# Dry lining an old house.



## Robert (17 Feb 2004)

I will soon be gutting an old cottage to renovate it. Can somebody tell me the pros and cons between puttin on battens,putting on plasterboard and then skimming it out, or strippig the existing plaster off compleatly,putting on a base of sand & cement and finishing off with hardwall.      The factors I have in mind are overall cost, thermal efficency and any other important factors.


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## <A HREF=http://pub145.ezboard.com/baskaboutmoney.s (18 Feb 2004)

One advantage of dry lining might be that you can add insulation (glass fibre) enclosed by the battens and overlaid plasterboard. It's very effective. However I presume that the wall surface should ideally be sound before dry lining?


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## davelerave (18 Feb 2004)

dry-lining will give you better insulation,smooth finish on the walls compared to plastering ,easier for wiring(my job).i don't think condition of walls is important as long as you sheet at the back of batons with plastic.i'm not too well up on the costs,there's a lot of work in dry-lining but skimming the dry-lined walls is quick enough ,plasterers are expensive to hire now.there's also insulated slabs you can fix directly to the wall with clips and there's metal studding on the market as well


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## heinbloed (18 Feb 2004)

*dry lining*

Old cottages might have the problem with rising damp ,
make sure that is tackled before you start any job on the interior . For thermal efficiency cement plaster is  the worst solution . As mentioned by "0" dry lining is a DIY job and therefore much cheaper than getting it done by some one . Insulation is much more effective if done over the whole of the walls surface avoiding thermal bridges like floors and interior walls . It would save also space inside and would save the job of the timber studs , dry lining can be glued  for lesser money and time than studding it . The 20kg bag of glue costs around 12 € , but in some places you can get a better deal . For further advice check the web page of GYPROC .
Don't forget to insulate and pressure check all pipes which will be covered later ,  the " cold " ones as well ( condensation ).


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## Robert (18 Feb 2004)

Thanks people. I was kinda surprised that somebody did'nt advise me "to go to my local friendly builders providers", ther are two in my local provincial town and the staff treat you like a moron if you can't order what you need using all the trade jargon.Roll on next year when a branch of Woodies is due to open.
But back to the business in hand.
If I understand correctly your advise is not to strip the walls,apply a coat of sand and cement and finished off with a coat of hardwall but instead fit a layer of plastic to the wall,fix the wodden battens or metal clips,fit a layer of insulation.fix the plasterboard and this is ready for the plasterers to finish.


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## davelerave (18 Feb 2004)

you might need a chippie depending on how tricky it is  ,the base for the slabs needs to be right,sometimes they make a wooden frame like a partition if the wall is off,as far as the best choice goes you might want to retain the old style with sloped ceilings and just plaster the walls or point them up especially if it's small


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## Robert (18 Feb 2004)

Heinbloed I had'int seen your contribution before I sent my last "post"(it takes me an age to type anything out).
A couple of questions if I may. Can you please advise how you wold know if dampness is rising damp,how do you tackle it and also what are thermal bridges.I would expect all the old walls will be coverd.
I will look up that Gyproc site tomorrow.


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## propertynewbie (19 Feb 2004)

I have been looking into this and after exausting google and having 3 different people, with 3 very differnt ideas on how to tackle this have decided to :

take off the plaster to a height of 1m.
(to help rid it of the damp plaster)
Inject a chemical DPC into the walls.
the render over to the tickness of the remaining plaster with a solution mixed in to prevent water penetration.
then dryline over with thermal backed boards which you glue onto the wall.
then tape the joints and plaster over them with a bit of render. 
then paint !

The plumber also suggested to hold off on doing it for week or two as we have just had CH installed and the heat will help dry out the walls also.

anyone got an suggestions, reccomendations.

Its a stone/concrete walled property, about 8/9inches thick.

Thanks


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## heinbloed (19 Feb 2004)

