Old house, damp walls but need to prevent water coming in

[Optimist]

We live in a probably early 19th century house that is constructed of brick at one end, stone in the middle and brick at the other end. It has been painted but someone has at some point painted with plastic masonry paint, which we know is a problem and needs removing. The only parts of the house that are damp are the brick sections, so due to financial constraints we need to focus on this initially. Am I correct in thinking a DOFF sprayer is the best option for this? Other (cheaper) suggestions are welcome. Our main problem is that the dampest end of the house is about 4m from a stream, so the water table will usually be high. We have put in a french drain which we think has helped but we still have damp but the biggest issue is that the stream occasionally in very heavy rain bursts its banks and flows past the end of the house. It doesn't come high enough to come through any doors but last winter it once came in through the wall so we would need to find a solution to prevent this happening. We need to re point a section, which is happening imminently but are told this will not stop the water coming through. We have been advised to paint the bottom with bitumen paint, but this won't help the damp. It is, in our opinion, the lesser of two evils but is there another solution? Because we are close to the source of the stream, when this happens, it is only against the house for a couple of hours before it goes down again (if that makes any difference).

 

[Cubist]

Well you have me scratching my head, the only DOFF Sprayer I know of is a Weedkiller?

That aside, as you rightly recognise, merely painting the brickwork with bitumen will be a of little real help. Yes, it may reduce damp penetration caused by water being absorbed through the exposed brickwork you can reach but it can do little to help where the soles of the bricks are effectively foot-wet. Others may have better and easier suggestions than the following but.... is there any possibility you could divert or re-route the source of the stream or otherwise ease its path away from the house?

 

[Optimist]

Well you have me scratching my head, the only DOFF Sprayer I know of is a Weedkiller?

That aside, as you rightly recognise, merely painting the brickwork with bitumen will be a of little real help. Yes, it may reduce damp penetration caused by water being absorbed through the exposed brickwork you can reach but it can do little to help where the soles of the bricks are effectively foot-wet. Others may have better and easier suggestions than the following but.... is there any possibility you could divert or re-route the source of the stream or otherwise ease its path away from the house?

Thank you for your reply - diverting the stream is sadly not an option, we have built up banks and dug out further downstream but that is all we are able to do, regarding the doff sprayer, it is a cleaning system, see link https://uk-restoration.co.uk/blog/doff-cleaning-by-uk-restorations-a-safe-way-to-clean-stone/

 

[Cubist]

Thanks for the additional information. I'm aware of similar cleaning/paint removal systems for stone and brickwork. With no first hand experience of same though I must leave others to either validate or repudiate the claims made about them - I think @malcolm, on of our site administrators may be able to comment - but as I understand it there have been some concerns regarding potential for damage to the faces of soft bricks and of course to the mortars. Clearly though anything you can do to rid yourself of non-breathable paints on the exterior will be beneficial but sadly there may be little more you can do limit rising damp from foot-wet footings/foundations. Maybe, and hopefully, some of the other members can be of more help.

 

[Sian1890]

We live in a probably early 19th century house that is constructed of brick at one end, stone in the middle and brick at the other end. It has been painted but someone has at some point painted with plastic masonry paint, which we know is a problem and needs removing. The only parts of the house that are damp are the brick sections, so due to financial constraints we need to focus on this initially. Am I correct in thinking a DOFF sprayer is the best option for this? Other (cheaper) suggestions are welcome. Our main problem is that the dampest end of the house is about 4m from a stream, so the water table will usually be high. We have put in a french drain which we think has helped but we still have damp but the biggest issue is that the stream occasionally in very heavy rain bursts its banks and flows past the end of the house. It doesn't come high enough to come through any doors but last winter it once came in through the wall so we would need to find a solution to prevent this happening. We need to re point a section, which is happening imminently but are told this will not stop the water coming through. We have been advised to paint the bottom with bitumen paint, but this won't help the damp. It is, in our opinion, the lesser of two evils but is there another solution? Because we are close to the source of the stream, when this happens, it is only against the house for a couple of hours before it goes down again (if that makes any difference).

If anyone comments on here with better methods of paint removal I’m all ears cuz I was just quoted 5k for a DOFF system paint removal job and my house is tiny

 

[malcolm]

For DOFF it's a high pressure and very hot temperature water blasting system. It works well for removing plastic paints without damage when used together with a paint stripper chemical and when used by someone who knows how to use it. My experience is here: https://www.periodproperty.co.uk/forum/threads/paint-stripping-brickwork.14124/#post-206882

I think my house cost about £5k excluding scaffolding and pavement closing charges and that was 10 years ago so likely £10k in todays money. For me, having already tried myself, that was well worth it, but mine is a larger house. I would have liked to have stayed at home to keep an eye on progress as I think they were too aggressive on my sandstone, though much of that damage may have already occurred after many winters of plastic paint with water trapped underneath.

 

[a twig]

If you really want to save money you can strip the paint yourself - https://www.stripperspaintremovers.com/ are a good supplier to chat to about your requirements - it’s a horrible and messy job but I’ve had good results with solvistrip in the past

Re: the stream - would some sort of low wall as a flood defence between the stream and the house be an option?

 

[IHateDamp]

or perhaps you could create a sump; dig a hole ready for a submersible pump which would pump and pipe off any water further down stream