How Helen Fixed Her Damp With a Shovel
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- Опубликовано: 29 ноя 2023
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It's damp season! Roger is back to look at Skill Builder viewer Helen's damp problem.
Here's Helen's message:
Hi Roger
We moved into our new home in August this year. We have a damp problem as the original guttering was dumping water at the north corner of the house.
We've re-routed the guttering and have managed to get rainfall 1.5m from the house.
After letting the corner dry out and removing soil a brick's depth from slate DPC, what can we do to help keep brickwork and foundations dry?
Any recommendations and suggestions are gratefully accepted.
Thank you 👍
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#AskSkillBuilder #diy #damp
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All my houses, which have been Victorian / Edwardian had alleged damp problems. All issues were resolved by repairing and upgrading gutters and down pipes, sorting out drainage and the most effective cure was reducing ground levels which had been built up over the years. Two properties even had planters built along the outside walls which propagated moisture over the damp proof. I’ve never needed any damp proofing companies or additional measures to fix any damp.
Totally agree, these supposed injected damp proof courses are a complete waste of money. Not only that, they completely destroy the aesthetics of some very fine Victorian and Edwardian houses. As for repointing, lime, lime, lime.
I’ve cured dozens if not hundreds cases of “damp” by cleaning and repairing guttering, gullies, drains and not forgetting repairing windows so that they can be opened to give the house some ventilation.
pretty much the same here. specially the ground levels and downpipes.
I had water pouring from outside into my garage in an extension on a 1930s home turned out all I needed to do to fix it was move all the concrete slabs and rubbish up against the walls and strip back the neglected weeds and dirt. Penetrating damp gone overnight
Snap. Our current house had about five levels of hard standing between us and the pavement which is about 18 inches higher than our DPC. The most recent level was flush with the DPC. Void under house sopping wet and felt under laminate flooring full of mould spores. We dug out 1.5 grabaways of material, dug French drain which fed into the storm drain, laid hardcore, concrete with steel reinforcement, driveway block paving on top o sand and cement (very OTT, you could park a tank on it) plus a channel drain across the front of the house above the French drain. Void is now bone dry, useful storage with cushioned garage floor cover between the sleeper walls. Great for storage and a pleasure for trades to work on plumbing and electrics. Neighbours all jealous
I like your video very much. Simple yet precise, mix of old school yet with updated knowledge. Keep them coming. Thanks a lot!
Cracking channel, love the content, the knowledge and the advice. Always interesting and informative.
I'm not a builder, i just enjoy seeing and listening to the wisdom of Roger and reading the comments section for further advice. Probably never need it, but i still enjoy it.
Again another very interesting vlog well done Always well produced with terms understandable to all interested in home maintenance Thanks Roger Regards from NZ
Does the gutter leak. Can often causes issues. Once the ground is clear if it has come from above it will still be a problem.
I have replace a suspended floor recently for the exact reasons you have pointed out
Edit: that DPC looks good to me. The damp stops below DPC there. One brick back from the gate post
Should keep soil well away from brickwork. Lay a gravel strip to let rainwater soak away.
Foundations of that age isn't likely to be much below the level shown in some of the photos, if she's dug up that far I'd be a little bit concerned about either frost heave or potentially excessive drying out (depending on the soil), might be worth filling back in with more toad planeings or gravel.
She dug deep to get through it
Nice 👍🏼
Love this sort of video. I need to look back through the archives to see if there's advice on 70s crosswall. My front and back elevations are timber frames sat on a concrete slab that's fully exposed to the elements. It's so cold but I see anyone else on the street doing anything about the exposed edges.
By coincidence I had to clear the cavity out last week, a really crappy job. It all started when the neighbours gutter bracket broke and water started pouring down our wall. A bit ot investigation revealed that the air brick was below the soil just as this case. However there was a bit of mould on the bottom of the wall and it turned out that the plaster was slimy and wet up yo about a meter from the ground. We thought it might be the cavity so tentatively took a brick out. The cavity was full up with "snots" mortar which fell when building and had hardened , sand from the mortar which had dropped pieces of brick stones all sorts of stuff. It was a terrible job to scrape out the cavities. One part I had to take out 8 bricks and managed to get a drill in to break it all up. A bit of a wimp at the beginning but after a couple of days happy to knock any number of bricks.