*damp*

Hi Robert !
Rising damp is identified by drilling a hole into the suspected wall at the bottom of it and one at the top . 
Than you analyse the dust from each for moisture content . The dry dust would easily "dust" while the damp dust would be somewhat clogging together .Signs of mould , wallpapers condition etc. .A bit of experience would be handy , try it out on a wall where you are sure about it's condition . Otherwise you can get a damp meter from the tool hire shop or buy one yourself , which might be an option for a larger project .
A thermal bridge is the weakest point - in insulation terms - of a structure where you get a temperature difference of 6 or more degrees Celsius which in turn causes condensation .In your car it would be the window for example . In a standard building this could be the window pane , its frame , the entrance door , the lintels and ducts leading to the outside . In buildings that had been insulated from the inside ( a typical DIY mistake , but it's tempting not to use a scaffolding and working inside is so much more comfortable ) these thermal bridges would be found at floor levels and in corners that are created by partition walls. Usually the ground floor inside is a bit higher than the soil level outside . So when you insulate the inside wall the cold could creep under the floor causing musty smells , rotten carpet edges and skirting boards .
Same goes with ceilings -where there is no insulation there will be condensation .
" O " used a plastic sheet between the original wall and the newly installed inner insulation .I wouldn't go for that solution . Either the wall is dry or not . Blocking moisture in it makes the worst of it ,the wetter it is the less it insulates.It is the air trapped in the wall that insulates,not the water,and the longer it has time to build up the fewer air it will leave . Future problems ( asthma due to fungi spores growing happily behind it on the damp wall -they will find their way even through gas mask filters ! ) would be " build-in " .
Tackle the problem is my advice - don't cover it up . 
 Insulation is an issue where a lot can be done wrong , the sick- building-syndrome is what the occupier will experience . Structural damage can be caused as well ( rotting timber , concrete weakening by saltpeter excreting moulds and faulty electrics are only a few )
Don't safe on the penny when it can cost your health .
 The most important thing is to work logical .
I stop here before it get's out of hand .Good luck !


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## <A HREF=http://pub145.ezboard.com/baskaboutmoney.s (19 Feb 2004)

*Re: damp*



> " O " used a plastic sheet between the original wall and the newly installed inner insulation



That was davelerave actually.


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## Robert (19 Feb 2004)

*Drylining an old house.*

More questions.........

Can the chemical D.P.C.be injected into the wall using a brush,or a machine from a hire centre,and also what brand name would you recommend.
You say "it is tempting not to use a scaffolding outside" which makes me think that to do the job properly there is something which can be done with the outside surface.(it will be plasterd or dashed) which will avoid any proplems in the future.

P.S. Does anybody know of a book which covers this subject, (I could get drummed out of the regement for that) or a web site.  It strikes me that if this part is not done correctly I could have problems down the line.

Regards.& Many thanks.


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## heinbloed (20 Feb 2004)

*plasticsheet*

Sorry " O " , I mixed you up . Heinbloed


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## roker (22 Feb 2004)

*Rising Damp*

Rising damp bring salt up from the ground, and as it evaporates over the year it will have left a salt deposit on the wall which looks a bit fluffy. Do be careful that you do not hide the damp with the battens. The worse thing that can happen is that you can get dry rot which is worse than wet rot because the fungi will go through the wall looking for any timber.

The chemical DPC is normally pressure injected. Old type walls filled with rubble is more difficult to do than cavity walls.


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## legend99 (23 Feb 2004)

*..*

You'll have a lovely experience at Woodies. On the flip side for basic building materials, cement, sand, wooden joists etc you'll pay a mutliple of the builder provider price...


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## Sue Ellen (26 Dec 2005)

Have tried to figure out all of the above and Insulation in relation to my query but just don't know what to do. 

Our house was built in the 70s and we are not quite sure if gable wall (damp one) has cavity or solid block. Don't really have the space to dry line and besides it would be very awkward to do the whole gable wall which I feel is the best approach. Expandable foam sounds the best option but not knowing about the brick raises more problems.

Anyone else any bright ideas?


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## z102 (26 Dec 2005)

First you should try to find the source of the dampness. Drill a hole into the wall and see what you've got. If the moisture comes from the foundation (rising damp)than chemical treatment of the wall would be the solution, propably in combination with a drainage laid around. If the wall is wet due to the rain hitting it then you need aerated cladding, again in combination with drainage at the foundation level.


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## patspost (27 Dec 2005)

A number of years ago we treated the house successfully for rising damp using chemicals from the Damp Store, they are now in ballsbridge. A 6-8 inch deep hole was drilled   around the perimeter inside and outside the house about 1 foot apart. The chemical was then pumped in and the holes plastered over. Seems to have worked. There may be other shops selling that type of product, at the time another option was to bury a electrical prob around the insode perimeter adn this would have apparently de-ionised the salt or something. 

Much better to treat the cause of dampness, if there is any then to just dryline over it.


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## BillK (27 Dec 2005)

Can you not check with the planning authority and get a look at the plans for the house to see whether the gable is solid or cavity? Failing that I'd drill a hole through the wall and measure it.


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