damp wall

[charlie]

Hi

We've had damp coming through our living room wall due to a gutter being blocked and overflowing down the side of the house. A plasterer has been doing some skimming work and he says that we'll have to remove all the affected plaster, put on some chemical damp proofer and replaster at a cost of =A3300 for a fairly small area. I was hoping we could just skim it and that it would dry out now that the gutter has been fixed- does the plaster really have to be removed? (I think the plaster is original and the building is 1890's)

thanks Charlie

[auctions]

Unless it got REALLY wet and is faling off the wall, old lime plaster dries out perfectly well. It would be different if it were the modern stuff. Let it dry out and decide what needs doing then.

A

[Stuart Noble]

Suck it and see. If it dries out ok, you may well be able to just skim it.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

If it's still adhering to the wall it should dry out ok if original. You can tell by tapping it with your knuckle - it will sound hollow if loose.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Just to add it will require probably several coats of dilute PVA before skimming with modern finish otherwise it will crack. So in terms of overall cost including time your plasterer may be right.

[meow2222]

Lime is better skimmed with lime. Sounds like either the plaster there has disintegrated or he's just looking for more work. All one normally need do is give the wall time to dry out - which may take months.

NT

[charlie]

Thanks for the advice. The plaster is in good condition and it's only a small patch between the window and end of the wall so I think I'll just leave it and let it dry out.

Charlie

[Robbo]

If you are in a hurry to get it sorted before Xmas etc, casge, beg, steal or borrow a Dehumidifier, and dry it out before redeccying

[Andrew Gabriel]

I'm doubtful it would help much. However, they can do a lot of damage, e.g. giving you dish shaped floorboards if you excessively dry out one side of them relative to the atmosphere on the other side. Good ventilation is all that should be required.