External render blown/damp/issues, best solution?

[dontbelieveawordofit]

for a year or 2 yes. why not?

 

[dontbelieveawordofit]

Fine as it is?

for a year or 2 yes.

 

[dontbelieveawordofit]

your turn.

 

[robodelfy]

your turn.

I didn't know if you meant after patching it in. But currently its totally exposed! I wouldn't have thought a year or two like that would do it any good

 

[dontbelieveawordofit]

its no more exposed than before you removed the loose dashing. plus you have the original render underneath. if you literally have the money in a year or 2 to sort it properly why faf about in the meantime. that place has been standing 100 years . you think it’ll fall down in the next year or 2?

 

[robodelfy]

its no more exposed than before you removed the loose dashing. plus you have the original render underneath. if you literally have the money in a year or 2 to sort it properly why faf about in the meantime. that place has been standing 100 years . you think it’ll fall down in the next year or 2?

Fair enough, I just thought it was more exposed now I removed the dashing.

I won't worry so much about getting it sorted quickly then

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

its no more exposed than before you removed the loose dashing. plus you have the original render underneath. if you literally have the money in a year or 2 to sort it properly why faf about in the meantime. that place has been standing 100 years . you think it’ll fall down in the next year or 2?

I agree. That second coat of render was put on for purely cosmetic reasons, to hide the cracks in the first coat. Likely the first coat was too, but you find that out if/when you remove that first coat. Left as it is for now, it will not deteriorate much at all.

If that wall is any less than a cavity wall, then best to save your money until you can afford to do it properly with insulation.

 

[robodelfy]

I agree. That second coat of render was put on for purely cosmetic reasons, to hide the cracks in the first coat. Likely the first coat was too, but you find that out if/when you remove that first coat. Left as it is for now, it will not deteriorate much at all.

Thanks, yeah it's two layers of bricks but only with a tiny cavity so the bricks could be layed, which I've been told is still classed as a solid wall.

My issue with leaving it is I need to fit the soil stack and waste etc. So was hoping to sort it before that

Also, how do you even get off the layers of render that are so firmly adhered?

If that wall is any less than a cavity wall, then best to save your money until you can afford to do it properly with insulation.

 

[robodelfy]

I agree. That second coat of render was put on for purely cosmetic reasons, to hide the cracks in the first coat. Likely the first coat was too, but you find that out if/when you remove that first coat. Left as it is for now, it will not deteriorate much at all.

If that wall is any less than a cavity wall, then best to save your money until you can afford to do it properly with insulation.

Thanks. I'm a bit confused by the breathability factor. Everything I read says if the original materials were line based, then you should remove all the cement renders and render with lime.

But then everything I read about external wall insulation says you don't need to remove the old render as it uses mechanical fixings. But then how does an old solid wall breathe with the old render and EWI on top?

Also, just noticed that the wall in my garden seems to be built into the back wall of my house. And my damp issues internally were all in this corner, could it be moisture transferring through this garden wall...see pic

Thanks again

 

[dontbelieveawordofit]

I think all external wall insulations are a scam along with most cavity wall insulation . but that’s another story.
when your property was built it most likely had suspended floors , fireplaces in every room , sash windows and a whole host of other victorian building luxuries.
the amount of moisture entering your house through it’s possibly originally highly porous lime rendered external walls would have been quickly air dried by the heat and draughts present inside .together with the knowledge and common sense that the people of the time had about residing in such properties.
now youve come along , probably filled all the floors in , removed the fireplaces and sash windows , tiled or laminate floored everything and push your beds and wardrobes tight to the wall harbouring moisture and damp.
so on one hand you want to stop damp through floors and draughts through windows but quite happy for moisture to get in the walls through porous lime render.
the difference being 100 years ago it was fine to let moisture and damp pass from the outside in . now it’s not. times have changed along with the way people live and what is normal to expect.
there’s every chance that your house was stone built with no render.
you could chip away at the pebbledash and batten and clad over the original render. with pvc shiplap cladding the same colour as your french doors and downstairs window.
just a thought.

 

[robodelfy]

I think all external wall insulations are a scam along with most cavity wall insulation . but that’s another story.
when your property was built it most likely had suspended floors , fireplaces in every room , sash windows and a whole host of other victorian building luxuries.
the amount of moisture entering your house through it’s possibly originally highly porous lime rendered external walls would have been quickly air dried by the heat and draughts present inside .together with the knowledge and common sense that the people of the time had about residing in such properties.
now youve come along , probably filled all the floors in , removed the fireplaces and sash windows , tiled or laminate floored everything and push your beds and wardrobes tight to the wall harbouring moisture and damp.
so on one hand you want to stop damp through floors and draughts through windows but quite happy for moisture to get in the walls through porous lime render.
the difference being 100 years ago it was fine to let moisture and damp pass from the outside in . now it’s not. times have changed along with the way people live and what is normal to expect.
there’s every chance that your house was stone built with no render.
you could chip away at the pebbledash and batten and clad over the original render. with pvc shiplap cladding the same colour as your french doors and downstairs window.
just a thought.

I think all external wall insulations are a scam along with most cavity wall insulation . but that’s another story.
when your property was built it most likely had suspended floors , fireplaces in every room , sash windows and a whole host of other victorian building luxuries.
the amount of moisture entering your house through it’s possibly originally highly porous lime rendered external walls would have been quickly air dried by the heat and draughts present inside .together with the knowledge and common sense that the people of the time had about residing in such properties.
now youve come along , probably filled all the floors in , removed the fireplaces and sash windows , tiled or laminate floored everything and push your beds and wardrobes tight to the wall harbouring moisture and damp.
so on one hand you want to stop damp through floors and draughts through windows but quite happy for moisture to get in the walls through porous lime render.
the difference being 100 years ago it was fine to let moisture and damp pass from the outside in . now it’s not. times have changed along with the way people live and what is normal to expect.
there’s every chance that your house was stone built with no render.
you could chip away at the pebbledash and batten and clad over the original render. with pvc shiplap cladding the same colour as your french doors and downstairs window.
just a thought.

I think all external wall insulations are a scam along with most cavity wall insulation . but that’s another story.
when your property was built it most likely had suspended floors , fireplaces in every room , sash windows and a whole host of other victorian building luxuries.
the amount of moisture entering your house through it’s possibly originally highly porous lime rendered external walls would have been quickly air dried by the heat and draughts present inside .together with the knowledge and common sense that the people of the time had about residing in such properties.
now youve come along , probably filled all the floors in , removed the fireplaces and sash windows , tiled or laminate floored everything and push your beds and wardrobes tight to the wall harbouring moisture and damp.
so on one hand you want to stop damp through floors and draughts through windows but quite happy for moisture to get in the walls through porous lime render.
the difference being 100 years ago it was fine to let moisture and damp pass from the outside in . now it’s not. times have changed along with the way people live and what is normal to expect.
there’s every chance that your house was stone built with no render.
you could chip away at the pebbledash and batten and clad over the original render. with pvc shiplap cladding the same colour as your french doors and downstairs window.
just a thought.

That's an interesting take. I'm too much of an amateur to know! But I'm sure you're right about moisture getting in and out. But what about the real purpose of EWI, which keeps your house warmer? If you don't have major damp issues, then it seems it works well to save on heating bills.

The only real damp issue is that bottom left corner on the back, but now I'm pretty certain it could be the garden wall that is built into the back house wall. There is nothing stopping damp going right through. So I'll knock that down and probably grind the exposed bricks in half

But also what about building regs. They say if you take off 25% of your render you have to improve the U rating, meaning I'd have to insulate it or it won't be up to regs

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I think all external wall insulations are a scam along with most cavity wall insulation . but that’s another story.

I am less convinced that the add-on CWA is a scam. My home is much warmer for it, we no longer suffer cold walls and if doors/ windows are kept closed to keep the heat out - cooler in the hot weather of summer. CWA is now a requirement for new builds, so the government must be convinced of the value.

I agree things were very different when the OP's house was built and the Victorians did rely on plenty of ventilation to keep damp at bay. Things have changed now, with energy becoming so very expensive, so homes need to be adapted to much higher insulation standards to reduce heating costs.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

That's an interesting take. I'm too much of an amateur to know! But I'm sure you're right about moisture getting in and out. But what about the real purpose of EWI, which keeps your house warmer? If you don't have major damp issues, then it seems it works well to save on heating bills.

I agree, you have to take what ever measures are needed to keep external moisture out, plus take measures to reduce moisture being generated inside too - stop draughts and insulate. That means no drying of wet clothes in the house, unless special arrangements are made to extract the moisture [1]; adding extract fans in bathrooms and over ovens and hobs.

[1] We have a dryer, but we never normally use it. Instead, in the utility room I designed a drying system of 6 lines the entire width of the room, a fan to stir the air up and a de-humidifier. That dries several dryer loads of washing over night at a fraction of the cost of running the dryer. For use in better weather, I rigged up a 30 yard long stainless steel washing line, a continuous loop, on pulleys - so you can stand in one place, load it up and just push it away from you. That is kept taught by a suspended counter-balance weight from the eaves of the house. That line has to be cranked down to load it, then released it goes way up in the breeze.

 

[robodelfy]

I agree, you have to take what ever measures are needed to keep external moisture out, plus take measures to reduce moisture being generated inside too - stop draughts and insulate. That means no drying of wet clothes in the house, unless special arrangements are made to extract the moisture [1]; adding extract fans in bathrooms and over ovens and hobs.

[1] We have a dryer, but we never normally use it. Instead, in the utility room I designed a drying system of 6 lines the entire width of the room, a fan to stir the air up and a de-humidifier. That dries several dryer loads of washing over night at a fraction of the cost of running the dryer. For use in better weather, I rigged up a 30 yard long stainless steel washing line, a continuous loop, on pulleys - so you can stand in one place, load it up and just push it away from you. That is kept taught by a suspended counter-balance weight from the eaves of the house. That line has to be cranked down to load it, then released it goes way up in the breeze.

They sound like great ideas, I don't have the space for either unfortunately! I don't have a dryer though and am used to drying clothes in the house. Maybe I need to rethink

But these rules about when you take off 25% of the render you have to improve the insulation makes my options quite limiting. I could just patch it up as is, but I'd be leaving the old cement render and some dodgy bits.

I think long term, external insulation seems to be the way forward, and I want it to be to building regs obviously. It's just very expensive