Internal Damp

[KS55]

If you have rising damp you may need to remove the plaster and treat the brickwork in case of mould. Then replaster. Find the source first obvs.

 

[jrb]

If you have rising damp you may need to remove the plaster and treat the brickwork in case of mould. Then replaster. Find the source first obvs.

I think that's the best option. Start from there and work backwards. Or upwards.

 

[DTKOAG]

I loved Leonard Rossiter.

 

[Scottyboi]

What type of floor do you have is it solid or suspended?

 

[jrb]

What type of floor do you have is it solid or suspended?

Think it's suspended. The skirting board isn't rotten or damp apart from in that one location shown on the photograph. The laminate flooring isn't bubbling or expanding under the skirting board.

 

[city2]

Get a professional company in to tell exactly what and where the problem is and the work required. Least you will know the cost an whether you can do the job yourself.

 

[tweety]

Just on that point. Why isn't the open vent in the wall creating enough ventilation? Or could that be the reason for the damp, as the vent is always open, and the living room pretty much hasn't been heated this winter?

I had just assumed that the chimney had been completely sealed. Do your own research, I would be wary of damp proofing companies who would push their particular method, sometimes at great cost and inconvenience.

 

[Scottyboi]

Think it's suspended. The skirting board isn't rotten or damp apart from in that one location shown on the photograph. The laminate flooring isn't bubbling or expanding under the skirting board.

Use to do all this for the council many years ago, when you exposed the floor and saw a mound of mud or shite piled up going over the damp course causing a bridge for damp to rise. And no air bricks so all the joists dry rot to fuck.

 

[Coatigan]

Apparently there's nothing wrong with capping the chimney if the chimney is no longer in use. Just Googled it. Capping a chimney stops the right from falling down into the chimney. The chimney still has to be vented, so he should have used a vented chimney cap/cowl. My neighbour has a drone, so I'm going to ask him to have a look at how the chimney has been capped. If the chimney cap looks ok I'll take the skirting board off as it's slightly rotten in places and the plaster is coming away anyway. Once the skirting board is off I can then get somebody in to have a look at the damp, including the chimney space, which is behind a wooden board, which has been plastered.

Yes and no. Technically and in theory a vented cowl and a vent at the bottom will let air vent the chimney. And lots of people do it and it turns out ok. Or ok most of the year but damp in the winter. Most chimnes are built in a single skin of brick, and during the wet months this saturates in a way cavity walls don't. When they are in use, this is dried up by the heat of the fire working through them. Once you take that away, even with venting it will likely never be enough over the winter months. In the summer the heat of the sun may be enough to just keep a balance. I think taking down chimneys to below the roof is the best thing to do if no longer in use, and it is surprisingly quicker than people think.

That is all IF your damp is a or is purely a chimney issue. Damp is one of those things that is hard to identify an exact cause, as it can be a number of things.

Most often, it is inadequate dpc if at low level. Or often sometimes it can be a bridging across the cavity at low level, in any number of ways, including when people retrofit insulation inside cavity walls. Or poor venting of the solum, if blocked etc. Sometimes people get it right first time, sometimes ends a lengthy process of elimination.

A few seem to have suggested getting a damp specialist. That's probably the best thing. A survey with a recommendation reports will probably be circa £500, and might include ball park costs too, then you can properly think about it.

 

[Coatigan]

If it is low level and happening at internal walls as well, it is more likely to be a dpc issue, or poor solum venting, or a combination of the two.