Hello everyone!
I have a quick question about the presence or absence of the Tretex boards! We have bought a house that we are renovating. Anticimex has inspected it and stated that there is no moisture in the walls!
On all the exterior walls, there is a black paper nailed onto the plaster, then Tretex boards, and on top of that are studs, insulation, then gypsum board, and outermost is wallpaper. Our initial thought was to tear everything down to eliminate future moisture problems, and then rebuild with new studs, insulation, and gypsum board again.
We started in a smaller room and opened up the gypsum, removed the insulation and studs to reach the Tretex. And, as expected, it is bone dry! No signs of moisture anywhere!
So the question is if it's worth the effort and money to tear everything down to reach the Tretex and then rebuild it all anew?
A middle ground might be to tear down the gypsum, remove the insulation, and then remove the Tretex without taking down the studs (it is quite loose, so I know it would be possible!) and then put the insulation back and new gypsum! The only cost then would be for the new gypsum.
The façade is currently quite shabby and overgrown/shadowed, but this summer we will clear away most of what shades the façade, and then repair the plaster and repaint. This should also mean that the moisture that can penetrate should be minimized?
What do you think? What would you do? Should we focus more on the north side and definitely remove the Tretex there?
PS. The previous owner used to heat with wood, but in his later years, he did not heat the house properly and relied on an electric heater in the room he slept in. The house hasn't been properly heated for at least a year, possibly two years... We will soon (when the snow nuisance lets up) install geothermal heating and eventually be two adults and a child living there! Which should create more humid air inside if I'm thinking correctly? We will also replace the original windows, double-glazed, with new triple-glazed ones with vents in all rooms.
I have a quick question about the presence or absence of the Tretex boards! We have bought a house that we are renovating. Anticimex has inspected it and stated that there is no moisture in the walls!
On all the exterior walls, there is a black paper nailed onto the plaster, then Tretex boards, and on top of that are studs, insulation, then gypsum board, and outermost is wallpaper. Our initial thought was to tear everything down to eliminate future moisture problems, and then rebuild with new studs, insulation, and gypsum board again.
We started in a smaller room and opened up the gypsum, removed the insulation and studs to reach the Tretex. And, as expected, it is bone dry! No signs of moisture anywhere!
So the question is if it's worth the effort and money to tear everything down to reach the Tretex and then rebuild it all anew?
A middle ground might be to tear down the gypsum, remove the insulation, and then remove the Tretex without taking down the studs (it is quite loose, so I know it would be possible!) and then put the insulation back and new gypsum! The only cost then would be for the new gypsum.
The façade is currently quite shabby and overgrown/shadowed, but this summer we will clear away most of what shades the façade, and then repair the plaster and repaint. This should also mean that the moisture that can penetrate should be minimized?
What do you think? What would you do? Should we focus more on the north side and definitely remove the Tretex there?
PS. The previous owner used to heat with wood, but in his later years, he did not heat the house properly and relied on an electric heater in the room he slept in. The house hasn't been properly heated for at least a year, possibly two years... We will soon (when the snow nuisance lets up) install geothermal heating and eventually be two adults and a child living there! Which should create more humid air inside if I'm thinking correctly? We will also replace the original windows, double-glazed, with new triple-glazed ones with vents in all rooms.
If it works well, then it's unnecessary to change just for the sake of changing. Tretex insulates well, although of course not as well as new insulation. If you remove it, you should replace it with other insulation.
However, you should not paint or wallpaper on it; it never turns out good
However, you should not paint or wallpaper on it; it never turns out good