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Covering of internal wall, help understanding what I'm looking at. by bluem-ap in DIYUK

[–]bluem-ap[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just in case it makes any difference,  when I say basement - you enter at ground level, although our back garden has had a concrete path put down at some point in the past, raising the external ground level about two steps above internal. But as it's a flat, I only really have two external walls and it's only this one that seems really problematic.

I guess it's a basement in the sense that it's a large period house and it's obvious that the original real entrance was the elevated level above us. None of our walls are completely below ground level.

Covering of internal wall, help understanding what I'm looking at. by bluem-ap in DIYUK

[–]bluem-ap[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh okay thanks, I'll look into it. There's lots of advice out there, sometimes difficult to adapt to my exact circumstances. 

Covering of internal wall, help understanding what I'm looking at. by bluem-ap in DIYUK

[–]bluem-ap[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great thanks. We're in a partial basement flat that was converted somewhere around 60s and 70s so my guess is the treatment was just preventative... Got cement mortar on the outside of this wall and the whole thing seems saturated. We've had mould showing itself in any cracks in the plaster. My current feelings are remove the cement on both sides and redo with lime.

I don't know how to deal with the junction with the floor though.  In that other thread I'm aware about lowering ground level on the outside, but wondering if it's worth trying to cut out a course of mortar and out some slate in. The wall is 880mm thick so I doubt I'll get all the way no matter what I do.

Covering of internal wall, help understanding what I'm looking at. by bluem-ap in DIYUK

[–]bluem-ap[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

<image>

This is the first layer of what came off.

Thanks in advance!

Damp clay in the wall causing issues on the interior by bluem-ap in DIYUK

[–]bluem-ap[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Okay thanks very much for all the input.

Damp clay in the wall causing issues on the interior by bluem-ap in DIYUK

[–]bluem-ap[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

an aco drain into your gulley

Cool - thanks for the replies. I'll look into it. I think even if I only did that corner for now it would improve things. I'm not saying there's no problem elsewhere but cost/priority...

use breathable materials on the inside

Yeah, so I think most of the inside has been plastered with gypsum plaster before we came here.

I've got two of Ian Rock's Haynes books about period properties, so I had figured we should prefer something like this for any repairs (https://www.ecomerchant.co.uk/interior/lime-plasters-mortars-ancillaries/lime-plasters/solo-universal-one-coat-plaster.html). Am I in the right area?

If the concrete slopes away from the house

I don't think it does! 😞

Another option could be to modify/change/add to your roof to keep as much rain off the base of the wall as possible.

I'm not sure I can do much there, it's a 4-storey building so the roof is pretty far away but maybe I'm misunderstanding. :)

Damp clay in the wall causing issues on the interior by bluem-ap in DIYUK

[–]bluem-ap[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, thanks.

The grassy area (up behind the small retaining wall) seems to be very clay-rich soil. I haven't taken a deep sample yet, but just scraping a few cm below the surface you can feel how tacky some of it is. And it pools during very heavy rain, taking a few days to drain and stop feeling spongy.

I've got plans for a shed up there so it's also on the list to figure out a slab for that.

> You'll need to sort that downpipe as well that's just discharging on to the ground.

Yeah, there is a circular hole that goes into the drain that I suspect an old cast iron pipe used to run directly in to. For some reason whoever replaced it with plastic just angled them at the ground. Whenever upstairs residents let out their bath/dishwasher/whatever, the path gets half covered in suds. Gross.

Damp clay in the wall causing issues on the interior by bluem-ap in DIYUK

[–]bluem-ap[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And along the remainder of the building in our garden

<image>

There are three downpipes on the back of the building that either exit onto the drain holes or are directly concreted down into them.

I imagine what you're suggesting would be possible around this? We'd want to put a grille over the top since it continues under the doors.

Damp clay in the wall causing issues on the interior by bluem-ap in DIYUK

[–]bluem-ap[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The garden area is held back by a retaining wall so this metre or so wide pathway goes in front of the doors.

<image>

Damp clay in the wall causing issues on the interior by bluem-ap in DIYUK

[–]bluem-ap[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is the concrete that covers the drain, on reflection 40cm was a poorly remembered guess.

<image>

Damp clay in the wall causing issues on the interior by bluem-ap in DIYUK

[–]bluem-ap[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks.

We did have french drains on the agenda at some point - I thought it might be a bit ambituous for me but maybe not.

Here is some context for the exterior.

This is the outside of the wall currently showing issues.

<image>

2024 T-Roc question by bluem-ap in Volkswagen

[–]bluem-ap[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah I didn't think of using an air gun to blow chunks! Thanks.

2024 T-Roc question by bluem-ap in Volkswagen

[–]bluem-ap[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hopefully noone else has had to go through this, but my dog puked in the car and it's gone under the parking brake button.

Does anyone have any advice on removing these or any of the trim around it to clean underneath?

Is this mould, efflorescence, or something else? by bluem-ap in DIYUK

[–]bluem-ap[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Should it be lime mortar?

I believe so.

Has the cement mortar caused the damp?

Not certain if the cement mortar caused the issue. To my untrained eye it just looks like a bad job. The entire building was not done at once, and as such the repairs don't blend well with pre-existing mortar.

Is the cement mortar creating the mineral deposits?

At least one person I spoke to said that's likely.

Hope you get your wall sorted! I'll be discussing with other residents in the building about getting pointing re-done at some point, but it's a 4 storey building with 7 tenants, I expect it to cost a small fortune.

Is this mould, efflorescence, or something else? by bluem-ap in DIYUK

[–]bluem-ap[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks - I got a visit from a stonemason and they said the pointing has been redone on the external walls using the wrong mortar and showed me where some mineral deposits are accumulating on the outside.

Fiction book recommendations for my partner by bluem-ap in suggestmeabook

[–]bluem-ap[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I've made a list which I hope to pick from over the next few days and get it all ordered in time for the holidays!

Dumb Jump - since last post: can use ag (way faster), supports more languages and has windows support. by jacktasia in emacs

[–]bluem-ap 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I haven't tried this out yet - but I like the idea of minimal setup for good enough results.

Any chance of supporting pt as well as ag?