Damp solutions. Advice needed from the experts please!

[RMK]

A mate of mine has just bought a solid stone cottage. The survey highlighted a small amount of damp on the external walls.
The house has had a chemical damp course installed, but the guarantee for which has nearly expired.
The current walls have been plastered with an artex plaster. He wants the job doing right and i happy to rip the lot off and give the room a re-vamp.
I would like you guys to give me some advice about what options i have now, and more importantly the financial implications each system would have.

Option 1- hack off all original plaster, put in new chemical damp course, plaster back with limelite plaster (done this before-but only up to 1.2m high) Limelite plaster is never cheap, and the stone walls will be all over, so...

Option 2- hack off all original plaster, put in new chemical damp course, then throw up a gyp-liner false cavity, insulate, and then maybe board with foil back boards? This would help with the potential re-wiring he may/may not be having.

Any other options you can suggest are welcome, or if you guys know of any websites with a step by step guide showing which products to use etc, that would be great. I have covered some areas involving damp/rising damp in the past working for the old building company, but rarely come across it these days, but would like to do more of it in the future, hence why it is so important this job is done right!

Also, would i be able to use the original damp course holes to inject the new stuff in to?

Many Thanks

 

[flynnyman]

No point goin into the original holes coz it never worked the first time so wont work the second time and in my opinion doesnt work at all. "The survey highlighted a small amount of damp on the external walls." what was causing this? If you have got building control involved it might be worth looking at a previous thread on insulating walls before you start hacking off all the old plaster, someone will point you too it i cant be arsed looking. A couple of questions, how long has the property been empty? Have new windows been fitted? what is the roof like? Is there any heating? is there any vents?

 

[Chris W]

mmmmmmm..

flynnys right... too many variables, youve only got some surveyors word that theres 'damp' in the sense that its not just moisture youd expect to find there for any number of reasons..

old stone cottages dont take well to injection damp proofing.. the system really relies on a uniform solid structure and old stone cottages tend to be built from rubble and whatever lying around (well the bits you cant see anyway)...

electro osmosis is reckoned to 'sometimes' work in these situations or theres a process they call 'injection mortar' which basically involves pouring what is essentially an sbr slurry down a funnel into a 12mm hole drilled at an angle into the stonework.... repeat until sick of it..

damp diagnosis is all about finding the cause, not treating the symptoms...

hacking the walls of might be a tad more difficult than you imagine... if theyve rendered it back up with 3:1+waterproofer its gonna be like f'cking cast iron to get off..

I'd just live in it for a wee while, see what it does, draw a pencil line round any water marks and see if they dry out in dry weather and increase in wet weather..

treat amy mildew with bleach, that cillit bang with bleach is brilliant stuff... top tip for others reading this - it gets the mildew off a treat and doesnt half clean grout lines in tiles... give it a shot, you wont be dissapointed..

and of course, ventilation - keep your house well ventilated and observe anywhere you suspect of being 'damp' first thing in a morning or just after the showers had some heavy use, or the washing machine etc...

cold surfaces will allow moisture to condense on them, condensation comes from within a building, not from outside unless of course its colder inside than it is outside..

and yes, forget the old drill holes, bad idea trying to inject silicon into it anyway, they must have used shitloads of fluid... :RpS_blink:

 

[RMK]

Ok. No worries. Will assess the situation when he moves in next week.
As you say it could be a ventilation issue etc. Will reply to this post again when I know more. Going to borrow a damp meter and test the house myself. Will report back with results.
Thanks again.
RMK

 

[flynnyman]

forget the damp meter they are a load of b*ll***s aswell doesnt matter what you put it on it will be damp, well thats appart from spunkys old lady

 

[RMK]

Ok, no damp meter then. How do you check for damp then???

The problem I've got is that he doesn't want the 'advisory action for damp proofing' flagging up on the survey when he comes to sell the house. He'd rather get the lot sorted in one go.

I hate surveyors!!!!!!! Advisory action my backside!!

 

[warriorupnorth]

Ok, no damp meter then. How do you check for damp then???

The problem I've got is that he doesn't want the 'advisory action for damp proofing' flagging up on the survey when he comes to sell the house. He'd rather get the lot sorted in one go.

I hate surveyors!!!!!!! Advisory action my backside!!

You can take small samples from affected areas and send them to a reputable Company and they will tell you if it's rising damp or not (due to the amount of sulphates that migrate upwards from ground level etc) if it's not rising damp and is condensation then think about fitting a positive pressure system, but has been mentioned there are a lot of variables and all these need to be investigated first

 

[Chris W]

any remedial treatment you carry out will be worthless without a guarantee when it comes to sell the house..

 

[flynnyman]

Ok, no damp meter then. How do you check for damp then???

The problem I've got is that he doesn't want the 'advisory action for damp proofing' flagging up on the survey when he comes to sell the house. He'd rather get the lot sorted in one go.

I hate surveyors!!!!!!! Advisory action my backside!!

in my opinion with your eyes and nose