Repairing Plaster and Damp

[OPJ]

Hi all,

I recently decided to start painting my living room after growing tired of the landlord's magnolia! Two of the walls were completed last weekend and I left another intentionally because I knew there was some kind of issue with the plaster falling off.

This evening, I looked in to patching it up, only to find that it's worse than I had anticipated. Plaster is 'weak' is several areas and a lot of paint was loose as well. You can also see the large damp patch below:

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5473/14413942412_038c358a78.jpg

So, now that I've created this mess, I'm obliged to try and clean it up! As I'm not a plasterer by trade, I would be very grateful for your advice on the following:

What would be a good product to use to seal the wall? I'm thinking of the bare surface (beneath the plaster) and perhaps also to seal over the sound plaster where only the paint has come off?

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5577/14228775327_4ed196190a.jpg

I'm working under the assumption that I'll have to fix this as I created the mess when I could've simply looked the other way...

I bought a tub of ready-mixed Polycell plaster repair before I started hacking away, in hope of making it good enough to paint over (I don't wish to create a perfect job - it's my landlord's property and the plastering may've been s***e in the first place... The kitchen certainly is!). I'm hoping to continue along with the same. But any advice or suggestions you can offer would be very gratefully appreciated.

Thank you,

Olly

 

[JohnD]

Is this a room prone to condensation, like a bathroom?

Or is the wall wet due to a leaking gutter or pipe?

What is on the other side of the wall?

Is the floor wet?

 

[OPJ]

Hi John and thank you for your reply.

It's a large living room with a kitchen area on an adjacent wall. So, with the hob, hot water and washing machine (no dishwasher), it's possible there is going to be condensation, even with the extractor fan running.

There are no windows along this wall and I think there's a storage room or garage on the other side (I am on the ground floor). It's very hard to see as there's a line of houses beyond that and this is a really clustered part of the village. So yes, I imagine it's possible it could be due to a leak in a gutter, flashing or something.

I've just ripped the carpet up and the concrete floor is dry. But the underlay is damp for a 2in width.

I've been here just over 6 months. In the flat above live two electricians... Sometime before I moved in, they apparently thought they were plumbers and there have been leaks through the ceiling both in my flat and out in the hallway, which may also account for some of the dampness.