Damp

SallyDucati

FreeBear wrote: »

That's a relief then. For future reference just in case there is an old pond in the garden - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2636903/updated-its-done-our-buyer-wants-to-bury-their-dead-dog-in-our-garden

Just had a quick look at this thread. That's my evening entertainment sorted when I get home!

FreeBear

RelievedSheff wrote: »

It just needs time.

Around one month for each inch of wall thickness - The average brick is 4" thick, so four months should be enough. You won't need to worry so much about the outer leaf. Heating the room will speed up the drying process, how much will depend on the temperature.

Skiddaw1

SallyDucati wrote: »

Just had a quick look at this thread. That's my evening entertainment sorted when I get home!

It's super isn't it?

olgadapolga

Just a bit of an update - the wall finally dried out enough to get it plastered, with the aid of a dehumidifier and a heater (and the associated costs of those!).

But the tale did not end there, oh no. No, no, no.

DH got a builder friend of his to plaster it. It looked quite good until the plaster dried out and promptly fell off the wall. I almost cried. I've been living in a building site since July last year, my children were studying for their GCSES and I'd had just about enough.

I got hold of another plasterer who just managed to do it before the UK went into lockdown. 

This time, the plaster stayed on the wall, has dried and been painted. It looks good and I am very happy with it.



But now I cannot get any carpet . . . so we decided to start on the garden. Hired a skip and we began to clear the mess that is supposed to be a garden.

My goodness, the previous occupants were completely MAD.

It's a detached house, and down one side had been used as a glory hole. Floor tiles, broken floor tiles, plastic bags, random bricks, a fence panel, three water butts, a composter, bike frames, a wheel-less wheelbarrow, a bed frame, you name it, it was there. Along with a random tree and Virginia Creepers ( which contributed to the damp). Got rid of it all and found a rather large hole at the edge of the foundations which will need to be dealt with.

The creeper is something else though. Horrible, horrible stuff, everywhere. The roots are thick and tangled. Had to dig up half of the paving slabs in the garden to uproot the things. The previous occupants planted them all around the house and the plant is all over the place (the previous owners had made round holes in paving slabs, planted the creepers in the holes and put ornate plant pots over the top to make it look as though the plants were in pots when they were actually in the ground). We have nicknamed the creeper "Nagini" as in places it's curled up and looks like a snake. A huge snake that just won't die. Where's Neville Longbottom when you need him? But there are other creeper plants as well and so much IVY. I hate ivy. There are also about fifteen Leylandii, which I also detest, so that's all going to have to go as the ivy has matted into the Leylandii and it looks terrible (the Leylandii has all died anyway).

Then we start on the back garden. Guess what? There's a pond, or what's left of it! The retaining wall is falling over so we decide that the pond has to go. Dig all of the rubbish out, including rubble, dirt, mud, polystyrene skulls, candle lamps, you name it, it was there. Take up the first liner. Then the second. And the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh. Yes, seven liners in all. Interspaced with all sorts of junk, empty grow bags, plastic bottles, plastic plant pots - it was like a small refuse dump.

Then I found . . . 



A BAG FOR LIFE



Oh no, no, no.  Told DH to be careful as there may be a deceased animal under the carpet lining the pond...

I think that we got away with it though, as it was a bag from Pets at Home, not Tesco. Not that we've dug much further; the plan is to fill the hole in now we've removed the bits of carpet and a very wet duvet. Thankfully it was a single duvet and not a king-size as that would have been a nightmare to shift. And the smell! Stomach churning...

Large skip is now full and we have only scratched the surface with the garden. I am going to have to order another, even bigger skip to deal with the Leylandii.

And I'm still living in a building site. But it won't be forever (I have to keep telling myself this, else I'll lose the plot entirely). And the garden is looking better. Lots of birds to watch and listen to

FreeBear

olgadapolga said:

Then we start on the back garden. Guess what? There's a pond, or what's left of it!

Then I found . . . 

A BAG FOR LIFE

:

There just had to be one somewhere !

You have plenty of time at the moment to get the garden sorted, and when you are done, it will be a very nice family home.

olgadapolga

Hmmm, it appears, from a conversation DH had with a neighbour (over the fence and at a safe distance from each other; DH was up a tree at the time) that the previous occupants had a bit of a thing for burying stuff. So we may come across a dog yet. Or maybe just a few more bags for life . . .

The neighbour also mentioned that the old owner's wife disappeared before he put the house up for sale. Not sure what to make of THAT disclosure

Slithery

olgadapolga said:

It's a detached house, and down one side had been used as a glory hole.

You obviously have a different definition of 'glory hole' than the one I know...

[Deleted User]

Slithery said:

olgadapolga said:

It's a detached house, and down one side had been used as a glory hole.

You obviously have a different definition of 'glory hole' than the one I know...

I thought that wall looked familiar

FreeBear

olgadapolga said: The neighbour also mentioned that the old owner's wife disappeared before he put the house up for sale. Not sure what to make of THAT disclosure

Do you have a nice new patio ?

olgadapolga

FreeBear said:

olgadapolga said: The neighbour also mentioned that the old owner's wife disappeared before he put the house up for sale. Not sure what to make of THAT disclosure

Do you have a nice new patio ?

Actually, there is quite a nice paved area at the bottom of the garden near the pond. It's a bit random as it's situated in an odd place. I'd planned to put my greenhouse there temporarily, until we can clear where the greenhouse will be permanently sited. I see no reason to dig it up...