Now the outbuilding has a new roof, our intention is to use it as a log store and a sort of site office. The main problem with it is that it is a single skin building that has been built directly onto the earth. It was probably the way everything was done back when it was built around 200 years ago.
In order to reduce the amount of damp coming in through the back wall, we have dug along the edge of the wall and filled it with pea shingle. This means that there will not be damp earth up against the wall. We will also fit a rain water gutter and down pipe. For now, we will put up a plastic gutter and down pipe. We may well change it later to something that matches the rest of the building, but for now our first priority is to try and get the outbuilding a little bit drier.
The fascia board has had a coat of black gloss paint, before the rainwater gutter is fitted tomorrow (weather permitting).
We have dug along the back wall on the building and filled it with pea shingle. This should help reduce the damp penetration. The pea shingle was originally around the conservatory and has been re-used.