Domestic Property, West Sussex – Replastering After Fixing Penetrating Damp

This first floor domestic flat is located in a medium density residential area of a town in West Sussex. The building was constructed in the 1980s and the walls are made out of standard fletton bricks. Two of the four walls in the living room of the property are weather facing and all other walls in the building are internal walls.

The Problem

Due to a combination of extended wet weather and defective pointing, the weather facing walls of the property had been suffering from penetrating damp. This had led to damp patches, blown plaster and bubbled patches of delaminated paint appearing on the internal decorating surfaces.

The occupants of the flat wanted to stop the penetrating damp and create a dry living environment with long lasting decor. The property owners were keen to complete the renovation works as soon as possible, keeping revisits from the contractors to a minimum.

The Solution

The first step to creating a dry internal environment was to stop water from entering the wall through the exterior weather-facing surfaces. The wall was repointed using Stormdry Repointing Additive No.1 and an application of Stomrdry Masonry Protection Cream was carried out, making the wall resistant to rain penetration.

Although no new water could enter the wall from the exterior face, there was still a significant amount of blown and damaged plaster on the interior wall surface. In order to enable quick redecoration it was decided that the wall needed to be replastered.

It was not possible to use a standard gypsum plaster whilst the wall was still wet as it may have led to a return of the previous damp symptoms and possible salt transfer. Dryzone Damp-Resistant Plaster was chosen to replaster the wall. The highly breathable and salt-resistant plaster allowed the wall to dry whilst resisting the effects of residual dampness, allowing for immediate decoration after it has cured.