Archway to extension and some damp issues

Joined
28 Aug 2011
Messages
89
Reaction score
11
Location
Sussex
Country
United Kingdom
Hi, wasn't sure if this should go here or in Plastering section:

My 1906 end of terrace had a side extension added in mid 1980's adding a garage and small seperate room and a bedroom above. The small ground floor room is accessible by an archway from kitchen. Now we've been in the house about 3 years and that archway has always had slight damp issues and clearly has been replastered in the past. All other ground floor rooms have had replastering and exhibet some occasional damp, mostly condensation rather than rising damp as far as I can tell.

Anyway, today I chipped away some plaster at the arch and found some wood in there, presumably between the cavity (see pics below) as well as what looks like thin stickybacked foil between plaster and the lining paper. This foil can't be letting the walls breathe can it? and I guess was done to try hide the damp at some point. Would removing 1meter of old plaster and replastering likely solve this or any other ideas?

I've had my hand in the cavity (through an airbrick hole in the garage wall a few feet behind this archway) and it never feels damp inside the cavity even when it's damp on the inside.

When the arch and other ground floor walls have been the most damp isn't necesarily when it's heavily raining, damp appears and goes overnight it seems and was very moist during recent hot (but humid) weather making me think it's lack of any ventiation in the kitchen and the humidity

View media item 49533arch through to extension

View media item 49534foil behind thick lining paper

View media item 49535bits of vertical wood behind render at each corner and in the middle although it looks like stone in this pic. The wood has a slight dampness to it. Salt crystals were found on bits of removed plaster along with the odd bubble of water. Heavily rusted nails on the skirting and the plaster bead corner edgings are all rusted at the bottom few inches/foot.

I've been told the extension was half built by a brother of the previous owners but they had a falling out and someone else finished the job. The whole extension appears, to my untrained eye, to have been built poorly although it's stable! The extension itself has no damp issues but it doesn't have any airbricks except for a gap where there's a lintel over a drain cover on the back wall/door. Sorry for the long post!
 
Sponsored Links
Shows symptoms of failed (or non-existent) damp-proof course.
Alternatively, no link between any damp-proof membrane in the floor of the extension, and the dpc.
 
I've seen slate DPC on the house when looking through where an airbrick was (I'd taken out a rusted iron vent and replaced) and there's felt/bitumen visible on the newer extension but lord knows what they did when they laid the concrete floor in the extension and the kitchen (which was probably done many years ago.

So looks like I might need to get a damp specialist in to advise and not just a damp proofing company who'll obviously tell me I need injected treatments!
 

DIYnot Local

Staff member

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.


Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

 
Sponsored Links
Back
Top