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What are these granite pieces called?

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  • 08-05-2020 10:30am
    #1
    ditpaintball
    Registered Users Posts: 993 ✭✭✭


    Hey All,

    I am in the process of doing up a circa 300 year old house. Rubble stone wall basement walls with 1st and 2nd floor made of red brick.

    There is a line of granite that separate the basement floor from the first floor. What are these called? Are they sills or some type of cronion? (once I know what they are called, I can search for them in more detail)

    Also... they have not been looked after and sealed up well over the years. Any tips on how to seal them in? I'm pretty sure they are they cause of a lot of damp inside. Lots of cements has been put on them over the years to try and seal them up.

    IMG-2778.jpg

    IMG-2779.jpg

    IMG-2783.jpg

    IMG-2782.jpg

    I need to seal these up too. The walls on the inside of the front door are destroyed, lime plaster is crumbling.
    IMG-2780.jpg

    IMG-2781.jpg


Comments

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    #2
    sydthebeat
    Subscribers Posts: 41,005 ✭✭✭✭sydthebeat


    I'd call it a plinth course.

    And I'd defer the specification of the mortar make up to a conservationist.


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    #3
    Dudda
    Registered Users Posts: 1,541 ✭✭✭Dudda


    ditpaintball wrote: »
    Also... they have not been looked after and sealed up well over the years. Any tips on how to seal them in? I'm pretty sure they are they cause of a lot of damp inside. Lots of cements has been put on them over the years to try and seal them up.

    This is exactly what not to do and is causing the problem.

    Old buildings are completely unlike new buildings in the way they work. Old buildings breath while new buildings have a cavity. The stone walls use lime mortar. What happens is moisture that's inside can escape out through the lime mortar. This helps dry out the walls and building. When cement is used instead of lime or if people carry out repairs using cement it traps the moisture inside the walls. The walls can't breath and the problems get worse. If the building was repaired using a cement mortar around the limestone (which is looks like from the photos) then this needs to be removed and all the joints raked out and replaced with lime mortar.

    Similarly the external plaster would originally have been lime render. If this was replaced with a cement based render it's like wrapping someone in cling film. Their skin can't breath and the sweat gets trapped. You need to take off any cement based render (from both inside out outside) and replace it with breathable render. If you intend to add insulation anywhere (drylining for example) it also has to be a breathable insulation.

    You really need to get a conservation architect and get them to review the current situation and specify the products. Anyone else will fix it with cement which will only work for a year or two and then the issues will be a lot worse. They won't care as it looked good and worked fine when then finished repairs and will blame you even if it's their fault. Do not get a builder in to fix anything without getting proper advice first. I can't stress this enough.

    You need a Grade 3 Conservation Architect. Grade 1 and 2 are better but harder to find and more expensive.


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