Sealing rubble wall on old house

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Dinny

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We have a holiday home in Wexford which is open to the elements (few fields from the Irish sea). It is built from stone and I would assume lime plastered. There are a number of cracks in the plaster and there is some dampness in the house. There is a good bit of dry lining done inside on battens and there is signs of discoloration on them . We have fixed the normal issues like repairs to gutter, checked drains, replaced a roof that had to low of a pitch for slates and now moving on to bigger projects

We are going to replace the old aluminium windows as they have no vents and a good few have condensation in the pains. I think this could be leading to a lot of the damp issues especially if the house can go for a month or two with out being opened

Up stairs we have damp in the floor and need to repair a rotten joist. this could be partly down to the gutters which are now repaired

The house is quiet warm and we are not too concerned about improving insulation values as we are not there for long periods and dont see the payback. Just want to reduce dampness and not want to spend money on something and then have to do it all over again in 5 years as it it was the wrong option.

Would it be better to remove and replaster with Lime or is external insulation an option. All the treads I have come across rule out normal cement render is this true? What would be the best option? The budget will be tight as we are trying to do a few things.

Thanks for any help
 
Does the house have a proper, functioning, damp proof layer in the walls?
Is there a damp barrier in the floor?
This is key.
Lime render only.
The drylinging is really the wrong answer as well as its not a lime render but gypsum which is non breathable.

Look at Joe Little, Architect, site for loads on this issue
 
I would not think that there would be damp proof in the walls or the floor. It is a very old house.

What is the solution if no DPC
 
A fully breathable wall: I would take off some of the dry lining and have a look: the health issues around mould are only now being fully appreciated.
To keep it ventilated consider MHVR.

dont replace the windows yet: bigger issues to solve
 
No probs, there is also an electro-type thingy for walls with no DPC, some folks on other forums swear by it, I don't.

One way damp in the walls can be reduced is to put a crushed stone filled drain around the house and therefore reduce the height of the water table.
It HAS to be able to drain away and also needs to avoid interfering with foundations when dug.
Works well if you can get the slope away for the water table drop
 
Branz said:
One way damp in the walls can be reduced is to put a crushed stone filled drain around the house and therefore reduce the height of the water table.
It HAS to be able to drain away and also needs to avoid interfering with foundations when dug.
Works well if you can get the slope away for the water table drop
Click to expand...

aka, a French drain.
 
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