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Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2010 4:24 pm
by da02uk
Firstly, hello all, great site - I'll probably be here a lot in the coming years.
I'm a year into the ownership of my new home (1950's) and can finally start to get onto some of the more fearsome jobs around the place.
When we moved in the house had been empty for nearly a year. We discovered some small patches of black mould around the lower quarter of an outside wall (This had previously been behind the previous owners sofa). It was cleaned off using the usual products and has remained in much the same state since. However, there has been a pretty consistent smell of damp, that comes and goes with the weather. I decided to investigate the outside wall, and came across a couple of possible issues.
Firstly the rainwater drain was blocked at the bottom of the 'u', and subsequently most of this water was overflowing the trap and probably working its way down the wall. This was obviously sorted out pretty easily and now, having checked, the rainwater flows as intended.
Secondly, and the reason for this post, is the concrete skirting that is all around the lower two bricks below the DPC (I dont know if it has a fancy name or not) seems to be bridging in places if not all around. So I hacked the skirting the whole length of the wall off. In most places it wasn’t even attached, just had mildew or something growing up the inside. So I've cleared this area away and dug out some of the ground. This has left us with damaged facing of the bricks. I’m looking at ways to improve the situation and looks.
Eventually I'd like to run a decked path around this wall and out the back. I can’t just butt the deck up to the wall at DPC level, and I’d rather not go so low as to have large steps.
So in summary, and I know it’s a long time coming, apologies, does this ‘skirting’ have a proper name, and what is the best way to repair, reface or make good the existing mess? Any help, advice or pointers would be much appreciated.
Thanks for getting this far, sorry if your now half a sleep!
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2010 5:31 pm
by lutonlagerlout
no problem thats what we are here for
the concrete skirting is called a *plinth* and it needs replacing
the damp can be caused by a number of things
lack of ventilation in the cavity
water bridging the dpc
condensation
guttering leaking and splashing down wall
have you got the heating on now and are the rooms still vented?
I have seen the same issue as yours due to a blocked cavity and all we did was cut an airbrick into the outside brick work at dpc height
a picture would be handy
LLL
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2010 6:22 pm
by da02uk
Wow, thanks for the quick reply LLL.
Here is a picture showing the air bricks i put in to the chimneys. I was told that because they are now redundant and blocked, inside and out, that i should vent them as they may be causing the 'smell'. So i have put air bricks in top and bottom of both chimneys. Opposite the lower air bricks in each chimney is a vent into the inside (lounge), although i'm not sure how much venting they actually do?
We have a solid slab floor, with the asphalt DPC i think on top throughout. The old airbricks that are below the DPC (first picture) I have presumed were for venting to each fireplace? Also I have had a quick look under the carpet and found what looks like a concrete infill/screed where the original fireplaces were. If this was not done properly could it also bridge the DPC?
They paper work that was with the house shows some great 70's chaps installing the 'poly ball' type cavity wall insulation. This is confirmed by the few that have been found outside and inside the house when doing work.
The heating is on (thank god) most days throughout winter.
I've cleared and tested the guttering, all seems fine with no leaks, but this wall does take most of the elements head on, hence the water paterns visable (I think)?
When you say replacing the plinth, do you mean replace or is there another way? None of the other houses in the street have this? The paperwork also shows that the previous owner has had the house repointed, this looks like it has done most of the bridging?
Around the front of the house the drive slopes straight into the plinth without any gap whatsoever - should this be drained or left alone?
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2010 6:44 pm
by lutonlagerlout
yes i mean replace,but its way too cold right now
needs to be redone with 3:1 sharp sand :cement with SBR in the scratch coat and waterproofer in the top coat
its beyond the remit of all but the handiest of DIYer
water should never be allowed to run into a wall
have you a picture of the outside of the wall where the problem is?
cheers LLL
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2010 7:08 pm
by da02uk
I guess I need to get someone in then. I'm pretty handy, but not that handy!
The best pictures I have are here and here, although the second picture shows the wall dry.
Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 11:40 am
by da02uk
I wanted to do something like this down the side of this wall: -
Any suggestions?
Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 11:44 am
by GB_Groundworks
only thing i can see wrong with that is no hydraulic relief behind the wall needs weep holes bring through and into the channel drain or you need a drain behind the wall
what software is that drawn in? google sketchup?
Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 11:55 am
by da02uk
Yes Sketchup, it takes some getting used to but produces some ok results given its free!!
I'm not sure where I can drain to. I understand your comments but I have a ceramic type drain running around the back of the house and down this side. I think there would be some pretty hefty work to re-route the new into the existing. The more I look at it I may actually have my retaining wall positioned over the existing drain.
I'm going to have to take some measurements when the snow melts. Its hard to guess where things are though. Do you guys use some sort of metal detector variant to find these things, or just exploration?
Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 4:49 pm
by lutonlagerlout
as giles correctly says weep holes are a must in the retaining wall,
its the height of water that causes retaining walls to fail not the earth behind them
your land drain needs to go to a soakaway
detailed elsewhere on the site
nice drawings
LLL
Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 1:22 pm
by da02uk
SO now that we're starting to see some warmer weather, i thought it would be a good time to get some quotes for relaying the 'plinth' as mentioned originally.
I have a few questions, firstly, any recommendations for manchester based persons capable of doing the work.
Secondly, what sort of lengths could I go to, to make the contractors work easier & cheaper?
And thirdly, what sort of estimates do you think i could be looking at for doing approximately 13m of the plinthing?
Again, many thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 8:01 pm
by GB_Groundworks
We are based south Manchester, but not our thing
Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 9:02 pm
by lutonlagerlout
da02uk wrote:Secondly, what sort of lengths could I go to, to make the contractors work easier & cheaper?
casual sex and lager works wonders with my blokes
LLL
PS you really need to concentrate on getting the job done right,not cheap
Approx £200 to supply and render a plinth
Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 11:21 am
by da02uk
GB_Groundworks wrote:We are based south Manchester, but not our thing
Anyone you might recommend?
And what is your bag, because I want the retaining wall doing and associated groundworks?
Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 11:32 am
by da02uk
lutonlagerlout wrote:casual sex and lager works wonders with my blokes
LLL
PS you really need to concentrate on getting the job done right,not cheap
Approx £200 to supply and render a plinth
I'm not one for doing things on the cheap but if its going to cost me half a days labour to dig the trench for proper access, I can do that myself!
Although £200 sounds ok to me, is that on top of the booze and girls tho?
Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 5:27 pm
by lutonlagerlout
well we need a plinth doing in st albans and the plasterer says its a days work for him,so i am assuming £150 labour and £50 materials
maybe a bit less oop north
the girls and booze just make everyone a lot happier
LLL