Another question about damp.....

[Nick2847]

Hi all, I have read lots of threads about damp but find that no two issues are the same. My problem is on an internal wall, that is a "peninsula" wall rather than a wall on the perimeter. There are a combination of damp patches, a damp patch from the skirting and bubbling lining paper. I think it's due to condensation as it was not present when we bought the house, but two months later of cooking (we have a recirculation extractor fan rather than a one to vent the steam outside) the patches have appeared and get worse when we use the kitchen. As ever, I am look for expert opinion on the likely problem and advice to solve it. There is no other evidence of damp in the whole property.
Hopefully the pictures will help. Thanks in advance

 

[tell80]

In my limited experience many damp issues are pretty similar. Searching on here & reading the bottom of the page Related Threads chains of experiences will help you.

What you show is rising damp on both sides & the reveal of the wall.
The reveal has been finished with what looks like 1" x by timber.

Was that wall originally an outside wall thats been knocked through & lintelled over?
Is the wall an eleven inch thickness wall?
Are the floors on both sides solid or suspended?
Whats on the other side of the opening - another stub of wall or a plain wall surface?

 

[Nick2847]

Thanks for the reply @tell80.

Yes, you're right, lots of similar damp problems on the threads but the fact that it is on a stub wall was harder to find.

To answer your questions;
Yes, this was likely the old external wall but this extension is 30 years old, as i recently spoke to the old owner.
It is an 11 inch thickness wall.
The floors on both sides are concrete.
On the opposite side of the wall in the photos is another stub wall, no signs of any damp.

If rising damp, would the treatment be as suggested in other threads to remove plaster up to 1m and replaster once given time to try?

Thanks for the help

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Yep, rising damp - was that area freshly decorated when you moved it, maybe to hide it?

 

[tell80]

You should examine both stub walls full length at skirting height - look for the slightest ripple in the wall paper.
1. remove the skirting on both sides. Look for any DPC?
2. hack off to 600mm straight lines beyond all signs of damp.
3. maybe the wood will have to come off but wait and see.
4. look for an upstand of concrete floor DPM behind the skirting.

5. post an outside pic of where the roof meets the main house wall.
6. does the wall have CWI?
7. there's a possibility of cavity debris built up beyond any DPC level.

 

[^woody^]

Where is that nib in context of the rest of the room/ kitchen.

That's not a typical condensation stain or location.
Neither is the vertical aspect typical of rising dampness.

 

[Deleted member 292770]

hack off to 600mm straight lines beyond all signs of damp.

really though. I make ‘signs of damp already at circa 900mm in pic 2.
That plus your 600mm means they’ll have hacked a whole wall off 1500mm up for something that you just blew out of all proportion.
You clearly have not the faintest idea about the nonsense you’re pedalling.

 

[Deleted member 292770]

In my limited experience many damp issues

Yet quite prepared to advise people to hack off 1500mm of plaster.

 

[Nick2847]

Yeah Harry, the house was redecorated but this whole area was flooded in the Christmas 2020 floods so maybe part of the source?

Tell80, thanks for those steps. I am off next week and will investigate more. Interestingly I have peeled the wallpaper off where the staining is and the plaster underneath is dry, but the white possible gloss paint was damp to touch and sticky? Maybe liquid reacting with the wallpaper paste on the gloss areas? Or is that an amateur guess!? (See pic). There is no sign of a DPM as I can see the raw concrete floor behind the kitchen units on the same stub wall. It is a solid wall, no cavity on this 1903 house.

Thanks @^woody^ Stumped too. It's the stub wall between kitchen and dining room in the middle of the house. Definitely an area subject to lots of moisture as it's close to the hob. This wall is the stub wall for the adjoining property but the damp is limited to the far end of the stub wall.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

eah Harry, the house was redecorated but this whole area was flooded in the Christmas 2020 floods so maybe part of the source?

In that case, I wonder if it might still be drying out. What sort of floor is it, concrete or wood? Another possibility is that the skirting boards have been replaced and the lower plaster and that they bridged the damp course with the plaster behind the skirting boards.

 

[Nick2847]

In that case, I wonder if it might still be drying out. What sort of floor is it, concrete or wood? Another possibility is that the skirting boards have been replaced and the lower plaster and that they bridged the damp course with the plaster behind the skirting boards.

Yeah cheers Harry, very possibly. The plaster underneath shows no signs of being sealed but wallpapered on top, probably rather hastily for the flood damage repairs. This room had some water ingress as its lower than the ground height on the opposite wall.
The lining paper definitely goes below the skirting so one to investigate along with tell80s suggestions. Thanks for the ideas

 

[Nick2847]

Oh and it's concrete sub floor. Laminate boards on top.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Oh and it's concrete sub floor. Laminate boards on top.

The laminate, if it was laid too early, might have trapped the moisture below, so it is taking the only way out - up the wall.

 

[Nige F]

flood damage repairs.

 

[Nick2847]

?