River air gets into walls. Along the Britona waterfront the humidity never really drops, and the outer walls of houses that face the Mandovi are the ones that suffer, with the old family homes showing a damp line near the floor. Wallpaper belongs on the opposite side of the room: an inner wall, well away from the water-facing windows, primed with an anti-fungal coat and hung with vinyl, not a paper-backed or fabric type. New houses built for the view often have one long blank wall facing the glass, and that is the natural place for a mural or a large textured design, lit by the reflected light from the river.
- New riverside villas: a mural or textured vinyl on the long inner wall opposite the river windows, in air-conditioned rooms.
- Old family homes: paper only above and away from any damp line, and never on lime plaster that has not been tested.
- Ground-floor rooms near the water's edge: PVC wall panels in place of paper wherever the foot of the wall stays wet.
Penha de Franca is the village of Britona and its neighbourhood on the north bank of the Mandovi, opposite Panjim. Its white church stands right on the water where the Mapusa river joins the Mandovi, and the riverside road has old houses and newer homes with river views.
Riverside houses and villas look across the water to Panjim and Chorão. Many are old family homes; others are new builds placed for the view. Windows facing the river are large.
The river brings humidity, glare off the water and a steady breeze. Mosquitoes are a problem at dusk near the mangroves. Salt is slight.
Riverside and backwater homes
Walls near water hold damp at the base. Wallpaper should stop above any tide mark of rising damp, and the wall should be treated first. Vinyl papers with anti-fungal adhesive cope with humidity; paper-backed and fabric wallpapers do not.
Old Goan houses
Old walls are lime-plastered and need to breathe. Sealing them under vinyl can trap moisture, so a wall is tested first, and loose or powdery plaster is made good. Often the answer is to paper a later partition wall and leave the old lime walls painted.
