Dampness, Mould and Mildew

wild_eyed

hi all

im living in an old house.
the house has no proper foundations and so dampness rises.
i moved into this house two months ago and it has been empty for the best part of 10 years.

i've spent a lot of time making this house comfortable, re plastering walls etc, removing old wallpaper.

anyway. ive started having some issues with waking up with sore throats and sore eyes etc and am going to see a doctor on monday regarding this.

my questions are thus.

what can i do to prevent the damp, or at the very least fight it.

is there a special paint that can hold it in etc? or anything else.

im very open to suggestions, or even having someone come and test the air in the house etc...

really dont want to move back home..

any help greatly appreciated.

Bullseye1

Did you insert any type of DPC and ventilation?

wild_eyed

no, well not that i know....

the plasterer just removed old plasterboard slabs and put up new ones etc.

what is DPC?

BryanF

you need a damp specialist.. your plasterer should have known better! :eek:sorry to tell you this but you should have dealt with the damp issue before you did the cosmetic works. there is no quick fix solution, other than maybe flogging the hell out of you heating system for ever and leaving all the windows open at the same time:)

once you've consulted the damp specialist then you need to hire an architect and a builder who are familiar with old buildings and the use of such materials as lime plastering and insulation methods that will suit the structure along with a suitable method of ventilation.

best of luck and sorry to be the barer of bad news:)

MicktheMan

I agree with BryanF.
Don't know the age of your house but assume it is stone walls with no dpc (damp proof course). The walls in these houses were built so that they were allowed to breath (i.e. any moisture drawn into the wall was allowed to escape to either the interior or exterior when the right conditions prevailed. Also the people who occupied these buildings were very aware of this.
By plastering with moisture retarders such as sand/cement prevents the moisture from leaving the wall thus creating damp problems. Also by installing better sealed windows & doors prevents the moisture that does get out from escaping from the building again adding to the problem.
It is for these reasons that you need to treat older buildings with sensitivity. Getting a builder/plasterer with no knowledge of this is not only a waste of money but will create more problems for the future.

As BryabF says get a damp specialist with experience with old buildings (and I don't mean here an dpc injection specialist) and choose your builder very carefully.

AMG86

The Department of the Environment has published a guide re upgrading the thermal efficiency of traditional buildings. You may not be living on one of these but you will certainly get ideas. It is a long read but worthwhile. The guide will help in making the right decisions on how to increase the comfort and reduce the energy use of a traditional building by advising on (i) understanding how a traditional building works (ii) how to maximise the level of comfort for its occupants and (iii) choosing the most cost effective energy options. http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/Heritage/BuiltHeritagePolicy/FileDownLoad,24749,en.pdf