I noticed that with a dampmeter the lime plaster was wet and slimy for a good two weeks. It looks like somebody had put some sort of non breathable sealer on. The wall was just a little damp with the sealant in place but dripping wet where the sealant was broken. I think that damp had moved up behind the sealant so the wall didn't feel very damp but the underlying plaster was saturated. The plaster is still wetter than the bricks which are the same below and above the damp course but drying nicely. I believe that moisture is still draining out of the plaster but will eventually stop and dry out.
What a nightmare.
Every apprentice brickie should be forced to scrape out cavities on their first week. Then they will know forever the pain and expense crappy workmanshop brings.
Snap but perhaps not quite as bad as your experience.
Like your hair style roger
To level the ground after that digging, how would you back fill? I had an old house with this issue and we added a trench of pea shingle by the brickwork in an effort to avoid moisture from the ground getting into the brickwork.
When I started plastering in the 60's we'd have the Tipper turn up first thing in the morning with an 8 ton load - wet mix - of sand & lime ... We'd add the appropriate amount of cement and away we'd GO! - One of us mixing by hand, the other splashing a little more water as needed - exchanging every few minutes and the job was usually done in 15 ... We'd then use it up during the day, wetting it a little more depending on weather....... I think the practice stopped mid 70's when we all got Mixers and Costs were CUT to a bare minimum everywhere .... Using Lime in the mix became an Exception - Rather than the RULE! .... Bad Idea ....
Good video. What lime/cement/sand mix would you recommend for a 1900 house with cavity walls? Thanks.
ive dug down like this, the outside floor level was level with the outside gravel and block pavers at best one brick higher. now ive done the trench i plan to repoint damanged parts, but my question is what/how should i backfill it? or shoud i put acro drains around the house especially next to the pavers?
we've got retaining walls which the previous owners decided to render and paint, obviously moisture is trapped in there and bubbles the paint, will any kind of sealer work from this side?
When having to expose foundations like that to lower ground levels is it possible to put gravel back down in place of the soil or should an acco drain take water away from the perimeter i.e. be butted against the wall above the foundations?
Keen to know as well. I'm in the same situation.
Hi Roger
I live in a mid terraced house & it's stepped back on the row. My dining room wall is exposed into next doors rear garden. I have rising damp & my neighbour is refusing access to the builder. The neighbour has lots of rubble up against the exposed wall & it's covering the damp course. Can my neighbour refuse access for the builder to rectify the damp issues?
Hey Rodger, have you seen bitumin DPC's fail? My mums house is a bit older that this. but basement flat with the same foundations. A 1 foot high wall was built a brick gap away and capped making a tunnel and vented with airbricks above the gap. So when earth was against the little wall any moisture vented out. Worked 100 years ago, but 100 years on. mud and roots filled the gap. Took me f'k anges to figure this out and 2 days scooping it all out. No damp now, took a year to dry the bricks (over foot thick and solid) and soil under the floor boards out. It doesn't have a slate dpc. it has a bitumin coating on top of the foundation bricks, one corse down from this videos.
My damp problem originates from two sources. One is because of soil touching foundation bricks. The other is a bigger problem. My exterior wall is actually an interior wall. It has no exterior foundation at ground level. The building next to mine was torn down, which left my wall exposed to the elements. When my building was built, it was put against the building's wall next to it, so its brick is a soft insulative brick and not a hard exterior brick. These bricks are deteriorating and allowing moisture to migrate into my building. Much of my plaster has fallen off, due to excessive moisture. Any ideas as to what I can do? Thanks.
John in Bethel, Missouri. USA
What about putting some of that paint on clear polymer water sealant on the foundation brakes and the first course below the slate, I was going to say dig a trench and fill it with shingle 5 in across 4 in deep let any water evaporate, but I'm not sure with brick foundation? how far does a brick foundation go down?
After you put the sealant or use a bitumen or even damp proof course on the bricks as a barrier going down then put your shingle, I suppose you could lay some waterproof concrete on the first set of bricks and then to the diagonal brakes foundation and give it a slope away from the house and then fill it on top with shingle.
