Rendering advice; lime, k-rend, Victorian house, help!
Discussion
Hi all,
I have a 1900-1910 Victorian terrace and the render on the back is in terrible condition, it's cracked, blown from the brick surface and falling off. Getting some quotes to replace it, so far ranging from £3k to £9.5k.. (If you don't want the job, decline, don't insult me with a £9500 quote - without scaffolding!).
Inside the house there's damp patches, salts on the paint, paint flaking, and in the back room upstairs the plaster Is spongey.
My question is what sort of render do I need? One company said as its single skin brick it needs to breathe, so he'd use a lime render, he then dropped round photos of his previous work and all was good. I then had other companies saying they'd use a waterproof scratch coat or SBR with the self coloured K-Rend on top which gives a great finish and doesn't need painting. Do builders want to use k-rend cause it's easy to use, even though it might not be right for my property? How do I know who's right?!
Any advice from Ph would be very welcome, I have no idea who to believe on this and I don't want to have damp coming back. A couple of them asked if we have damp proof course but I don't know and the house info didn't say when we bought it.
Cheers
I have a 1900-1910 Victorian terrace and the render on the back is in terrible condition, it's cracked, blown from the brick surface and falling off. Getting some quotes to replace it, so far ranging from £3k to £9.5k.. (If you don't want the job, decline, don't insult me with a £9500 quote - without scaffolding!).
Inside the house there's damp patches, salts on the paint, paint flaking, and in the back room upstairs the plaster Is spongey.
My question is what sort of render do I need? One company said as its single skin brick it needs to breathe, so he'd use a lime render, he then dropped round photos of his previous work and all was good. I then had other companies saying they'd use a waterproof scratch coat or SBR with the self coloured K-Rend on top which gives a great finish and doesn't need painting. Do builders want to use k-rend cause it's easy to use, even though it might not be right for my property? How do I know who's right?!
Any advice from Ph would be very welcome, I have no idea who to believe on this and I don't want to have damp coming back. A couple of them asked if we have damp proof course but I don't know and the house info didn't say when we bought it.
Cheers
If you're considering staying it may be worth looking at upgrading the structure, either with an inner or outer skin or additional insulation.
It's unlikely you'll control penetrating damp on a single skin wall, and controlling condensation would be challenging.
If you render with lime the wall will be wetter but dry off, if you use a cement render it will keep more rain out unless it cracks. Then it will retain the water.
As has been mentioned above, you will need good ventilation anyway, regardless of what you chose.
A chemical damp course on a Victorian 4" wall is a complete waste of time, which would become apparent if you tried to install one yourself.
It's unlikely you'll control penetrating damp on a single skin wall, and controlling condensation would be challenging.
If you render with lime the wall will be wetter but dry off, if you use a cement render it will keep more rain out unless it cracks. Then it will retain the water.
As has been mentioned above, you will need good ventilation anyway, regardless of what you chose.
A chemical damp course on a Victorian 4" wall is a complete waste of time, which would become apparent if you tried to install one yourself.
C Lee Farquar said:
If you're considering staying it may be worth looking at upgrading the structure, either with an inner or outer skin or additional insulation.
It's unlikely you'll control penetrating damp on a single skin wall, and controlling condensation would be challenging.
If you render with lime the wall will be wetter but dry off, if you use a cement render it will keep more rain out unless it cracks. Then it will retain the water
It's unlikely you'll control penetrating damp on a single skin wall, and controlling condensation would be challenging.
If you render with lime the wall will be wetter but dry off, if you use a cement render it will keep more rain out unless it cracks. Then it will retain the water
yellowtang said:
THIS is 100% the only correct answer.
Thanks for the replies, very helpful. The government have stopped the funds for solid wall insulation which is a shame. I'll have a look again at the lime plasterer, his quote was reasonable, and he seemed to understand the needs of these houses.C Lee Farquar said:
A chemical damp course on a Victorian 4" wall is a complete waste of time, which would become apparent if you tried to install one yourself.
The OP said single skin but I had hoped that that meant a solid 9" wall. Originally coal fires would have helped keep the wall dry.Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff