Plaster just won't dry and driving us crazy - expert advice needed!
Shirelle Grant
4 years ago
Hi - this is problem driving us crazy so any advice much appreciated!
We've made significant renovations to the ground floor of our victorian end of terrace, including knocking through a long single storey galley at the back of the house that was originally separated into a breakfast room and a kitchen, to make it into one large kitchen dining space (about 40 square meters). We relocated the kitchen area into what was the old breakfast room and made the old kitchen area into an open plan diner. Because it's single storey we took the roof off and made an apex ceiling with skylights. This was all done about 8 months ago. And one area of the plaster work on the exterior wall just won't dry (please see pics)...
A couple of things about the problem area:
- Before we knocked through this area was in the old kitchen
- The walls of the old kitchen was clad with tongue and groove (done in the mid 90s we think so has been on the wall for a good 20 years)
- It's an external wall (end of terrace) and in a position that is exposed to the elements
- It's single brick
- When we took the kitchen out and removed the tongue and groove, the part of the wall that is now retaining the damp had very loose plaster behind the cladding and needed stripping back to brick i.e. it could have been damp behind the tongue and groove for a long time
- The area that is retaining the damp needed concrete hard coat before being plastered because it was stripped back to brick
- The work was done in December (a cold and wet time of year)
- Other than that the conditions for this area are exactly as per the conditions for the rest of the room, which dried as expected without issue
A couple of things about solutions we've tried:
- We've repointed the external wall in case the pointing was letting in water (suspect it had been for a long time because there were patched up areas of pointing)
- We've used storm dry on the external wall to seal it from the elements
- We had the guttering replaced as part of the renovation
- We've had the roofer out to check the new roof and guttering are not leaking anywhere - they're not
- We've had our joiner look at the window and replace the beading where it was rotten
- We've had an infrared heater on the area - that seemed to work but as soon as we took the heater away the damp reappeared
- We've had a damp specialist out - he advised that it's penetrating damp and to have a low heat radiator on and a dehumidifier running. He said that because that part of the wall is cold it's absorbing humidity and condensation from the room which means it's in a constant state of damp
- We've since had an oil radiator next to the wall and a dehumidifier running for the last 2 months - that seemed to work but again, as soon as we take the heater and the dehumidifier away within hours the damp reappears. If we put the radiator and humidifier back on, within a day it looks dry again.
My questions are as follows:
- Is everything I've described normal and we just need to be patient? If so, any ideas on how long this kind of area could take to dry given the problems? As mentioned, it's been 8 months.
- Or does this suggest there's perhaps an issue with the plaster work and it ultimately needs to be redone? Perhaps a problem with the hard coating which is the only difference in this area compared to the other walls (however the reason it needed hard coating was because the original plaster fell off so presumably the bricks were saturated). A 6-8 inch area under the window became particularly blown and salted during the drying process, and even once dries it was never going to look nice so we had the plasterer back to knock that small part out and redo it - that area has since dried perfectly. So perhaps we need to knock the whole area out and redo it?
Any advice much appreciated. We've tried everything we can think of and we're keen to decorate and get the job completed.
Thank you!
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Comments (8)Without looking under the carpet its hard to say. That said its also the last job you should do in the house. You don't want tradesmen (or yourself) trucking muck onto a nice new runner whilst plastering/painting/sanding is still ongoing upstairs elsewhere. Any house built before 1940 is more likely to have nicer wooden treads. Often they are painted white just down the sides precisely because they would have had a runner previously. Newer homes can be hit or miss - worst case would be if they're ply or similar in which case you're pretty much restricted to just re-carpeting. Are you able to check the stair underside if you have a cupboard under the stairs? At least that'll confirm if they're solid wood. I stripped my stair carpet a while ago, taking it up is pretty easy - you just need a little patience. A flathead screwdriver is best for digging out staples whilst I found wedging a metal scraper between the gripper strip tacks and the floor, and then again using a flathead under the scraper to lever the strips up worked best (see pic). Give the stairs a good hoovering and wipe down, then use some wood filler (sometimes referred to as spackle) to fill in the holes left. Finally sand if needed (and if you want a perfect finish) and paint as desired - leave the middle as it won't be seen and so you can walk up and down when its drying. It took me an afternoon to remove the carpet, staples and gripper rods. Then another couple of hours to fill in the holes. I used Dulux Once Satinwood on the edges after priming which is very forgiving as it only needs one coat and levels itself so you don't get brushstrokes. Only downside is that its oil based so you need white spirit to clean the brushes. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ronseal-HPWFN550G-550g-Performance-Filler/dp/B001GU2H6S/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1506440774&sr=8-3&keywords=ronseal+wood+filler...See MoreFront drive/parking advice
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Comments (6)Agreeing with the ladies above. I'm sure your surveyor has weighed this up very carefully as there are many factors affecting the decision. For instance..........has the house had a damp proof course injected since it was built? If so, then you shouldn't incur the damp in the first place. People now have central heating, which, also keeps the walls dry. BUT................ Is the exterior rendered? and if so, what with? If it's been done with lime then you would still use lime inside so that the walls breathe. If rendered with lime outside, then damp can still get inside due to it's make-up. If not rendered, water could still penetrate the bricks if they're damaged / decaying or the pointing isn't perfect. Central heating would help keep it dry inside but it can't be used as a fail safe, neither could the damp proof course. You just get water trapped in the walls., and if it can't breathe it will cause damp. Basically, it's a mine field with old houses and I think you're probably best to listen to the expert....See Morehow to seal bare plaster if NOT painting
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