We have just become owners of a cottage, we think built early - mid 19th century. It has solid stone walls (no cavity) and no DPC. The outside is rendered (don't know if its cement or lime), in pretty good condition. The inside walls are clad in naff soft board in poor condition. Has anyone any suggestions on the best treatment for the inside? If we dry line and plaster, is this going to trap moisure in the walls?
how can I weatherproof my cottage?
- Thread starter bimbam
- Start date
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Ok I'll kick off by saying a little more information would be useful.
What sort of wall thickness do you have at the moment?
Are the walls damp at the moment, and what is beneath the cladding?
Do you know how the ground floor floors are built? (I am thinking of the floors that abut the walls)
Is the render painted?
What are you hoping to achieve ?
Dry line and plaster (including perhaps a vapour barrier and insulation) would probably be fine and yes, it would restrict evaporation of moisture, but is that a problem anyway?
If you think photos would show the nature of any problems you have, then please take some and upload them. They are frequently very useful to put descriptions into context.
What sort of wall thickness do you have at the moment?
Are the walls damp at the moment, and what is beneath the cladding?
Do you know how the ground floor floors are built? (I am thinking of the floors that abut the walls)
Is the render painted?
What are you hoping to achieve ?
Dry line and plaster (including perhaps a vapour barrier and insulation) would probably be fine and yes, it would restrict evaporation of moisture, but is that a problem anyway?
If you think photos would show the nature of any problems you have, then please take some and upload them. They are frequently very useful to put descriptions into context.
Hi Blagard
Many thanks for your reply. Answers in blue below.
Ok I'll kick off by saying a little more information would be useful.
What sort of wall thickness do you have at the moment?
450mm
Are the walls damp at the moment, and what is beneath the cladding?
A few localised patches of damp only. As far as I can tell, its bare walls beneath (stone/earth)
Do you know how the ground floor floors are built? (I am thinking of the floors that abut the walls)
One room is solid concrete and the other suspended with chipboard finish
Is the render painted?
Yes
What are you hoping to achieve ?
A dry and thermally efficient interior. However, I've read that its not a good idea to have solid render externally and waterproof membrane internally as water within the wall cannot escape.
Dry line and plaster (including perhaps a vapour barrier and insulation) would probably be fine and yes, it would restrict evaporation of moisture, but is that a problem anyway?
If you think photos would show the nature of any problems you have, then please take some and upload them. They are frequently very useful to put descriptions into context.
I'm not sure that photos help in this case -its not a specific problem, more how to approach the job.
Many thanks for your reply. Answers in blue below.
Ok I'll kick off by saying a little more information would be useful.
What sort of wall thickness do you have at the moment?
450mm
Are the walls damp at the moment, and what is beneath the cladding?
A few localised patches of damp only. As far as I can tell, its bare walls beneath (stone/earth)
Do you know how the ground floor floors are built? (I am thinking of the floors that abut the walls)
One room is solid concrete and the other suspended with chipboard finish
Is the render painted?
Yes
What are you hoping to achieve ?
A dry and thermally efficient interior. However, I've read that its not a good idea to have solid render externally and waterproof membrane internally as water within the wall cannot escape.
Dry line and plaster (including perhaps a vapour barrier and insulation) would probably be fine and yes, it would restrict evaporation of moisture, but is that a problem anyway?
If you think photos would show the nature of any problems you have, then please take some and upload them. They are frequently very useful to put descriptions into context.
I'm not sure that photos help in this case -its not a specific problem, more how to approach the job.
Have a look at Heritage House. One solution is to hang insulated plasterboard (e.g. Kingspan K18) on galvanised steel studs (e.g. GypLyner). Consider ventilating the cavity to keep the external wall dry.
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ajrobb
What a very interesting site you have linked in there. I might be tempted to say they are selling themselves the other way due to bad work by Damp proofing companies ( they are after all selling their own service). However in my opinion, I have to admit a lot of what is said is true but they loose some credibility with bad statements and out of context examples.
This brings us back to the bimbam cottage if I may call it that!
It has decent stone walls with some signs of dampness, possibly excabated by the cladding. the floor should not be a problem if we start to think about using timber in any dry lining construction. If drylining is used I would agree with use of metal studds to avoid the damp timber risk.
The render is painted. That's a negative point because it does stop the structure breathing externally. (Score one for heritage). So ideally the walls need to dry out before any new lining with a barrier internally.
Once dry I think drylining with a vapour barrier is OK After all where is any new water going to come from. Not through the new cladding (lining) as this will have the barrier. If Heritage is right about rising damp, not that way either! Will the stone wall become saturated in water? No, it is not a spong. Some dampness in the stone wall is not a problem unless you have gypsum plaster directly on it. Worst case, the render is going to blow off with a severe frost!
I would be happier with the one barrier in the dry lining and a render that could breath but it is hobsons choice I am afraid. We do trap moisture in new build between vapour barriers and painted plaster. Is that a known problem? I don't think so. We all know that modern plaster is useless if it gets subjected to dampness later and most new builds seem OK.
bimbam,
Having debated it with myself I would say ajrobb is close enough except I would not bother venting the cavity.
When I asked about what you wanted to achieve, I was at that time thinking maybe a traditional wall finish (Lime plaster as per Heritage) with the right lime wash would look OK but you don't get the Thermal improvement.
What a very interesting site you have linked in there. I might be tempted to say they are selling themselves the other way due to bad work by Damp proofing companies ( they are after all selling their own service). However in my opinion, I have to admit a lot of what is said is true but they loose some credibility with bad statements and out of context examples.
This brings us back to the bimbam cottage if I may call it that!
It has decent stone walls with some signs of dampness, possibly excabated by the cladding. the floor should not be a problem if we start to think about using timber in any dry lining construction. If drylining is used I would agree with use of metal studds to avoid the damp timber risk.
The render is painted. That's a negative point because it does stop the structure breathing externally. (Score one for heritage). So ideally the walls need to dry out before any new lining with a barrier internally.
Once dry I think drylining with a vapour barrier is OK After all where is any new water going to come from. Not through the new cladding (lining) as this will have the barrier. If Heritage is right about rising damp, not that way either! Will the stone wall become saturated in water? No, it is not a spong. Some dampness in the stone wall is not a problem unless you have gypsum plaster directly on it. Worst case, the render is going to blow off with a severe frost!
I would be happier with the one barrier in the dry lining and a render that could breath but it is hobsons choice I am afraid. We do trap moisture in new build between vapour barriers and painted plaster. Is that a known problem? I don't think so. We all know that modern plaster is useless if it gets subjected to dampness later and most new builds seem OK.
bimbam,
Having debated it with myself I would say ajrobb is close enough except I would not bother venting the cavity.
When I asked about what you wanted to achieve, I was at that time thinking maybe a traditional wall finish (Lime plaster as per Heritage) with the right lime wash would look OK but you don't get the Thermal improvement.
Fair enough.
IF there were a damp problem in the external wall then stripping the internal wall surface to masonry and leaving a large (50mm) vented cavity when dry lining SHOULD help.
Where damp is not a problem and there is a suspended floor, you might consider just opening up the small (20mm) cavity to the ventilated subfloor. Often this will happen anyway.
Generally, remove plaster and/or moisture resisting coatings from the internal masonry surface before dry lining.
Where there is a waterproof external coating, it is probably even more important to have an internal vapour barrier to lower the dew point in order to prevent condensation in the masonry. Many insulated plasterboard products include a vapour barrier.
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