Advice on damp penetrating stone wall

Ginger83

An old stone house and one of the gable walls seem to get all the driving rain. The ground unfortunately rises in this area and is a few inches above floor level and I'm seeing a bit of wetness inside on the bottom of the wall when it rains heavy which dries well afterwards. Not ideal but I'd appreciate all advice.

I was researching a french drain and lime harling.

hesker

Installed a French drain in a very similar situation over 2 years ago and it has by the looks of it solved the problem.

Ginger83

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120263001#Comment_120263001

Hi there. What was happening in your situation?

Can I ask you how you did the drain? I hope to tackle the problem this summer but unfortunately lowering the ground is not an option.

hesker

Rising damp in wall. Rotting floorboards. Both on that gable only. Damp mouldy smell after house left unoccupied.

I didn’t organise or oversee the work but I believe a trench was dug about 1 to 2 foot deep. UPVC 4” pipe with holes drilled into it laid in trench and backfilled with 20mm gravel.

Might also be worth wrapping the pipe in a geotextile water permeable membrane.

Ginger83

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120263252#Comment_120263252

I was just looking around the place and found pea gravel. Would that work or is it too small?

hesker

Why not do it right when you’re doing it. In the grand scheme of things this is one of the cheapest fixes you will encounter.

Pea gravel might be fine if you make sure to use the membrane. But the bigger gravel might drain faster. I don’t really know to be honest

Ginger83

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120266841#Comment_120266841

Thanks i don't mind spending the money so I will get the bigger gravel.