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Damp question - 1890's house.

NobodyImportant · 2013-03-13 12:16:14

I have an 1890's house (rubble wall, lime mortar and plaster) which has had pretty nasty damp in the kitchen allowing mushrooms to sprout out of the skirting boards and made the lower plasterboard wet. There were a number of different reasons, a roof leak, somebody leaving an outside tap on for an hour flooding the area…

13-03-2013 12:16pm

#1

NobodyImportant

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I have an 1890's house (rubble wall, lime mortar and plaster) which has had pretty nasty damp in the kitchen allowing mushrooms to sprout out of the skirting boards and made the lower plasterboard wet.

There were a number of different reasons, a roof leak, somebody leaving an outside tap on for an hour flooding the area outside, leaky downpipes, no DPC and the wall sits on wet soil, etc. etc.

I have fixed most of it i believe and have left it nearly a year to dry out. No more mushrooms. I'm afraid to put back on the plasterboard yet (and have to figure out a breathing area behind it etc).

My query is in relation to a concrete foot at the base of the wall in question. Previously, under the deck, the soil sat up against the concrete footer. Could damp have penetrated through the concrete into the wall? Does concrete allow this?
I've since dug a trench and filled with stones, so the water runs into the soil below the wall. Not perfect, but i cant put in a french drain as the drains are nearly at surface level and i frankly dont have the time, man power or money to do that (plus it may not be the biggest factor).

So, do i hack back some of the lower concrete and replace with lime render? This will allow the base of the wall to breathe rather than trapping any damp. Will i cause more damage than its worth as the concrete is stuck rock solid to the wall?
I've drawn a diagram of it.

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