Rising damp?

I have just moved into a basement flat in a Victorian conversion and we are having a proper nightmare. It's a rented apartment which has been renovated and we are the first tenants. It's immaculate inside, or so we thought. Essentially we were warned the building, prior to renovation had been damp proofed and had a special solution in wi the plaster. What's happened is on a few internal and a few external walls is the brand new paintwork has blisterered about 30cm above the floor and white powdery fluffy crystals have appeared. I am not sure what to do, nor are my landlords who are being excellent to try and help. The damp man who did the treatment says its naturally drying out but can take months and months. He said we need to leave it to dry out but as you can imagine we are paying a lot of money and it's a bit unsightly. On Friday someone sanded the affected areas and reprinted. By Saturday in less than 24hours it had cracked and re-fluffed up looking worse than before. The building has proper central heating and they suggested leaving it on while we're at work. So they sanded it down today and by the time I got home the crystal fluff was already starting to come back. Is this the correct treatment to simply leave it to dry out, or will this never stop I am properly depressed and feel totally useless as I cannot control it and i'd love to have people round to show them my amazing new place but it's a mess on a number of the walls. Someone PLEASE help. I have read so much online but if they have used the correct plaster and sealed it properly should this still be happening and what can I do to speed this up. The damp expert said dehumidifiers will possibly work but they also draw water out quickly from area that are drying naturally and haven't flared up yet. Please help. Is this damp bad for my health also? Thank you![/b]

if done properly you should be getting damp on the surface of your walls.

adding some kinda admix to plaster to deal with the problem (sounds like what's happened based on your description) is completely inadequate!

if you're in a basement you're more than likely below the water table, you need proper measures to stop the water all around you getting in and it sounds like those measures haven't been taken.

Sounds to me like remedial work needs to happen but how much is impossible to say.

I think you've found yourself in a very unlucky situation that needs the full amount of understanding from your landlord/lady.

Can you find out exactly what work has happened down there?

Hi. They told me they ripped the old place apart all the way back to the brickwork and then syriged it with the damp sealent which they said worked. What i and they think they then did wrong is plaster and decorate before the brickwork dried out properly and cos of the damp proofing the damp can only come in now. Is there anything that can be done bar waiting it out to remedy it? They r saying they spent thousands on it and this is a really high spec apartment but these damp issues have ruined it. What can i do????

Best thing for you to do is move!

The problem will not go away.

really? nothing they can do to repair and it wont stop?

Victorian cellars need to be done correctly, breathable tanking system. Chemical DPC needs to dry in the first place for it to work......

If it's rented then personally I would move.