Home DIY

But the good news is that the powdery shit only goes in max 5cm and then it's solid stone all the way across. And the powdery stuff isn't all the way across but only in the patch I've hacked at. I'll scrape more tomorrow but I feel hopefully that it's not as dire as I first predicted.

Its more about finding the source is it come down or up. Could be a gutter, Damp proof course is breached there so many things. Not unfixable though.

More drinks.

I was running into what looked like soil at the bottom right but it seems to brush away and reveal more stone and the house hasn't collapsed yet.

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The left hand vertical patch of pinkish plaster seemed damp on the surface. I've scraped the damp away and it appears drier underneath. Going to see if that's still the case in the morning.

My dad had the same. Straight through into the wood was fine. Think the wheels moved it a little too high but I am a shortarse.

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From this it sounds like the damp might be coming from the neighbours kitchen /utility guttering behind the wall?

It is rank in there. He's quite old and I help him clear stuff out from time to time, so I see lots of piles of stuff. What could I do about that if so and how could I confirm? He's not going to be interested in doing anything himself. Presumably I'd want to block it off at the stone:

1. Clean back the stone (the entire wall or just the currently affected area?) so there's minimal loose dusty stuff.

2. Treat the stone (pva?)

3. While I'm there put in some damp injection cream near the bottom of the wall to be sure.

4. Wait for a while (how long?)

5. Fill it then skim or (or plaster board somehow (maybe screw in battens into the stone (though presume screwing would wreck the damp proofing?)

6. None of the above?

7. ????

8. Profit?

What could I do about that if so and how could I confirm?

I think you might just have to talk to him and see if it helps by offering your own help.

You've basically described what damp proofing is, and I think most people believe that it's just something pedalled by snake oil sales people. We did have it done, and our damp issues seem to be sorted but we did improve things on many fronts at the same time. I was annoyed with myself for just trusting the survey recommendations without checking if it was real, but it was the blind leading the blind at that point.

Rising damp is real, but incredibly rare. It is commonly misdiagnosed. You're more likely to have a compounding damp issue (from old mortar, or window detailing), or just plain old condensation. Unless your house is built on very boggy ground or has encroaching water lines?

The party wall situation you're describing sounds like it might have poor breathability and that the wall might have a hard time becoming warm/dry again once cold/wet?

What mortar is present/being used on your neighbour's side? Has the external render changed since being built? Are any plants growing there? Is air free to circulate? Any guttering issues? Has the ground level increased against the wall? Have any air bricks/vents become blocked up? Any other obvious leaks/problems?

It's not terrible (and quite common) for external brickwork to become wet in Winter and then dry out again in Summer, the key thing being that the drying out actually happens, especially when there's no cavity.

The most popular/effective solution is an external application to the bricks so they stay dry (and the wall can still breathe), but I doubt that's possible in your situation and is probably overkill anyway.

None of the above?

This, mostly.

Strip back to brick and leave for a while.

Then you can see what the problem actually is (without moisture wicking around because of the mix of porous and non-porous, modern and old materials).

Using pva / creams / modern fillers on your side will mask the problem for a while (even years), but ultimately make it worse as it leads to damage of the bricks & mortar.

Otherwise, mostly what @JonoMarshall says.

As far as external applications, I'd want to avoid anything that wasn't lime based.

^ this

When you say external applications - just clarifying it's an internal wall on both sides. But this may be me being thick and not understanding what you mean.

I am wondering if it's condensation related. The room it is near suffers badly from it and I wonder if there just hasn't been enough ventilation in the past. We've got someone at last installing a proper extraction thing there next month. I'll continue scraping away today (though am unsure whether to take back the entire wall or just the affected area. The section currently painted on the left for example feels totally different to the touch/sound (it seems fine).

When you say external applications

Render / paint etc... not so relevant in your case.

In general, though, for old lime mortar solid walls, anything other than lime can be problematic where water / moisture / damp is involved - Things that keep water out tend to also keep water in even more effectively (and while they may work perfectly when they are first applied, over time they will degrade and let water in).

If you go back to porous lime (which is what that gravelly filler crap looks like) it would be able to dry out. When you have the extraction in, and wait for a month or two over winter, you can see if that's the proximate cause if it dries out.

Unfortunately, a lot of fixing problems involve "try this one thing. wait a long time. didn't work? try something else".

Washing machine was making a horrendous noise on the max spin cycle. Like something was stuck between the drum and the outer tub. Tried flushing through to the pump. Managed to get a 20p coin, but the noise was still there. Took the heating element out so I could see into that void and voila, a fucking junior hacksaw blade sticking out of the drain hose into the gap between the tub and drum!!!! Removed, no leaks so far, have hopefully dodged a bullet.

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long time

So, to the floor, would a stone work top need to be adhered to the wall or could I get it fixed just to the unit. It's a single unit 800*300mm with upturns, just to make coffee on. Then I could have that unit mobile if I decided to be an adult and actually put the time into fixing it.

I was blown away about the amount of work involved in this door repair. Also, muntins.

https://youtu.be/w4RW2DHIEGQ

I assume the unit doesn't need to be hard fixed to wall. On legs?

I believe it's on legs, yep. But my worry is how DO I hard fix it once the top is on? As presumably it could be pulled over without fixing to a wall. Maybe they could just template it and leave it for me to adhere the top to the unit in my own time I guess?

Keep going.

Finally fitted my proper ply shelf and wall bit. Far from perfect but I’m pleased enough for now. Ply pre cut from plydiect.com, further cuts by hand slightly not right but…

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And… osmo oil still drying a bit there.

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And yes I hate the window but can’t afford to replace it atm.

Does anyone have experience of JB Kind doors? Specifically the unfinished oak ones. We'll be painting them, not keeping the oak finish.
I want to replace some of our horrible hollow doors with something heavier and solid but am on a bit of a budget. Don't want to look at reclaimed doors due to the time and effort of sourcing.

Bought everything (hopefully) to put in a new kitchen base cabinet, sink, taps, and a hanging worktop with legs. Now I need to work up the courage to give it a go.

Good luck! I need to do this at some point... Maybe a couple of years away.