Rendering over damp bricks??

[Jamesnel]

Hello All!
My builder and I have removed some of the tyrolean that adourns my house to see how easy it would be to strip it all off in order to render the house instead.

The tyrolean has come off quite easily, and my builder has come to the conclusion that this is because the bricks behind it are slightly damp. He has advised that I get some more specialist advice, as he's told me any new render applied will soon fall off the damp bricks.

So, has anybody got any advice on how to treat these damp bricks? Is there any way of drying the out? Or, as my builder has suggested it might be, is it possible to apply some form of mesh to the house to hold the render??

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Kind regards, James

 

[^woody^]

Surely the render has failed and caused the bricks to be damp? In which case, new render will make them dry again.

But it depends where these bricks are , as to if you have a damp problem from another cause

 

[Jamesnel]

The wall is west facing with flat land behind it, hence it does get subjected to some pretty harsh weather. The front elevation is, as far as we're aware, quite sound and dry.

My only concern is that the new render may trap the water somehow and the new render won't adhere fully. Is that possible? Or would the new render still allow the dampness to escape?

 

[noseall]

the wetter the wall the better the render will stick.

 

[FredFlintstone]

As noseall says.

I had a large rendered path to repair and hosed the lot down first to stop the render drying out too quickly.

 

[Jamesnel]

Ok, I see.... but I just want to check that the fact the bricks are wet through, and not just wet on the surface won't make any difference?? If you wet down a surface prior to application it will dry out easily enough, but these bricks will remain damp for some time.

I just want to make sure, as it will be an expensive mistake if it all falls off!

 

[^woody^]

Bricks dry off through render and plaster - they are not waterproof

 

[JohnD]

it wasn't a textured paint sort of coating, was it?

Tyrolean should be a sort of splattered sand and cement and should allow breathing and evaporation.

If the bricks are really wet, there4 will be no suction to pull the render to them. There might be a way of overcoming it, don't know how. Do you think it is just weather conditions? It's not condensation inside? Or leaking gutters?

 

[Jamesnel]

Firstly, thank you everyone for your help so far!

The house is a complete damp nightmare! The rear elevation is made-up mainly by the bathroom/kitchen wall and then an old chimney stack which was completely capped with no ventilation. The bathroom and kitchen didn't have any ventilation, and this tiny little house was shared by three students. So, the possibility of heavy condensation inside the house is very very likely.

Add to that the battering it's had by the weather, the lack of on-going care, and the fact it's been vacant with no windows open or heating on for months and months!

Other than these issues, there are no leaks or suchlike.

It is definately unpainted tyrolene on the house, I've had three people (who should know!) tell me so.

Again, thanks for the ongoing help.