Damp house! How do I rectify?

[JohnD]

Sod the plastering, fix the leaks.

 

[Odds]

When you say you want to make the fireplace a decorative feature, do you mean to knock away the plaster and install a new mantelpiece?

 

[JohnD]

The little roof at the back appears to be falling off.

 

[mrrusty]

Re the fireplace. There will be a large original opening with an arch about where the damp patch is. You can see the original breast sides and the infill. All the infill can be removed.

The damp patches are 99% damp caused by hygroscopic salts in the brick of the chimney and surround. You won't get rid of it, so plan to isolate it. The easiest way is to use plasterboard fixed with foam adhesive (not dabs with dab adhesive - the salt will pull through the wet dabs as they dry - first hand experience). Foam is fine for a non-operational fireplace. If you did intend to use it I suggest metal top-hat battens with PB fixed to those, again to isolate the contaminated brick from the room air.

The damp you have may be caused by several different causes - leaking pipes, persistent below-floor ground water, condensation, salt contamination, penetration through walls and around windows.

 

[StephenStephen]

Limewash needn't be expensive - just use lime putty that you've watered down. It's a wierd process as it involves putting on a number of coats of what seems like water as you put it on...
In terms of insulation, you might consider lime hemp, which you can buy, or just buy some Aubiose horse bedding and mix it with lime putty, or lime putty and cork, or Cornerstone insulating render.
I found lime plaster much easier to use than gypsum, particularly if it's your own property where you can keep an eye on the moisture rates as it goes off.
I'd recommend looking at the videos from Mike Wye - I think you can find them on YouTube, and also really worth getting a copy of Lime in Building: https://www.blackdogpress.co.uk/product/lime-in-building-a-practical-guide-by-jane-schofield

...and yes, as far as I can remember, you can use limewash on gypsum plaster, though to be honest, if I was painting a wall with a lot of gypsum plaster with patches of lime repair, I'd probably use emulsion - quicker and easier

 

[tomm12]

sjee6,have you finished with this thread or just stopped for a bit? The blurred pic of fungus shows what could be dry rot, a better pic is needed. Dry rot can move through wall cavities.

The deck boards are not wood they are composite and wont rot.
"The little roof at the back" is an extension lean-to roof. Its flashing might be showing some movement in the back of the house?

 

[sjee6]

tomm12 - not finished yet, just been really busy, I'll reply soon. Appreciate all the help.

 

[tomm12]

No problems. Take your time. Here's a few things I've noticed.

The underflooring conditions for rot and condensation are partly due to lack of through ventilation under the floor. The front air bricks seem to be too high set above the finished floor, & the back air bricks might have been blocked by the floor of the extension.

The front bitumen dpc has been bridged by the plinth and probably rubble in the cavity. The inside wall dpc should have been just below the joists.

If you re-use the joists then you will have to do bolt-ons. Any joist with dry rot then it must go. Dig into all joists looking for live bugs. Installing a suspended floor is not a difficult job.

First floor T&G floor boards can be lifted but might have bugs and will need a bit of skill to do it. They will be nailed through the tongues.

Remove the timber lintels above the meter box and use an angle iron or concrete lintel to brick up on top of. The gas pipe going up the wall should be in a corner safe zone with metal capping cover.

The wobbly look of the back of the house. Is there a large span breakthrough from the house to the extension.

The arch over the fireplace begins 17 courses up, about 54".

From floor level to ceiling Knock off plaster on all doubtful walls and when ready use sand and lime to make good. When its dried it can be painted or paper. Dont mess with lime putty plaster.

 

[GillObrien]

I know nothing about building but it looks like you don't have a drainpipe out the back and your gutter has a low point at the join just next to the small window. Maybe it overflows in heavy rain onto the roof below, hence the dark patch on the wall at that point? This probably doesn't help matters and it would be a simple thing to fix. Good luck with this project!

 

[sjee6]

I know nothing about building but it looks like you don't have a drainpipe out the back and your gutter has a low point at the join just next to the small window. Maybe it overflows in heavy rain onto the roof below, hence the dark patch on the wall at that point? This probably doesn't help matters and it would be a simple thing to fix. Good luck with this project!

I don't have a drainpipe at the front either - there's actually 4 of us sharing the same drainpipe! I had a blockage at the back where you have pointed out the dark patch. I think the person I got to unblock it must've damaged it because I have noticed it leaking.

No problems. Take your time. Here's a few things I've noticed.

The underflooring conditions for rot and condensation are partly due to lack of through ventilation under the floor. The front air bricks seem to be too high set above the finished floor, & the back air bricks might have been blocked by the floor of the extension.

The front bitumen dpc has been bridged by the plinth and probably rubble in the cavity. The inside wall dpc should have been just below the joists.

If you re-use the joists then you will have to do bolt-ons. Any joist with dry rot then it must go. Dig into all joists looking for live bugs. Installing a suspended floor is not a difficult job.

