Old cottage - damp walls

sue_balu

My 200+ yr old cottage has solid (no cavity) walls some in stone and some in brick. I have just stripped vinyl wallpaper off a downstairs living room (installed by last owner) to find a variety of surfaces: some original lime & horsehair plaster, some obvious patches of something that looks like cement-based plaster, some wooden patches!:eek:
I had hoped to paint the room with some old-fashioned Farrow and Ball type emulsion paint.
Some of the surfaces are crumbly and some parts feel quite damp.Maybe it will dry out without vinyl wallpaper over it all!
Because of the stone/brick solid walls its not possible to have a damp proof course and I've been advised the chemical injected products are a waste of money.
I think I would prefer a non-chemical traditional fix and am not averse to letting the house get damp and dry out naturally like the they always did in the past.
Should I have the whole room re-plastered in lime plaster before painting or will it be unsatisfactory or expensive and ineffective (in providing a decent decorative finish) I dont want it to look "perfect" just acceptable and not too much of a bodge.
Has anyone got any experience/suggestions to share?
p.s. I havent got much left in the budget for this room and dont know much about DIY obviously! .

nickj_2

first check the outside walls for obvious signs of damp ie green patches on brickwork , and also make sure any guttering and downpies are clear and not leaking , you can hire a dehumidifier to draw out any moisture from the inside if it is too damp , once you have got the damp sorted out you can then get the room replastered

montrose5

If you want permanant damproofing you will need 'electro-osmosis'. Can't remember the technical stuff but they run low voltage wires round the walls and the damp is drawn out. There should be a few good damp course companies that do it.

martindow

If it is fairly minor rising damp and there are no obvious sources lke leaking gutters, use porous not vinyl paints and just live with it. If it is more than you want to stand or is getting worse there are firms that will deal with it using tanking. We had a house built into a hill side up to first floor level which was very damp. To cure the damp the plaster was removed and layers of slurry like cement mixture were painted on to the wall and it was then replastered. I'm not sure what it was but it did a good job. This is apparently often used on cellar walls. You have to remember not to drill holes in the wall to put up pictures afterwards!

rsvtoddy

we've just had the electro-osmosis type fitted to our yorkshire stone/brick cottage - seems to be working so far!

Debt_Free_Chick

sue_balu wrote:

I think I would prefer a non-chemical traditional fix and am not averse to letting the house get damp and dry out naturally like the they always did in the past.

It could be that the vinyl wallpaper has been trapping the damp - effectively, making the walls sweat :eek:

I'd be inclined to leave the room and see if it dries out naturally. If it does, then I'd use a limewash and not paint, so that the walls continue to breathe.

Consider getting a surveyor with real specialist knowledge in to advise you on what to do. It might cost a couple of hundred quid, but it could save you money in the long run, if you know the right way to treat the property. And it could add value over time.

The original builders of this property knew about damp and constructed the house accordingly. You simply need to know what they intended (hence the suggestion of a surveyor). I wouldn't add any modern damp proofing without understanding the original construction of the property.

sue_balu

rsvtoddy wrote:

we've just had the electro-osmosis type fitted to our yorkshire stone/brick cottage - seems to be working so far!

Thanks for that - its interesting, I'll do some more research.
May I ask if the whole of your house has had this - or just one room? And would you please be willing to say how much it cost?

rsvtoddy

The whole ground floor was done.

I can't tell you how much it cost as it was done by the insurance company after the house was flooded with a couple of feet of water in last years floods.

It does come with a 30 year gaurantee though!

sue_balu

rsvtoddy wrote:

The whole ground floor was done.

I can't tell you how much it cost as it was done by the insurance company after the house was flooded with a couple of feet of water in last years floods.

It does come with a 30 year gaurantee though!

What interior finish Do you have now? lime plastered or plasterboard/modern plaster or something else?
How long after the installation could you finish redecs?

Sorry to ask so much, only it sounds like this could be the solution for my cottage too.

Many Thanks

rsvtoddy

It's been finished off with normal plaster and then painted with emulsion.

It was painted as soon as the plaster had dried out. The wire (titanium I think) runs round the whole of the ground floor and is plugged in to the mains for its power, which must be left on all the time. I have no idea how much power it's consuming but it's only a small dc transformer feeding it!

Please ask as many questions as you want (I'm away till the weekend in case you need any technical answers!)

Mark

weekendwarrior

electro osmosis is much better than a chemical dpc and will work on walls that are three feet thick.

I have had it installed in three houses now and it is great.