Damp on wall

[Smudge01]

In many places around our office we have many patches where the paint is coming off the wall just above the skirting, as per the attached picture.

The wall is not saturated, the skirtings aren't rotten and it doesn't feel particularly damp anywhere, there is obviously some sort of damp issue below the ground. Most annoyingly, it just looks unsightly.

We can't afford to deal with the root of the problem but would like to tidy things up a bit.

I've found this product, do you think it is worth painting this over the affected areas and then paint over again with emulsion?

Any help would be appreciated, thank you.

 

[blup]

You could try, but I suspect it wouldn't make a significant difference because the source of the damp needs addressing.

If its an external wall it might be a bridged or broken damp proof course, rain penetration through broken or spalled brickwork, or a leaking gutter or pipe, or drain

What was there before might have contributed - a leaking radiator or water supply to a basin or drink dispenser. Or the waste.

The area affected should be re plastered as part of any remediation.

If you rent the office, liability for any or all of the above might be the landlords.

Blup

 

[sparkwright]

You can use it, but as said it won't last for long.


Whatever you do it will only be a short term solution.

Before painting, dry the surface out with a heater or similar as best as you can, just to give the paint half a chance.

 

[Smudge01]

Thanks guys.

 

[JohnD]

Is the thing in your picture a chimney breast?

Stand back and take a wider pic please.

How old is the building?

Is the floor concrete?

Photo of the other side if the wall please

 

[Smudge01]

It's like this all around the room, on the external walls and internal.
The building is about 100 years old with a concrete floor.
The office next door (same building, same concrete floor etc) just separated by a stud wall, used to have water coming up through the floor, really bad apparently (it's near a river). They stripped it out and tanked it, apparently it was soon after this started to happen in our side.

 

[JohnD]

Has the river been there for a hundred years?

When did the damp start?

Where does the water pipe run?

 

[Smudge01]

Hi JohnD

The river has been there forever.
The damp started about 3 years ago.
Don't know anything about a water pipe.

 

[JohnD]

The river has been there forever.
The damp started about 3 years ago.

So no reason to suppose that the river suddenly decided to cause damp

Don't know anything about a water pipe.

buildings almost always have water pipes coming into them, usually under the floor. In Victorian buildings they are usually lead or iron. Both can be expected to leak after 100 years.

Is there a water meter?

 

[Smudge01]

Not sure about a water meter but I will check.

That Zinsser product is designed to hold water back, I can't see why that wouldn't work?

 

[JohnD]

stop it coming out of one place, it will come out somewhere else.

Hiding damp is a never-ending task.

Finding and repairing the source of water, isn't.

 

[opps]

I have never used Watertite but be advised that they recommend removing existing paint and curing the chalking (efflorescence). See

https://www.zinsseruk.com/core/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Watertite-Waterproofing-Paint.pdf

 

[Odds]

I have a similar problem with damp due to one side of the house being lower than next door's driveway and garden being higher along the outer wall by about a metre. I've had a word with a damp-proofing company who suggest re-plastering over a damp-course membrane.
However, i notice your damp affected areas are only in the corners of each wall and not along the whole area.
Perhaps you could remove the plaster from there and simply patch it back up using an anti-damp polyfilla.