Damp in old brick cottage

[Neddy flanders]

house was probably built 100 yrs ago. think its a double skin of brick with no cavity then just cement type plaster inside. bicks are not the best quality and a few are really falling apart. guess pointing would help. several damp patches inside which don't coincide with any cracks, leaks or dodgy bricks outside.

theres no DPC, just a course of angled shaped bricks to let water flow slightly away from foundation bricks.

will try digging a trench around house and filling with gravel to maybe 3 courses below ground level.

any other help appreciated

 

[Frodo2]

Is it damp or condensation? Insulate the walls internally with an air gap and improve heating. I am renovating a similar property and external insulation with a render finish was suggested as an option, but I can't find anyone who can do it.

 

[puppet]

No cavity will not be easy to sort. Water will come up or through the wall. A good trench well below floor level will help, some coating to the brick to make water run off and ask a builder about a damp course which can be cut between a row of bricks.
With no cavity to keep the inner bricks dry you may have to make one by some plastic 5 feet up the wall then some straps to put on an inner plasterboard wall with a gap. Will hardly make any difference to the room size.
I am not a builder but this is what they did to our house.

 

[Hereward]

Ventilation, ventilation, ventilation.

If you have gypsum plaster on the interior walls this is probably stopping the walls breathing.

A French drain around the perimeter can only help, careful not to go into the angle of repose of the wall foundations.

Have you Central heating? If not fit it, trickle vents on all windows, humidity controlled extractors in bathrooms and kitchens.

 

[teslacoils]

My house is / was the same.

French drain.
Builders also drilled and filled the lower course of bricks with some kind of squirts stuff. Then cut the bottom two foot of plaster off and take up the floors, tank and redo.
Fix gutters
Fix chimneys.
Decent heating.

It's a lot better but even stuff like avoiding furniture and shelving in corners as the reduced airflow let's milder grow.

If you have chimneys, get some log burners in but don't put your house thermostat in the same room as a log burner.

If I were doing it again, it do underfloor heating.

Biggest problem here is the roof now which really needs replacing and insulating. Payback period on new roof is a fraction of insulating the walls, which is not a good remedy if no dpc.

 

[Beames]

Try a PIV ( positive input ventilation) unit. I’ve fitted more than I care to remember and never had any complaints. https://www.nuaire.co.uk/residential/positive-input-ventilation

 

[RushesToo]

try Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery [MVHP] systems, moves air but loses little warmth - uses heat exchange. Main aim to keep the house warm and dry.