I wasn't shure where to put this so I put it here.
I'm on the property committee at our church. We have a large building built in 1913. The exterior walls are cut stone blocks about 10" thick on the outside with probably 12" cement block on the inside ( or whatever they used back then) with a plaster finish on the inside. We have had a lot of trouble with the inside of the north wall as long as anyone can remember.
About 3 years ago we hired a contractor to repoint the outside of the church, find any leaks replace the roof and repair the inside and paint. We spent a lot of money. Also he was supposed to seal the outside with a breathable sealer.
Lately I have noticed some suspicious looking spots on the north wall. The reasoning for the repairs 3 years ago was a leaking roof, lack of sealer and open mortar joints making the walls soggy. I again suspect wet walls ----
Finally to the questions- I checked the wall with a ryobi moisture meter on the wall range and got readings as high as 70%. I checked the same spots on the masonry setting and get 0%.
What is the correct setting for this wall? I checked one spot by drilling two 1/16" holes into the plaster and using a meter with pins and got 0%, with the pinless ryobi I get nearly 60%.
If the wall is not wet why can't we keep plaster on this wall?
Sorry this was so long but I thought it was necessary.
excav
I'm on the property committee at our church. We have a large building built in 1913. The exterior walls are cut stone blocks about 10" thick on the outside with probably 12" cement block on the inside ( or whatever they used back then) with a plaster finish on the inside. We have had a lot of trouble with the inside of the north wall as long as anyone can remember.
About 3 years ago we hired a contractor to repoint the outside of the church, find any leaks replace the roof and repair the inside and paint. We spent a lot of money. Also he was supposed to seal the outside with a breathable sealer.
Lately I have noticed some suspicious looking spots on the north wall. The reasoning for the repairs 3 years ago was a leaking roof, lack of sealer and open mortar joints making the walls soggy. I again suspect wet walls ----
Finally to the questions- I checked the wall with a ryobi moisture meter on the wall range and got readings as high as 70%. I checked the same spots on the masonry setting and get 0%.
What is the correct setting for this wall? I checked one spot by drilling two 1/16" holes into the plaster and using a meter with pins and got 0%, with the pinless ryobi I get nearly 60%.
If the wall is not wet why can't we keep plaster on this wall?
Sorry this was so long but I thought it was necessary.
excav
