Lorenz

Reminds me of a weld, if you wire brush if off before painting it would show up if it was, which I hope is unlikely. Condensation is the thing indoors.

Would it get a mortgage with all that spray in foam? Liked the stonework, but the leadwork is the worst I have ever seen, I guess they did it, hope it does not get windy there and that the birds stay away. When they had to demolish it, I think they should have drawn new plans up, I was not taken by it.

I had some to look at and it did not seem that different from AAC blocks strength wise, and I know they can have issues if not done well. Wondering why no one has come out with a competitive foamed glass block? Also why no more highly foamed for better insulation? I have worked with microspheres and there was a similar but larger bubbled glass product available, though I don't seem to be able to find it at the moment. Problem is something to stick them together without creating other issues, I guess.

Has Foamglass ever been used for the main structure, I saw some listed a while back and thought, are prices coming down, as it seemed relatively cheap. But would it work, I know they can dint etc, but once a skin is on them, should be OK and they should not have a problems as they are load bearing. Would need some protection for point loads and such, but....

But it should be thin joint.... this looks like an apprentice has had a go?

Tape and plaster over is one way passive wise.

Someone who does not understand or care what aircrete is about, dreadful.

I did not know it was edible, but look it up on the net, should have large hollow stems, used to make all sorts from it as a kid.

If you look at the link I sent it should explain somewhere. There will be more activity on the outside wall, so more damage.

You not heard of the volcano erupting on La Palma, if it slips CO2 will drop in the UK and many countries bordering the Atlantic, if it blows it could cause a mini ice age. Just read some new research on Krakatoa and it says it caused a mini ice age from 1300s to the 1900s and we are just coming out of it, had some colder spots in the middle too.

Looks like an old problem and they have used paint to try and make it look better. Sadly this chap past away a couple of years back, but his site is a good place to start in understanding things; Damp Wall & Wet Cellar - Rising Damp Scam, Saltpeter & Capillarity in Old Buildings - a Hoax of Moisture & Salts (konrad-fischer-info.de)

How have we eliminated the risk of a mini ice age?

We are with Calor gas and it has been costing a fortune, have asked if it was leaking, but they said no. However a couple of months ago they came to check things a few times and replace the anodes. We looked yesterday and it was still at 60%, that is a huge drop in consumption over previous months and looks like it will last into November, it is a couple of months at least since we last had it filled. Last summer we were having to fill it every couple of months and in winter it was costing a hundred a week at least. So I am hoping there will not be an increase, but on the face of it, it looks like we will be buying much less of it this year.

Octopus and Bulb were supposed to being going bust last week.......

So it looks like the ground around your house is higher and when you have repointed using portland? it will have created a waterproof trough stopping the water and forcing it to come up through the inside of the walls. Also that reminds of a granite barn I had at the old place and part of the slope it was on, was dug away and a hole knocked through to get tractors in. Originally they must have dug a trench and rolled in boulders and chucked in mortar to make the foundation. So it looks to me like the builders have dug down around the barn so that they could get 2 floors inside or something like that. So the old ground level will have been higher.