Phil Addison wrote in message . ..
On 23 Jun 2004 04:48:41 -0700, (N. Thornton) wrote:


Eeek. I'll do some exploratory drilling to check the extent of this.

I cant think how drilling would tell you whats going on. If theyre not
cracked externally I'd leave well alone in most cases.

I was thinking of a 1/4" drill just through the plaster to see if it hit
render or brick. To see if the whole wall/s is rendered or just the damp
bits.

That wont really tell you anything about the condition of the wall. It
is external rendering that is the caution sign, not internal. And
drilling wont tell you anything useful.


I was
going to repoint it before plastering, ut maybe I should render it (with
no waterproofer additive) as well after all to bind it all together?
OTOH, it only has a few courses to self support just there.

Ideally both, but mostly people just render. Many Vic houses are a bit
borderline structurally, so maximising wall strength can matter on
some of them. Do use the right mix on Vic bricks, the wrong mix can
end up doing more damage.

By 'both' you mean repoint + render, or render + plaster? I suppose the
former. The right mix is...?

repoint and render. For repointing Vic bricks I use 1:1:6, thats
cement:hydrated lime:sand by volume. However I'm not going to state
that would automatically be correct in your case, it probably is but
its upto you to confirm.


And ideally use internal plaster that lets any dampness dry, like lime
plaster. But only once the wall's properly dried.

What is lime plaster?

plaster made from lime Most plaster is gypsum based. Lime
plastering costs more, but may be easier to diy since you get more
time to work on it.

I like the sound of that. I take it you buy it by the bag ready mixed?

I think Anna said Jewsons do it - you can search. I've not used it
yet, so cant give you much info there. G'luck.


Regards, NT