Removing render

[David]

Hi

> Hope someone can give me advice. I have a terrace Victorian 2 up 2 down. I > bought this with rough render half way up and then stone cladding on the > first floor! Well it was cheap.... > > I had a small patch of damp on the front, and assumed this was the rendering > over the DPC (not so naive - I have a Certificate to say damp proofed from > company - now bankrupt) but when I chopped away a section of rendering there > is no evidence of injection holes for a DPC, and very little mortar on the > bricks either. The mortar that is there is very soft. > > I am now thinking I should chop off all the rendering, and cladding and > repoint then inject a DPC. So a couple of questions I cant find help with in > the DIY books. > > 1 - How deep should I remove the soft mortar in my solid 9" walls. The books > say half and inch, but the mortar is very crumble and soft all the way > through the joint. > > 2 - Will I end up with a nice brick finish? If so how effective are the > waterproofing compounds I can paint on to offer some protection from > penetrating damp? If the bricks are a bit tatty I am thinking I can repaint > with weather proof paint anyway. I don't want render or cladding again!!! > Whaddaya think?? > > 3 - How long do I have to leave it all before I can inject the DPC? > > Any advice/stories most welcome. > > Thanks

[N. Thornton]

In short David youve got the wrong idea entirely. Doing this will create you a lot of problems down the line. Suggest asking folks here:

explain more nother day if you want.

Regards, NT

[Cicero]

==================== The previous damp-proofing treatment might have been done entirely from the inside which would explain the absence of injection holes. I'm not sure if this is considered good practice but I believe it does happen.

Removing the old render is very unlikely to give you a 'nice brick finish' because the surface of the bricks will almost certainly be damaged to a greater or lesser extent. They will look very unsightly.

Raking out the old mortar and re-pointing might not be necessary IF you re-render and this may be your only realistic option. A possible alternative would be to remove the render and treat the damp and then either fix uPVC cladding or tile cladding. I think render would be best because it's good for about 50 years if done properly.

I had my house done early this year (remove all render / re-render). It looked a complete eyesore when the render was off but looks very smart now with two coats of paint.

Cic.