Hello, Our house was built in 1890 and one of the external wall was damaged by damp. We have removed the plaster and the bottom is wet. Please see in attachment. Any advice to prevent the bottom of the wall getting wet will be very much appreciated. Thanks. Mickael
Damp Problem Solid Brick Wall
- Thread starter mickael
- Start date
Sponsored Links
Can you post a pic of the outside of the wall at ground level?
Your pics are blurred?
The concrete floor doesn't appear to have a membrane(DPM)?
How thick is the concrete floor?
The wall below the window in pic 206 appears to be stained - can you pic the stained area & that wall at low level?
Your pics are blurred?
The concrete floor doesn't appear to have a membrane(DPM)?
How thick is the concrete floor?
The wall below the window in pic 206 appears to be stained - can you pic the stained area & that wall at low level?
Last edited:
Hello. Thank you for your reply. Here are some additional pictures from the inside and outside. I don't know how thick is the concrete floor but it does not extend jnderneat the brick wall.. We are going to leave that wall unplastered for now and see if it dries.
Attachments
mickael,
Thanks for the new pics: Your house has been subject to damp for a long time.
Pic 213 shows a large crack in the floor - you can lift out some loose stuff to measure thickness, and see if there's damp soil below the concrete.
Pic 206 & 213 show where a channel was perhaps cut, & then filled in again with sand and cement?
It could have been an attempt to prevent damp. a Useless method.
Pic 466 shows a so called "Dutch System" of claimed damp prevention. Its a con - remove the foolish projections some time.
If you clear away the bits of foliage and debris from near the wall, & then take another pic showing the lower wall in straight-on view detail it would help.
Inside or outside the house can you see any DPC in that wall?
Your house is low lying, and will be subject to excessive ground water - lifting the present concrete floor and pouring a new concrete floor over a correctly detailed membrane(DPM) and insulation would help with the penetrating ground water.
You need to clean off all remaining plaster back to clean, bare brick - also remove all wooden wall plugs.
The unplastered wall will dry somewhat but I suspect that (rain water) penetrating damp at high levels might have been taking place, & the coating on the outside of the solid wall is/was an attempt to keep the damp out?
What about the wall below the window in pic 206?
Thanks for the new pics: Your house has been subject to damp for a long time.
Pic 213 shows a large crack in the floor - you can lift out some loose stuff to measure thickness, and see if there's damp soil below the concrete.
Pic 206 & 213 show where a channel was perhaps cut, & then filled in again with sand and cement?
It could have been an attempt to prevent damp. a Useless method.
Pic 466 shows a so called "Dutch System" of claimed damp prevention. Its a con - remove the foolish projections some time.
If you clear away the bits of foliage and debris from near the wall, & then take another pic showing the lower wall in straight-on view detail it would help.
Inside or outside the house can you see any DPC in that wall?
Your house is low lying, and will be subject to excessive ground water - lifting the present concrete floor and pouring a new concrete floor over a correctly detailed membrane(DPM) and insulation would help with the penetrating ground water.
You need to clean off all remaining plaster back to clean, bare brick - also remove all wooden wall plugs.
The unplastered wall will dry somewhat but I suspect that (rain water) penetrating damp at high levels might have been taking place, & the coating on the outside of the solid wall is/was an attempt to keep the damp out?
What about the wall below the window in pic 206?
Sponsored Links
Thank you so much for your quick reply. You seem to have good knowledge on that subject. We just got the house 6 month ago and we suspected we would have damp issue. I ll check the concrete thickess snd any sign of dpc. I believe the house had a DPC done from what the previous owner said. I ll come back to you with some answers to your question. I really like to do as much as we can to reduce the damp problem. We are considering leaving the brick visible (not plastered over). The bricks are damaged so that may not be possible. We are going to clean them as you have suggested and see. Thanks. Mickael
DIYnot Local
Staff member
If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.
Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.
Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local
