see them under the window. Warm air is drawn to the coolest part of the room and if it's that much cooler than the rest it condenses on it.

@SamG you have lots of helpful suggestions from others about external problems. Like moving the soil away from the wall, etc and repointing with lime. But that wall does look bone dry in the pictures so if you are still having issues with the damp spots after all that maybe condensation is actually your issue and you could to look at keeping the wall warmer as your solution. Radiator on that wall and/or some kind of insulation possibly? Have you ever noticed drops of moisture forming on it or running down the wall?
Click to expand...
Essays FFS I stopped reading and nodded off somewhere in the middle of this IL read rest tomorrow now got headache!
 
think you would have been better to have gone with lime plaster instead of gypsum based plaster
paint wall with breathable paint too (like earthborn clay paint)

outside ....check condition of pointing ....if its been done in cement then rake out and replace with a lime mortar .....nhl3.5/sand mix
if it is lime mortar...check condition and take a view on repair or replace ...

martin
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top