Potgreendream
Member
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- 1
- Location
- Ramsbottom
Hello everyone,
We’re renovating a 1766 stone property and following the Peter Ward / Heritage House principles — avoiding modern damp proofing or chemical injections, and instead tackling damp the traditional way by addressing causes and allowing the building to breathe.
Our main issue is this: the property is semi-detached, with the cottages to the left sitting higher than ours. This means that around 1.4 metres of the left-hand side of our house is covered externally by higher ground and neighbouring gardens. Inevitably, that’s also the area showing the most damp internally.
I understand and agree with the principle that there’s no such thing as “rising damp” in a properly breathing wall — and that damp usually comes from trapped moisture, poor drainage, or modern materials like cement render or gypsum plaster.
However, my question is:
How do you overcome this kind of situation when your property sits lower than the adjoining land?
Since the stone wall on that side is essentially below ground level on the outside, it seems it will never be completely dry. What are the sympathetic, heritage-approved ways to manage that — while still sticking to the breathable, lime-based, no-DPC philosophy?
Any advice, examples, or experiences (especially from others with semi-buried walls) would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
— Tracey
We’re renovating a 1766 stone property and following the Peter Ward / Heritage House principles — avoiding modern damp proofing or chemical injections, and instead tackling damp the traditional way by addressing causes and allowing the building to breathe.
Our main issue is this: the property is semi-detached, with the cottages to the left sitting higher than ours. This means that around 1.4 metres of the left-hand side of our house is covered externally by higher ground and neighbouring gardens. Inevitably, that’s also the area showing the most damp internally.
I understand and agree with the principle that there’s no such thing as “rising damp” in a properly breathing wall — and that damp usually comes from trapped moisture, poor drainage, or modern materials like cement render or gypsum plaster.
However, my question is:
How do you overcome this kind of situation when your property sits lower than the adjoining land?Since the stone wall on that side is essentially below ground level on the outside, it seems it will never be completely dry. What are the sympathetic, heritage-approved ways to manage that — while still sticking to the breathable, lime-based, no-DPC philosophy?
Any advice, examples, or experiences (especially from others with semi-buried walls) would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
— Tracey