The station, which opened in August 1864, was the Isle of Wight railway’s northern terminus, (one of three stations in Ryde), before being expanded in 1866 to accommodate the opening of the new Ventnor to Shanklin line.
Ryde St John Signal Box
The timber framed, two storey signal box originally located at London Waterloo East, was dismantled in 1926, timbers numbered and moved piece by piece to be re-erected at its present location. This is the only operational signal box on the Isle of Wight line today and hence it has become known as the ‘Island Line Signalling Centre’!
No fancy computerised systems here! All hand operated by an experienced Signalman
Premier’s brief was to undertake a detailed investigation of the main structural supporting timbers and to prepare a specification of repair and preservation to allow for the continued use of the Signal Box well into the 21st century.
The main soft wood timber frame which sits on a concrete ringed foundation suffers from wet rot fungal decay and general deterioration, in part due to general weathering and the lack of routine maintenance, but also as a consequence of past flooding that affected the track and station buildings in the early and late 1990’s. Investigation of the timbers included the use of conventional survey techniques and moisture measurement, but also Micro Drilling using the Sibtec Digital Probe to determine the integral condition of the main wall plates, cill beams and large corner posts.
Significant wet rot fungal decay affecting the large corner posts and cill beams
Wet rot decay affects the internal wall plates
Wet rot fungal decay affects the joists to the canter levered jetty on the southern elevation
When the owners of a farm house suffering with damp problems needed a damp proofing solution Premier Heritage were on hand to assist with a traditional solution to damp.
This detached, stone built former Devon Farmhouse was refurbished by its previous owners in the 1970’s and unfortunately like many properties of this age was stripped of much of its original fabric, including its lime plasterwork, renders and pointing mortar.
Farmhouse prior to traditional form of damp proofing taking place
In early 2008 Premier Heritage received instructions from its new owners to undertake a full survey of the property for dampness and associated defects and to put forward a specification for remedial works to deal with the dampness present and any associated defects.
Drying out the dampness in the property
The main areas of concern identified by our investigation confirmed the presence of rising and penetrating dampness affecting various walls, although the latter mainly affecting the weather prevailing elevations and most noticeably the front sitting room, rear drawing room and stair area. No structural dampness was identified at first floor level.
As a consequence of the longstanding dampness to the lower sections of the south and western walls, several timber lintels were also showing signs of decay (some having already been replaced) and also death watch beetle activity.
Lintels showing signs of death watch beetle activity and fungal decay
The structural timbers supporting the half landing were also affected by wet rot where bearing into the wall as were numerous skirting and window boards.
To the western wall there was also the added complication of raised external ground levels sloping towards the house and also an obvious, insufficient overhang of the thatched roofing, increasing moisture at ground level and within the walls.
Replaced timbers
It was established that the conditions affecting this property had resulted as a consequence of the building’s past refurbishment and the removal of the original permeable mortars and renders used in the buildings original construction (i.e. the lime plaster, bedding and pointing mortar etc). Subsequent replacement with modern cement, being less permeable has resulted in dampness becoming trapped within the fabric of the wall ‘due to its inability to breathe’. This problem has built up over many years being further compounded by the numerous layers of masonry paint applied to the walls over the past 30 years or so!
Premier Heritage’s specification for remedial works concentrated on the removal of the cement materials (both inside and out) to allow the walls to dry down, along with subsequent repairs to structural and joinery timbers. The main contractor was appointed and the works were project managed by Premier Heritage.
The first task was to remove the external paintwork and cement pointing which was impermeable and trapping moisture / dampness within the wall’s, increasing the levels of dampness and internal damage to the building’s fabric. Having removed all external coatings and cement mortar (including that to the interior of the sitting room) the walls started to dry down.
New oak lintels were introduced, where existing were structurally unsound and timber repairs were completed to the interior staircase and landing etc.
Ground levels to the western wall were also reduced, with improved drainage and a vertical slate barrier fitted to the lower sections of the wall to minimise damp penetration.
Following the drying period re-pointing commenced to the exposed stone walls and this was undertaken using a lime based (permeable / breathable) mortar, after which the building was re-thatched and finally redecorated throughout.
The building has now been restored to its former condition and is dry and comfortable as well as looking great!
