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He is just a listed building owner fixing his own home. :-)

I agree with the second part, you are absolutely right. Re the first part, yes he is good at many things but misses the mark in other areas. If someone negates the existence of rising damp, a natural phenomenon, is obviously missing important diagnosis points. There is an overwhelming amount of scientific evidence about rising damp, some bits of data being shown here: www.coreconservation.co.uk/rising-damp-historical-context/

Here we used linseed oil and soap.

You're welcome.

Thanks for sharing. :-)

Yes, you are right, drainage helps with certain dampness related things but doesn't help with everything. The problem is not the water. You can drain water away or make it evaporate. The real problem are the salts. Salts bond humidity chemically and keep the buildings damp. So there is more than just water. More info here: www.coreconservation.co.uk/the-effect-of-ground-salts-onto-masonry/

Glad it was helpful!

Thank you! Cheers!

The aerogel-lime plaster came out 2-3 years ago. However aerogel has been know for a long time, same as lime plasters. This is just a new, novel application of some well-known materials.

Yes, how much soap and oil, and any specific types?

Will upload soon

Historic England might have published some studies in this regards, I have been reading about this in the past. However, based on 4+ years of intense moisture research in-house I don't think things are that simple. Everyone seems to focus these days on capillary action of mortars and neglect the vapour phase. Based on our experience most of the drying occurs through evaporation and vapour movement, rather than capillary movement. There's definitely more research needed in this area as the phenomenon is complex involving many moisture transport mechanisms.

I'm glad it worked for you. :-) As pointed out y you, cob walls represent a real challenge to regular air limes due to the high salinity of the (damp) cob. Just because a lime is breathable it does not mean that it will last long in the presence of moisture and salt. In our experience when the wall is damp and salty a regular lime plaster can decay very quickly. For these "heavy duty" scenarios you need different types of limes engineered to resist humidity and salts. We do have such lime plasters and can solve these issues even without using fine crusher dust (finely ground cement) in the mix, fully solving these problems with lime and natural pozzolans (volcanic sands) mixes alone.

The Romans had an amazing lime technology and they were able to do everything with lime including things what we solve today with cement and modern materials. Some of this lime technology, especially the technology of natural pozzolans (volcanic sands and ashes) has been lost or forgotten over time, so by doing practical workshops and Italy and Venice, by learning from one of the Venetian Restoration Masters in person, we are trying to bring back and revive this technology, an important part of working with lime.

The role of electrostatic charges in the retention and movement on moisture is a new discovery and new field of study. Almost everyone out there "pitches" the concept that breathability solves all dampness problems. This is not the case. It does solve many problems, however removing the moisture barriers (e.g. cement) to make the wall fabric breathable is only half of the story. The other half is the presence and effect of electrostatic or electrochemical charges in the wall fabric. These can hold moisture trapped and reduce the breadability of the fabric. More info here: www.coreconservation.co.uk/drying-breathability-moisture-barriers/

A cellar is cold because of the evaporating moisture. Evaporation draws away heat from any surface cooling it down.

I would probably say there are main reasons why dampness problems are not sorted: 1. Incorrect diagnosis; 2. Incorrect solution (even if the initial diagnosis was correct).

Glad you enjoy it! Thank you.

Yes, it does, like everywhere else. It also floods several times a year. And there are a slot of salts due to the presence of sea water. What was your point?

You're welcome!

It is hard to argue with the Romans as some of their buildings have stood the test of times for 2 millennia and they were experts in lime and the technology of natural pozzolans (volcanic sands and ashes mixed to lime). Here is a link demonstrating the performance of the plaster: th-cam.com/video/2EajpaPCYKI/w-d-xo.html But it's up to you what you use on a building.

I think sometimes even experts need to check their facts to stay on top of their game. It's hard to argue with research data and facts: www.coreconservation.co.uk/rising-damp-historical-context/

A non-invasive solution for rising damp for old and listed buildings is the magnetic DPC technology: www.coreconservation.co.uk/magnetic-dpc-construction/

I agree with you. But there is more to it. Not water is the real problem but the salts, which water movement transports into the wall fabric. Once there, the whole breathability and natural drying concept will be significantly altered. More info here: www.coreconservation.co.uk/drying-breathability-moisture-barriers/

No, this is not my premise at all and you missed the whole point on what the device does and how it operates. The device does not produce or outputs any magnetic fields. It actually does the opposite: it ABSORBS some (not all) magnetic fields in the building, decreasing the overall electromagnetic field level in the building - to put it simply. Some electromagnetic fields in the environment as they penetrate the walls, release some of their energy to the wall, increasing the walls' surface energy (or surface charges). A wall with higher surface charges traps more moisture. With the magnetic DPC we reverse this process, by reducing some magnetic fields in the building, reducing the surface charges of the walls, which allows water to evaporate out from the capillaries, where previously has been stuck. In other words, with this technology, we increase the breathability of the wall fabric.

