old two storey house renovation

hashey

hi guys
thinking of renovating my mother's house its stone with a newer flat roof extension- i would like to start with the foundation- it seems its only a skim of cement on stones and there is a lot of rising damp- some work was done 5 years ago drylining the downstairs but i think the foundation needs to be sorted as a priority- i would like to do the work myself as much as possible except for pouring new concrete- what would be the best way to tackle this problem? should i dig up the floors to a certain depth and install insulation and new concrete? i would consider laying new blocks on the inside walls as well but if there was a way to insulate the floors without doing this i would

tx

MicktheMan

Your best bet is to get a professional involved such as a conservation architect and/or structural engineer as there may be no foundations depending on house age. Older stone structures were built and used to allow moisture freely move into and out of the structure and materials used allowed for a certain amount of movement in the structure.
Without the input of such professionals you could well be introducing more problems than those you are trying to solve.

BryanF

hashey wrote: »

hi guys
thinking of renovating my mother's house its stone with a newer flat roof extension- i would like to start with the foundation- it seems its only a skim of cement on stones and there is a lot of rising damp- some work was done 5 years ago drylining the downstairs but i think the foundation needs to be sorted as a priority- i would like to do the work myself as much as possible except for pouring new concrete- what would be the best way to tackle this problem? should i dig up the floors to a certain depth and install insulation and new concrete? i would consider laying new blocks on the inside walls as well but if there was a way to insulate the floors without doing this i would

tx

+1 with mick

so your problem is dampness? you need a drain externally backfilled with stone BUT you need an engineer to advise on the stages of doing it.
the one thing not mentioned is a damp proof membrane/ radon barrier which you need under the floor.
you also need a damp-proof course, an electro osmosis system generally works best in these situations.
old stone buildings should not be done-up with concrete where possible, and both insulation and dry-lining is a waste of time unless specified by someone who understands breathable structures and condensation risks

hashey

tx for the advice - i agree with all thats been said- im prob looking at megabucks here to do it properly- does anyone know of a good conservation engineer in connemara/galway area?