Yeah it shouldn't be a problem digging a small trench a foot down to 14" 4 ft long or so for the downpipe don't need it that long as long as it's pointing away, just have the downpipe going into a small open drain cover not connected directly better for dispersion of the water to run away
Put a rodent screen stainless steel underneath the plastic drain cover
Very simple, basic question :- I keep reading “ lime mortar to repoint”, but is that just for Edwardian/victorian houses? I’ve got a late 60s house in need of minor repoints. I expect that’s all old cement pointing originally so is that all that is needed now?
Yes you can use sand and cement but a 1 cement 1 lime 6 sand is a very nice mix.
What if its .an internal wall and only one patch ?
I'd love your opinion on how I can get damp out of my wall. I've got a house of similar age, build in the 1920s and I think when the back patio was installed, it wasn't set so its at a slant so water is staying in place. I've thought about damp rods but would this remove all the moisture out of it? I think some of the bricks have blown(?) too.
Do the same as in this vid ^ Remove the cause by uncoupling the patio from the wall.
You need to get the water away from the wall using any method you can. A drain or altering the patio are two options
@@SkillBuilder The problem is its cravy paving? so it looks pretty tricky to move, I was thinking of adding like a small slop of cement between the wall/paving to create a sort of slope to keep water away? But thank you for your reply!
No, it will continue to wick moisture because the brick can't breather, instead it just sucks moisture. You need to let a couple of courses below damp (dpc) to dry and to remain dry@@MrDontclickthislink
@@tanyaroyredcar Thank you!
What about febmix?
My damp proof is over 20 years old do you have to get another one every 25 years Roger
Roger, good channel thanks and I agree with you on most of the info that you produce. This is informative for many folks who have a damp issue and you are mostly correct. Then you just spoiled the message by contradicting yourself - cement is ok but you don't like plasticiser. Then you said that lime and sand is good (correct) or a bit of cement as well (with plasticiser). You're attempting to fend off criticism from those builders who can't be bothered to carry half a bag of lime in their vans. No cement, no plasticiser. Sand and Lime is the solution. Please say it? Ours is circa 1610. There were damp problems, all was solved with removal of all cementitious (hard) material, internal renders and gypsum included, sort out the levels and replace spalled brick and /or repoint with sand and lime. Happy now. Cheers
What is the is the issue with the pointing in the video regarding dampness. Is it that it doesn't allow water to drain from the pointing?
Yes the water is drawn from the bricks by the old lime mortar but it can't eascape very easily through strong sand and cement. The evaporation takes place through the face of the bricks but if they freeze the bricks will spall.
Thanks for making that clear
I have no DPC in my house walls of 1851. Rat trap bond. No damp either. Odd
If its a cavity wall a bit damp on the outside shouldn't really transfer to the internal walls unless it is bridging somehow. Ie cement on the brick ties or cavity not been cleaned out.
I did tell her that there could be debris in the bottom and I think it is an insulated cavity.
Next job is to remove that spray paint from the wall. If she's reading this buy some Standard thinners, that'll bring it straight off.
Thanks Rog for the mortar mix . You look windswept and interesting , haircut and in a sidescore, shaved ... did you have to attend court today ? 😂
I usually wash my hair every morning in the shower but decided to save the planet and leave it for a week. I am of course referring to the hair under my arms
I wouldn't say my armpit hair is long , but I use it as a comb over . I look a right sight . Great stuff, Rog . Always enjoy your vids and banter 👏 👍
Would tanking slurry be an option?
No it will trap damp in
@@SkillBuilder Thanks for the reply 👍
Mine hasn't got cavity walls mine was built 1940s its single brick
Autogeneuos? Roger, what does that mean? @5.20
self healing
Hi i have old end of terraced house single brick im always having to clean mold on inside walls,trapped moisture any advice please
Has Roger had a hair cut or has his syrup slipped ?
Not washed for days. No animals were harmed
Roger washes his hair with his own special blend: 1 x Hydrated Lime, 1 x Cement, 6 x Sand.
@@welshwizardsand a dash of aloe Vera .. 😆
I never understand how people don't realise how important it is to keep water away from houses and especially damp corsas.
Yep, it's a bugger when your Corsa gets damp.