Old cottage - damp walls

knightrider_2

I have some small amount of damp in my 1800's cottage but only on the West side, i.e weather facing wall. From all my research I would offer the following advice: -

- don't (always) believe experts i.e. Damp Proofing companies and dont install DPC.

-remove the skirting and ensure the plaster doesnt go all the way to the floor. If it does remove 75mm all the way round.

-check the paint, wallpaper and plaster type is correct for a stone cottage i.e. breathable.

-check the outside wall is pointed properly and gutters, downpipes are not overflowing.

That said i think there will always be some damp in stone cottages and as long as it is not too bad and not above the first metre on the ground floor it isnt really anything to be concerned about. But that is only my personal opinion and others may argue otherwise.

firbyfred

knightrider wrote:

I have some small amount of damp in my 1800's cottage but only on the West side, i.e weather facing wall. From all my research I would offer the following advice: -

- don't (always) believe experts i.e. Damp Proofing companies and dont install DPC.

-remove the skirting and ensure the plaster doesnt go all the way to the floor. If it does remove 75mm all the way round.

-check the paint, wallpaper and plaster type is correct for a stone cottage i.e. breathable.

-check the outside wall is pointed properly and gutters, downpipes are not overflowing.

That said i think there will always be some damp in stone cottages and as long as it is not too bad and not above the first metre on the ground floor it isnt really anything to be concerned about. But that is only my personal opinion and others may argue otherwise.

using lime mortars to point the exterior and lime plaster for the inside walls encourages the walls to breath, pointing and plastering with cement only traps the damp in.
I work as a builder for a large conservation organisation and we use lime mortars all the time, the use of lime mortars in buildings is on the increase and there is a lot of lime workshops around the country promoting the use of lime mortars and many owners with similar problems/properties attend these courses to help them with their projects.

Kaz2904

Another thing that could be causing the problem is if you have a patio or something around the outside of the wall. This can take the exterior level above the original slate damp proof course hence the damp. The way round this is to dig a french drain. If you search this on google you should find a site that has quite comprehensive instructions for digging one.

jere_2

Hope someone can help. I want to dig a French drain next to my damp 200+ year old stone cottage. I‘ve looked up how to do this, but can’t find anywhere how close I should dig it to the cottage Should it be as near to my cottage wall as possible? And should I build a retaining wall along the trench? Also I have another problem, to get to this side of the cottage I have to go around a corner through a 35 inch gap next to a garage, into the side garden which is about 12 ft wide and the length of the cottage. Can I have the French drain going round the corner to a soak away or does it have to be straight? What is the minimum a soak away should be from the cottage? I would be grateful for any advice.