The finished farmhouse free of damp
This 1976 brick built Dorset bungalow retained blown fibre insulation introduced in the late 1990’s.
Wall showing rain penetration
Saturated perp end joint
Saturated motar between the brick work
Moisture squeezed from the insulation material
Cavity Wall Insulation
(What are the benefits? …..…..DAMP)
From October 2008 all domestic buildings (being built, rented or sold) were required ‘by Law’ to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) to help improve the energy efficiency of the building. The EPC provides an ‘A’ to ‘G’ rating for the building, ‘A’ being the most efficient and ‘G’ the least and to-date a ‘D’ rating is currently being banded as the average.
It is claimed that around a third of heat loss in a house is through its roof and walls and currently there is a government drive (supported by television advertising and the offer of Home Improvement Insulation Grants) to encourage home owners to increase loft insulation and also to fit cavity wall insulation, as it is claimed this can save on average around £180 per annum on heating costs!
However were you aware that by installing cavity wall insulation, whilst you may well be saving some money on fuel costs, you could also be creating a major expense for the future……..damp!
Example of cavity wall insulation
The cavity wall (as we know it) dates back to the early 1900’s and is commonly found in the coastal areas around Britain, used to reduce the risk of rain penetration. In the 1920’s, local building by-laws encouraged the construction of the cavity wall and by the 1940’s it had become the Industry Standard. The familiar cavity wall (as we know it) is two leaves of brickwork, forming a 60mm cavity and tied together with metal wall ties.
Even back in the good old 1970’s concerns were being expressed over Energy Conservation and home owners were then being encouraged to introduce loft insulation and it wasn’t long after that cavity wall insulation was also being recommended.
Fill your cavities with foam, polystyrene, mineral wool or any other material you can introduce through a small hole in the wall and you will save energy and loads of money. Sounds good, but what if by introducing this insulation you increased the risk of damp to your property, which in turn would cause internal decorative spoiling, plaster damage, fungal decay to structural and joinery timbers and also accelerate the risk of corrosion to the metal wall ties.
Could that really happen? Well the answer is yes and it is.
Paul Carter, the principal of Premier Heritage, has investigated hundreds of buildings over the past 20 years of so, where damp has affected internal decorations etc and found that the damp present was due to bridging of the cavity by the earlier installed insulation materials. Whilst some of these cases were wrongly diagnosed by others as rising damp, most of these buildings (if not all) retained a physical damp proof course, the newest being a 1980’s brick built bungalow in Hampshire.
Ok, lets put this into perspective, there have been thousands of cavity built houses within the UK that have been insulated and a good majority of these don’t currently have nor will ever have a problem with damp. But there are a great number that have and no doubt more will be affected in the years to come!
Increased rainfall in past years has resulted in a noticeable increase in damp problems affecting conventional cavity-constructed housing, due to moisture penetrating / bridging the cavities and in particular on the weather prevailing elevations and this isn’t a problem relating to current rainfall, but a gradual build of damp over many years.
Rainwater driving into the masonry of a building can penetrate the outer leaf brickwork leading to the wetting of the insulation materials, increased damp penetration and a reduced thermal performance of the material. Poor construction methods, mortar and perp joints, debris within the cavities, dirty wall ties and poor installation procedures by installers all contribute to the overall problem, which generally will result in the need to remove the insulation, which is not only expensive, but will almost certainly cosmetically scar the building when finished. Unfortunately it doesn’t come out through the same hole through which it went in!
So how do you avoid this problem? Well there’s no easy answer to this other than to look carefully at the building’s construction (porosity of building materials) and its exposure to the prevailing weather conditions. If having then decided to proceed, ensure that the chosen contractor / installer, during the survey, checks the cavities and cavity trays for debris and dirty wall ties, but more importantly offers a system and material that guarantees (preferably insurance backed) that the materials being installed will not transmit / bridge moisture through and into the internal wall!
Alternatively, if you’re still unsure then don’t install.
Examples of Cavity Wall Insulation causing damp:
Cavity Foam Insulation
1970’s block constructed bugalow with poorly installed cavity foam insulation and debris bridging moisture via wall ties, cost around £800 to remove and rectify internal damage caused.
Polystyrene bead cavity insulation
Polystyrene bead cavity insulation 2