First floor T&G floor boards can be lifted but might have bugs and will need a bit of skill to do it. They will be nailed through the tongues.

Remove the timber lintels above the meter box and use an angle iron or concrete lintel to brick up on top of. The gas pipe going up the wall should be in a corner safe zone with metal capping cover.

The wobbly look of the back of the house. Is there a large span breakthrough from the house to the extension.

The arch over the fireplace begins 17 courses up, about 54".

From floor level to ceiling Knock off plaster on all doubtful walls and when ready use sand and lime to make good. When its dried it can be painted or paper. Dont mess with lime putty plaster.

Ive been told they should've put piping down to vent the rest of the kitchen when they poured the concrete, but I guess I won't know until I open the subfloor. Kitchen does seem alright though, Its only the chimney breast which has been coated in gypsum skim and I think cement before that.

Ive tried searching google but still not exactly sure what you mean by the term 'span breakthrough'. Are you referring to the flashing being uneven? I think that's just because my house is lopsided. I think I mentioned about it being built on a slope, but I don't think it was built on a level foundation because all of the houses are aligned. It's a row of about 20 terraces but they're all aligned so they couldn't have been built with level foundations could they? Not if it's on a slope. Either that or it's subsided and probably the extension is subsiding as well. I have noticed some creasing in the ceiling paper. Whoever fitted the joists, lifted them at one end to make it level.

I've knocked out some of the fireplace this morning so can someone just confirm that it will be safe to knock out the rest of it. I'm worried about it collapsing on me. There's just an iron bar supporting that arch, but what's supporting the rest of it? And does anyone know how much it is to hire a skip?

Thank you all for sharing your knowledge and advice I really do appreciate it. Its been difficult since buying this house and overpaying and realising there's so many issues with it, but I'm feeling a lot more hopeful since coming on here.

 

[tomm12]

The pic of the fungus is still burred but I'd say it is dry rot.
You can safely remove the in-fill in the fireplace. The arch will hold good.
The metal hanger pic shows all wrong.
Could you show pics of the the chimney breast and the kitchen walls/floor? Can you show pics of the lean-to back wall, they would show air bricks if vent pipes were used?
span breakthrough, do you have bi-folds between the kitchen and the lean-to? In other words a wide opening?
Its best to say where pics are in the house.
I dont see a vestibule only a hall. Whats happened there? pics please?
The lime guide is maybe not for you. Stick with the basics. Lime plaster or render is simple just lime and sand.
Foundations are stepped on slopes not slanted so stick to doing basics or stop everything and get a SE in?

 

[sjee6]

I knocked the vestibule down today, it looks like it was original, some of the bricks were going from the external wall into the vestibule wall. I've just lodged a few bricks in there for now until I mortar them up. Doesn't seem like It's load bearing. I don't know how I'm going to seal the doorway.

I've included some pics showing up the chimney; there are some loose bricks stuck up there. Might they not have threw them down when they dismantled the chimney stack from the roof? Might be the whole chimney stack stuck inside the chimney breast.

There's 3 airbricks on the extension outside just above the decking, but I thought they still might've just put them there for show.

Still not exactly sure what you mean by wide opening but I've included this pic of the extension from inside. The chimney breast in my kitchen is connected to this utility closet, think they might've used plaster board or something, but It's damp in the utility closet as well.

Oh and I noticed before, the pipe just above the meter box that's been plastered into the wall is dead, It doesn't go anywhere.

If houses are always built on level foundations it must've subsided. The joist pic just shows how they've been cut and lifted and bolted into the wall on hangers. Upstairs is still not level, there's a spot I was planning to position a shelving unit but I know it'll just fall over.

 

[tomm12]

You've got a wide span at the kitchen to the lean-to knock through and therefore a large lintel. If the lintel was badly installed it could have caused structural difficulties for the upper floor and the upper floor openings?
Any wall cracks upstairs?


What are you going to do with the kitchen chimney breast?
Is the kitchen floor solid or suspended?

The vestibule wall below the floor needs removing.
Remove the redundant pipe above the meter. Remove all redundant pipes and cables

Remove all the infill its safe, you can see the party wall at the back of the fireplace opening. Drop all the loose bricks from up in the flue. The flue is thick with soot, it needs sweeping.

Have you been in the loft yet?

 

[sjee6]

Not sure about wall cracks, the bathroom is cladded and the spare bedroom is papered.

No idea what to do with the kitchen yet. The floor of the extension is tiled with stone, the rest is laminate so I can't remove the utility closet without the floor looking weird.

Main kitchen is suspended but I'm assuming the extension would have to be concrete wouldn't it?

I have been in the loft, but it's awkward getting up there. The beams look charred so probably suffered fire damage at some point. And there's an old water tank up there.

I've pretty much finished knocking out the fireplace, I need to get a skip, gonna be £300 I think. 6 tonne will be enough won't it?

 

[sjee6]

This is what I was trying to explain about all the houses on my street being on a slope but they're all aligned. Mine is like the first picture so how could they've been built with level foundations?