House built 1751 - Rising Damp

ryby30

Hijklmn byhhy

AskAsk

You could get a quote from a damp proof company for treating that.

Homer_home

What's the floor on both sides of that internal wall , suspended or concrete?

Any chance of some pics of the gable end from outside including the ground?

FreeBear

AskAsk said: You could get a quote from a damp proof company for treating that.

And being a listed building, any work carried out must be approved by the local conservation officer or you risk a criminal prosecution. Injected DPC and waterproof render/plaster will be rejected (and quite rightly too) - If one of these snake oil salesmen damp proof surveyors tells you otherwise, apply a large steel toe capped boot to his posterior, and perhaps a two by four clue bat to the back of the head.

DO NOT have injected DPC or waterproof render/plaster done.

Find an independent surveyor with extensive experience of old (and listed) buildings without any connection to the Property Care Association (PCA) or any damp & timber treatment company. There are a few out there, and it will cost you a bit of money, but in the long term, it will be money wisely spent.

The concrete floor may in fact be limecrete depending on when it was put in - Ask the vendors about it. If they don't know, it can be tested for cement content.

Apodemus

The surface of that wall looks very smooth, so I would start by investigating whether it has been replastered in something modern that is preventing the moisture being released into the atmosphere.

ryby30

Homer_home said:

What's the floor on both sides of that internal wall , suspended or concrete?

Any chance of some pics of the gable end from outside including the ground?

One side is concrete and the other is suspended. There is approximately 8inchs in height difference between the wooden and concrete. The concrete is the lower floor. The outside is then at least a foot lower than the concrete floor.

ryby30

Apodemus said:

The surface of that wall looks very smooth, so I would start by investigating whether it has been replastered in something modern that is preventing the moisture being released into the atmosphere.

I would be 100% certain that this wall has been replastered at some point in the early 90’s.

Doozergirl

Please would you post us a photo of the gable wall from outside?  The whole thing if possible.  

What are the ground conditions like out there? 

What is the room used for?  Does it have windows?  It looks dark (of course, it could have been dark outside) 

What's behind you in that photo?  

ryby30

Doozergirl said:

Please would you post us a photo of the gable wall from outside?  The whole thing if possible.  

What are the ground conditions like out there? 

What is the room used for?  Does it have windows?  It looks dark (of course, it could have been dark outside) 

I’ll get an outside picture today and post. Outside has an old concrete footpath approximately 300mm lower than the floor level in this room. The room has been used as a utility and a toilet. It has one large window. There had been a downpipe partially damaged at the corner of the house, I’m certain water would have penetrated from this. There is also an external boundary wall which is tied into the outer skin of brick on the house, this will also be allowing water to penetrate. However the damp seems heavily concentrated on this adjoining internal wall.  

daveyjp

Apodemus said:

The surface of that wall looks very smooth, so I would start by investigating whether it has been replastered in something modern that is preventing the moisture being released into the atmosphere.

Exactly this.  Looks like an old house which has been 'modernised' without understanding or appreciating the original construction and modern materials aren't appropriate.

It needs looking at by a historic buildings architect or surveyor.

ryby30

Doozergirl said:

Please would you post us a photo of the gable wall from outside?  The whole thing if possible.  

What are the ground conditions like out there? 

What is the room used for?  Does it have windows?  It looks dark (of course, it could have been dark outside) 

What's behind you in that photo?  

** directly behind me is the back door to the house. I have seen previous old properties having poorly fitted external doors which have allowed water to gradually soak the floor and over time this has caused rising damp.

* I am a building contractor myself.