Even though the rain has arrived we still have to get on with the renovation work. Part of the plan is finishing the exterior rendering of the house which means removing the badly cracked and loose cement on the outside of the back room.
This has always been an eyesore and, before the new roof was installed, it let in a lot of water thus weakening the bond.
Having the new roof for almost 2 years has allowed it to dry out. This, in turn, has let the bond open up even further.
Luís put up a set of scaffolds and I took the opportunity of a dry day to get the old surface off.
Once the cement had been removed it looks very much like the structure is built from home made cement blocks which seem to have all sorts of rubble as aggregate. We did have some concerns about the quality of the structure but it appears to be fairly robust. Where the water has found its way in between the rendering and the wall it has weakened the bond which now resembles dry mud which scrapes off with no effort.
The lintel above the door is apparently made from English (type) clay bricks which is a surprise, something that we rarely see here.
