Damp Appeared at Bottom of Bricked up Fireplace

[jharrison]

My parents in law asked me to come and have a look at a problem they had in their front room. They have a fireplace that had been bricked up over 15 years ago and had noticed some bubbling of the lining paper, just above the skirting. On removing some of the paper the wall behind was quite wet/damp to the touch.

Untitled

• jharrison
• 4 Mar 2012
• 1

Untitled

• jharrison
• 4 Mar 2012
• 1

The only thing I can think is happening is that rain is getting into the old fireplace, sitting there and eventually being soaked into the brickwork (I noticed there is no ventilation for the fireplace where its been bricked up)

I took a look up on the roof, there was a few things I noticed. There was a couple of areas where the pointing on the lead had come away:

Untitled

• jharrison
• 4 Mar 2012
• 1

Also there is no 'pot' on the chimney to stop rain coming down (I have no idea if this is usal or not?) but next door does have one

Untitled

• jharrison
• 4 Mar 2012
• 1

Untitled

• jharrison
• 4 Mar 2012
• 1

Id appreciate any thoughts on this, i'm happy to provide more information, ideally I need to fix the cause then repair the damage / dry it out.

 

[JohnD]

it needs to be ventilated at the bottom so there is a flow of air to keep it dry.

blocked up chimneys usually get damp from condensation, it will be cold inside as any warmth can escape out of the open top, but the room side will be in contact with warm damp air.

A brick-sized hole with a plastic grill on it will look quite neat.

If you do put an elephants foot on the top to keep the rain out, be sure that it can still ventilate through the top as well as the bottom.

check that the lead flashing is OK too.

 

[jharrison]

John, many thanks for that information. One question, why would it show now? Would you suspect that its been soaking through the bricks / mortar for years, or possibly a good year for condensation?!

Whats your thoughts on the 'elephants foot' would you suggest this is a requirement? I guess if its less about rain and more about condensation its maybe not a priority

Thanks again for you super fast response and info

Cheers!

 

[JohnD]

I'd go for ventilation for a start. Not sure what the foot costs. With it being very wet, leve it open for a bit for good airflow. You can have a look through the hole and see what happens.

IME the amount of rain is not much, over the entire flue even two inches of rain in a day, just through the pot, and dries out fast if it's ventilated.