Yes, it could however it has not been designed for that as it is a base coat that supposed to be covered up by a decorative coat. This finishing here is more suitable for bathrooms or similar applications: th-cam.com/video/pltxLf1cfa4/w-d-xo.html

As far as I know, evaporation dries the walls, it's the primary drying mechanism. You can read more about the salt here: www.coreconservation.co.uk/the-effect-of-ground-salts-onto-masonry/

Hello, I don't know about the American market. Yes, a non-glossy smooth finish can be achieved using other types of lime finishes.

Research has shown that rising damp is the actual cause. It is a standalone wetting mechanism that occurs independently of rainwater ingress of lack of drainage etc. Those causes can obviously make it worse, but it will occur without those causes too. This is difficult to prove in a real building as there are too many affects all affecting the walls at the same time. But it's easy to prove in a lab where these individual variables can be turned on or off independently. More info here: www.coreconservation.co.uk/rising-damp-what-is-it/

@@coreconservation Whilst i agree with the evidence you have shown, it comes down to which you believe to be the overriding factor. A combination of solutions can help, lowering the outside ground by digging a perimeter drain provides a surface for the moisture to evaporate away, rather than ingress from. It is a permanent aid to reducing damp. chemical dpc's and other solutions will always only be temporary, and usually rely on tanking plaster to hide its ineffectiveness.

The misunderstanding here is that it's not a problem that the wall absorbs water. It eventually goes away, comes back, goes away and on and on. The real problem is all of those other factors which make it much worse and very visible because it traps the moisture and eventually leads to spalling and other nasty things such as mould. Then, your drainage, lime plaster/mortar, lowering outside ground levels etc is what must be done.

Yes, it does. Pretty easy to prove by industry-standard gravimetric (drilled core) readings.

Thank you for your question. Why would that be important?

Thank you for your comment. You are absolutely right: more research is needed as lots of debate on a topic means little actual data, lots of uncertainty and opinions.

We plan to have another video in the future explaining this concept in more detail.

Lime indeed has a drying effect, but it's not water that keeps the walls damp but the hygroscopic salts. In the presence of salts the wall will not dry or dry significantly slower, with or without lime. More info here: www.coreconservation.co.uk/drying-breathability-moisture-barriers/

You can pretty much apply any lime mix on top.

This plaster blocks the liquid water and allows the vapours to pass. So it stops liquid water similar to many other tanking systems. The problem of modern tanking systems is lack of vapour permeability. As a result moisture builds up in the wall behind the tanking, then starts moving upwards and sideways, making the fabric wetter, even if the surface looks dry. Based on my observation, many professionals tend to ignore water vapours considering these non important and only focus on liquid moisture. You have to understand both form of water as vapours will cause liquid moisture accumulation over time.

Hello, thank you for your comment. Science continuously evolves and some newer findings can be seen here: th-cam.com/video/ULvZr3-Gqb8/w-d-xo.html

Yes, the Romans had an amazing lime technology - some of it has been lost over time. They were able to do everything with lime and have built buildings and walls that have lasted for over 2,000 years, which is a testament to their skills and the quality of materials.

Hi Alan, We have published a number of videos about surveying or diagnosing dampness problems in all buildings. Here are links to some of them. th-cam.com/video/plujEsKRXzU/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/oOFJYcdbwP4/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/ce17b8cbxkk/w-d-xo.html

Hello, thank you for your comment. Yes, the solution is a 2-stage solution: 1. You need to solve the rising damp to stop the accumulation of salts into the building fabric, which are is the main source of crumbling. 2. You need to use a salt-resistant base coat to prevent the premature damage of your new lime plaster. Of course, the drains, rainwater goods etc. needs to be well maintained and need to work as excess moisture improves the moisture and salts transport in masonry, leading to faster damages. We use the non-invasive magnetic DPC system, described here: www.coreconservation.co.uk/magnetic-dpc-construction/

This experiment was part of a series of experiments we have undertaken to study the movement of moisture. It is virtually impossible to to understand and evaluate what happens in an old wall fabric if one jumps straight into it as it is a VERY complex process. We started studying how moisture moves in ONE single brick, then SEVERAL bricks separated with a simple mortar bed, then this experiment with SMALL WALLS built onto the soil, then migrating to REAL buildings. Going through this process took us about 2 years. Firstly, because each experiment lasted from a few weeks to a few months. Secondly, because we have redone some of these experiments several times to validate the findings. Thirdly, because the phenomena were really complex. But it resulted in some invaluable findings. We still carry on with other experiments and we would like to explore more in depth different materials, how they affect the movement of water and further understand the differences between lime, cement, various types bricks and stones.

It is very commendable that you are investing time to investigation this important subject as this is most certainly needed.