Damp Course

Glam

Mad Cat Woman
Right, this year I am hoping to sort the house out a bit more than I have the last 13 years.
As you all know, I'm not really good at explaining stuff, but I'll give it a go.
One of the things needed is a damp course. This house/home was built in 1890, it is old, doesn't look like it's loved, but it is.
I've been told that the walls need to be 'tanked'. Have bitchamen (int that tar?) spread over the walls, then plaster put on top.
Will this cause more work in the future, or is it ok to use on a home this old? Last thing I need is to spend a fortune having it done, then 5 years down the line, find out it's caused more damage than needed.
Please don't use technical jargon, i'm far from stupid, but would like stuff explained in a way that's easy to understand.
 

proactive

Enjoying a drop of red.
To be honest, I think you ought to be getting people round to look at the place and give you a professional (and insurance backed) opinion of what you should do, rather than relying on the vagaries of forum opinion as and when they start appearing.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Old houses don't suit modern building techniques. Rather than tanking, getting rid of cement plaster and render is likely to do a much better job.

Lindisfarne is a good case study.
Modern (draught-proof) windows and doors, plus balanced flue heating appliances also contribute to a considerable reduction in natural moisture removal that the house would have automatically had in the old days of sash windows and open fires.

Find somebody who had been in a similar situation and has had these matters improved sufficiently, then consult the person who did the work for them.
 

Thehooperman

Well-Known Forumite
Will the neighbouring piling marathon have any impact on any works you're planning?

I'm not a builder but I would expect some problems with plaster settling if there are huge vibrations going through the house.

We had huge problems with plaster settling in a new build we bought in Sheffield and they blamed that on the builder's traffic passing whilst building the rest of the estate.
 

Lucy

Well-Known Forumite
We have damp, but we live in an 18th century house rendered and plastered in concrete. We have had damp proof specialists round who took a measurement of the moisture in the plaster and said we needed a new damp proof course.

Instead we got the rid of the tar paint round the edge of the external walls and lime plastered inside which has helped massively. We need to get the whole house lime rendered at some point.

I also make sure I open windows every day.
 

littleme

250,000th poster!
Will the neighbouring piling marathon have any impact on any works you're planning?

I'm not a builder but I would expect some problems with plaster settling if there are huge vibrations going through the house.

We had huge problems with plaster settling in a new build we bought in Sheffield and they blamed that on the builder's traffic passing whilst building the rest of the estate.
Yes, I would wait till all the work across the Rd is finished, but no harm looking at solutions & costings in the mean time.
 

ben0239

Well-Known Forumite
Lucy is exactly right.

You don’t need a damp proof course and anybody tells you that you do are either a salesman or do not understand houses.

Damp proof courses are generally a uk phenomenon with many European countries and the USA not bothering with them.

The rationale for a dpc is to prevent rising damp however rics and others are now disputing whether rising damp is even a thing.

For houses that have damp proof courses the building research establishment state that dpc only fail in 1 in 50000 cases so many of the cases where you see houses with an injected dpc have been done so needlessly and residents have been conned by a dodgy peter cox salesman.

injected dpc are largely useless. The silicon is pumped in but it is not always possible to get a continuous barrier so there are gaps in the dpc and furthermore the installers have created large holes in your brickwork which allow water to penetrate.


My advice to you is to stay well clear of a so called damp specialist. Those idiots will come round with a moisture meter which work by measuring conductivity in a material. The idiot will then press into all manner of materials and tell you that you have 90 percent damp in your walls etc. Complete nonsense.
1. He should be calibrating the meter as he moves to different materials which they never do
2 it is not an accurate tool to measure dampness.

The best way to measure if you have damp walls is to do a carbide test. This works by drilling into your wall and ignoring the first 5mm of plaster and then measuring the moisture content of the next 5mm. This will give an accurate result.
Anyone who visits you with a moisture meter is not a specialist and you should avoid at all costs.

What you need to do is remove all modern inappropriate building materials from your property ie plastic paint on your render (if you have any),gypsum plaster on your walls etc etc. These modern materials trap moisture in your walls. Revert back to traditional materials such as lime plaster and lime paint. Do not tank your walls there is simply no need. No such thing as rising damp. If you don’t believe me look at any brick wall in town that is submerged in water in town do you see any capillary action moving water up to a depth of 1.2m....... no you will not.

Chech other things such as the height of the outside ground levels etc do they bridge your existing dpc, are your gutters and down pipes discharging correctly etc do you have sufficient ventilation in your property to remove excess moisture. Home owners in recent years have become obsessed with making their houses warmer and filling up all gaps (chimneys, windows, vents etc) and now wonder they have problems with too much moisture in their homes.

