MY DAMP WALL

[viking44]

Hi,

We renovated our house a few years back (5 I think). During the renovation we un-bridged the damp proof course on our north facing gable end (end of terrace) This north facing wall was damp all over and following the un-bridge it had dried out nicely. All except one piece, there is one area behind the wardrobe in the main bedroom which constantly moulds up! The wardrobe is 3 inches away from the wall and is free standing wooden, too allow air flow.

The remainder of the wall now remains dry, but this patch still comes back? The outside wall is pebble dashed and painted – may be some kind of special paint but it looks rather thick.

 

[JohnD]

there is one area behind the wardrobe in the main bedroom which constantly moulds up!

this is characteristic of condensation.

Tape a piece of clear plastic tightly to the wall and see if moisture forms on the wall side or the room side of the plastic. Tell us the results for more suggestions.

Or move the wardrobe to a different place.

 

[viking44]

Ok will do, I am away on holiday for a week but will do it on return and post the result.

Thanks for the reply

 

[foxhole]

If the dashing has tiny cracks the rain will pass thru and idashing will stop the wall drying externally.

 

[gday2uk]

Could be a load of rubbish stuck on a wall tie bridging the cavity. If it were condensation I think it would show elsewhere in the room as well as behind a wardrobe 75mm away from the wall.
Presumably it is a cavity wall?

 

[JohnD]

damp inside and behind wardrobes is characteristic of condensation.

 

[viking44]

it is a very cold wall on the gable end, it has no cavity either - still cannot make it dissapear

 

[JohnD]

that was a long holiday

Damp behind wardrobes is still characteristic of condensation


//www.diynot.com/wiki/building:condensation_in_houses

 

[viking44]

lol true, just got round to sorting the house again, new job came first, thanks for the link read through it and I think its a bigger problem. The windows in the bedroom are open constantly (my wife must be an ice queen) nothing to make it condensate inside, i.e no cloths drying etc, I have even drilled a set of holes in the wall near to the damp and fitted a air vent in the offending wall - all with no sucess - not sure where to go from here

 

[JohnD]

tape on the bit of plastic, watch it daily for a week, tell us what it shows

go outside in heavy rain and see if it runs down that wall

 

[viking44]

Still trying to fix this.... pulled the wardrobe away from the wall and had a mass of black mould on the wall, with small drops of water water running down onto the skirting, I drilled holes in the wall to fit and external airvent last year, this seems to have made the problem worse! Was thinking the cold air coming in the vent and the warm air in the bedroom might be making it worse - could this be the case?

THe outside walls are clad, and I cannot see any pieces missing from the outside.

Do you think tanking this and drylining it will work or will this just displace the mould to somewhere else?

Added a couple of pics for you to see

 

[JohnD]

tape on the bit of plastic, watch it daily for a week, tell us what it shows

go outside in heavy rain and see if it runs down that wall

you decided not to, then?

 

[foxhole]

Is that on an externernal corner of the house? is so guttering may be fitted too short allowing rainwater to run down corner of wall soaking thru.

 

[gregers]

whats the hit/miss vent there for?
is it an old chimney breast?
i notice the vent in your pic is open,has it always been open ?or have you just opened it?
is there another vent anywhere else?

 

[viking44]

tape on the bit of plastic, watch it daily for a week, tell us what it shows

go outside in heavy rain and see if it runs down that wall

you decided not to, then?

The plastic sheet is on now, had to wait till we moved all the furniture out, waiting to see what happens now