I'm still officially convalescing but I feel a bit of a fraud, as I am actually healing very well and I feel very well. I'm very limited in what I am allowed to do around the house: I'm not allowed to lift things, or go up ladders, or do anything that really classes as "work". However, I am being obedient and not risking anything, probably until Christmas. The only thing that I don't like to do too much is bending down, as that puts pressure on the wound across my abdomen; this doesn't hurt at all but it just feels like a bad idea!
I went outside the back of the house today for the first time in ages, where it really is cold and damp. I was surprised to see that my new grey limestone slabs all have a green tinge. I presume that this discoloration will last until next Spring, when I would hope that the slabs will dry out as the temperature rises and, like the walls of the house, the green will just disappear. There is no way that I want to take a pressure hose to these slabs every year!
The conditions outside were a forceful reminder about the way to treat an old building; we are dry and quite warm inside, and this was achieved by using no cement, no damp proof course and no modern plaster in the restoration of the house (although of course the extension was built entirely in the modern way). I've only lit the front room fire once, and the woodburner not at all, as I am still waiting for it to turn cold! After all, I don't want to waste firewood. The secondary glazing helps enormously, and keeping draughts down by closing internal doors helps as well although of course the paradox is that good ventilation is essential. The first rule is that if you are not wearing a jumper then you can't complain about the cold inside the house, and the second rule is that if you turn the thermostat up then you can't complain about the size of the gas bill!
2 comments:
Hi,firstly thank you for your excellent blog, which as the owner of a period property, I enjoy reading. Secondly, I hope you've recovered from your op.
One thing I do not understand is the "breathing" of solid walls. Won't moisture still show through in a breathable lime plastered wall? Wouldn't internal tanking and dry-lining be a more effective solution by confining moisture to the outside surface of a wall?
Thanks for your comments - both I and my brother are in excellent health and he has just been discharged by the consultant as being "boring"!
As regards your question about breathability of solid walls, the thing is that they are not actually solid and impermeable, but are quite porous. You could try (as people do, sadly) making both inside and outside totally impervious by some modern method, but you still have the problem with water getting in (a) at the top, if there is roof damage etc, or (b) at the bottom where there is no DPC, or earth is heaped against the wall. If that happened, the moisture would never get out! A lime mortared wall will allow moisture inside the building to pass through the wall, and so you shouldn't get condensation inside (as you do on poorly ventilated modern houses). The best solution is to go with the design of the original wall and not to try modern techniques. All they do is to seal moisture in - have you felt that damp cold feeling of thistle plaster over some damp? Or have you seen cement pointing on a stone house where it is cracking because the limestone moves but cement is brittle? (And that movement lets water behind the cement, and it then can't get out!)
I could go on about this, but see the Period Property forum at http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/forum/index.php where a lot of like minded people talk about practical issues and bemoan the lack of knowledge about old techniques!
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