Make sure your vents are unblocked and you have a sufficient number, remove excess moisture from your home etc.

If in any doubt look at the royal institute of chartered surveyors website or speak to a rics surveyor. Do not waste your time on a pca Damp specialist. A pca qualification is a weeks course on how to use a moisture meter. Seek out an actual professional who understands damp.
Also look on you tube there are some excellent videos made by building surveyors on damp and wally damp proof specialists.
 

ben0239

Well-Known Forumite
Yes, I would wait till all the work across the Rd is finished, but no harm looking at solutions & costings in the mean time.

if you are referring to Swar project, staffs county council and Amey our huge vibration monitors in a number of council owned properties within Castletown and they then completed a number of test piles next to the welfare building on the lorry park to understand the likely vibration impacts. Conclusion was that there would be one and all houses on doxey rosd were outside the zone of influence.

However despite this all homes on doxey road are invited to have condition surveys prior to the works to accurately record their current conditions before piling started.

the cracks that you are referring to in the plaster are as a result of drying out. As the plaster dries the plaster shrinks and cracks. This is common and Is often referred to a shrinkage crack. min new builds it is common for cracks to appear after construction as the ground settles. For properties built on clay soils it can take up to 20 years for the building to settle.
 

Glam

Mad Cat Woman
if you are referring to Swar project, staffs county council and Amey our huge vibration monitors in a number of council owned properties within Castletown and they then completed a number of test piles next to the welfare building on the lorry park to understand the likely vibration impacts. Conclusion was that there would be one and all houses on doxey rosd were outside the zone of influence.

However despite this all homes on doxey road are invited to have condition surveys prior to the works to accurately record their current conditions before piling started.

the cracks that you are referring to in the plaster are as a result of drying out. As the plaster dries the plaster shrinks and cracks. This is common and Is often referred to a shrinkage crack. min new builds it is common for cracks to appear after construction as the ground settles. For properties built on clay soils it can take up to 20 years for the building to settle.
The houses on the Doxey Road have been shaking like a don't know what these last few weeks, all due to the road works.
A Forumite even had some noise monitoring equipment stolen from outside his house on Thursday (20th)
My house has been rendered, so are you suggesting I have it all taken back to brick?
 
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ben0239

Well-Known Forumite
The houses on the Doxey Road have been shaking like a don't know what these last few weeks, all due to the road works.
A Forumite even had some noise monitoring equipment stolen from outside his house on Thursday (20th)
My house has been rendered, so are you suggesting I have it all taken back to brick?

It was predicted that the houses would shake however the studies undertaken indicated that there will be no structural damage to the properties. Did you take the opportunity to have a free condition survey done on your property before the works commenced.

When render is done well with lime it can help older properties. However generally it is not and it is used by builders to try and hide bad brickwork or to protect the house from damp which it rarely does.

Render generally traps moisture and prevents the moisture from escaping. Furthermore the render has probably bridged the damp proof course which is usually a layer of slate. If that render then has waterproof materials applied then that would make the situation worse.

Furthermore what condition is the render in? Are there any hairline cracks that can allow water in? Once water is in between the render and wall there is only one way it can then go if you have a strong cement render.
 
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littleme

250,000th poster!
if you are referring to Swar project, staffs county council and Amey our huge vibration monitors in a number of council owned properties within Castletown and they then completed a number of test piles next to the welfare building on the lorry park to understand the likely vibration impacts. Conclusion was that there would be one and all houses on doxey rosd were outside the zone of influence.

However despite this all homes on doxey road are invited to have condition surveys prior to the works to accurately record their current conditions before piling started.

the cracks that you are referring to in the plaster are as a result of drying out. As the plaster dries the plaster shrinks and cracks. This is common and Is often referred to a shrinkage crack. min new builds it is common for cracks to appear after construction as the ground settles. For properties built on clay soils it can take up to 20 years for the building to settle.
Eah? What? I didn't say any of that? Just the bit about waiting?
 

RJS

Big Little-Guv
Glam
I live at number 7 Doxey Road. We had extensive work done on the ground floor related to damp proofing.
We used Peter Cox.
I'll knock on your door when I'm around next and I can tell you what I know.
Rob : )
 

Glam

Mad Cat Woman
Glam
I live at number 7 Doxey Road. We had extensive work done on the ground floor related to damp proofing.
We used Peter Cox.
I'll knock on your door when I'm around next and I can tell you what I know.
Rob : )
Oooooh Thank you Darling! xx
 

proactive

Enjoying a drop of red.
Neighbour..............
Charlene_Robinson_Neighbours.jpg
 
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