Damp or Condensation?

[Merrimak]

Hi Guys, wonder if anyone can shed any light on this,

Moved into a ground floor flat of a mid terraced 1910 property about 6 months ago, a few weeks ago i decided to re decorate the main bedroom which involved dismantling a rather unsightly fitted wardrobe wich had sliding doors and went the whole length of the room

the bedroom has obviously had a condensation problem as there was black mould on certain areas of the room, most notably on the North facing area by the bay window and paricularly inside the wardrobe itself, as there was quite alolt of mould on the wall inside it and i had a problem with mould on clothing that was inside the wardrobe too

after pulling the wardrobe out, i found that the skirting behind was in very poor condition and virtually the whole length of it was rotten and had to be pulled out too, the rest of the skirting in the room was sound but quite old and tatty so decided to get rid of that too

anyway, stripped the walls and got builder in to skim the whole bedroom, however, now that the room has dried out nicely i have noticed that where the fitted wardrobe used to be, there are what appears to be several patches where the plaster is not drying out, these patches seem to be in relation to where the old skirting was, ie the patches of damp do not seem to rise above the top of where the old skirting was! so my first reaction was obviously rising damp! since then a friend has suggested it could simply have been trapped moisture behind the skirting board and the lack of air flow inside the wardrobe has meant that the moisture has soaked into the wall!

its been 3 weeks since the room was skimmed now and these patches have still not dried out!

the whole house has had a chemical injected DPC!

so ..... damp or condensation?

 

[^woody^]

It could be a cold spot thus delaying drying (or causing local condensation) or yes it could be a bit moist from previously. But either way, three weeks is a little long for skim to dry.

If the floor is solid concrete, then the plaster should not touch it, and the skirting should be raised too - as this is a common point for condensation on the floor which could be drawn up. Any rising dampness will most likely travel up further than the top of the skirting.

Also monitor to see if dampness is more prevelant after rain - if this is an external wall

Get the landlord to investigate, as if it is rising or penetrating damp, then it should be his responsibility

 

[Merrimak]

Thanks woody,

the floor is wooden and the wall is not external, forgot to mention before but a few days ago i put my dehumidifier in front of the wall to give some air flow over the area, it seemed to do the trick at first but approx 24 hours later the patches reappeared!

theres a good 6 inch gap between render and floor too, i have scraped away some of render below these patches and it is bone dry! also dry in between the brick work

the flat is bought too so no landlord to pass the buck onto unfortunately

 

[JohnD]

you say the wall is not external? What is on the other side of it? Kitchen, bathroom or radiator with pipes that might be leaking?

Condensation inside a cupboard is very common on an outside wall, but very unusual on an inside wall, as the wall should not be cold.
If there is a chimney on the other side it may be damp if not ventilated top and bottom.

If the previous occupier kept the room warm and damp (e.g. one of those lunatics who hangs wet washing over radiators ) it might be condensation.

Otherwise I would suspect the wall may need damp-proofing. If you can pull a floorboard up you may get an idea of how damp the underfloor is, and how far down it is to the ground (or concrete slab, if you have one).

If there is a cellar, damp is unlikely to reach the room above.

Some people have unhealthy strong reactions to the concept of rising damp so stand by for them to argue with each other on your thread.

 

[Merrimak]

Thanks JohnD,

No it's not an external wall, although one end of the wall leads to an external wall next to the bay window, on the other side of the wall is the hallway, pretty sure there are no leaks too, i did notice however that the inside of the wardrobe was lined with that polystyrene on a roll stuff! which leads me to believe that they were aware of the condensation too

and yes i've noticed that this 'rising damp' issue is a complicated one and can cause quite a stir

i'm going to try to get a couple of pics sorted out so as to make it a little clearer

 

[JohnD]

If the wall is damp it can take several months to dry out, once you have removed the source. I expect you can see brown patches on the plaster outining the damp bricks.

 

[anobium]

The fact that you tried a dehumidifier and the damp reappeared the day after suggests that it is condensation.
However condensation normally occurs on the coldest surfaces, ie external walls, windows etc.
If it is condensation there are 3 basic methods in controlling it.
1)Additional insulation
2)Additional ventilation
3)Additional heat
On another point this flat didn't by any chance have a fireplace which has been sealed up did it?
If it did, and you opened it up ,I guarantee, (figuratively speaking) that your condensation problem will be cured instantly .

 

[Merrimak]

If the wall is damp it can take several months to dry out, once you have removed the source. I expect you can see brown patches on the plaster outining the damp bricks.

yes

On another point this flat didn't by any chance have a fireplace which has been sealed up did it?

yes

 

[JohnD]

fireplace

 

[Merrimak]

Cheers JohnD

Might just have to do that!

 

[Merrimak]

Still no sign of it drying out!

http://www.filefactory.com/file/c66d8f/


http://www.filefactory.com/file/aac420/

 

[JohnD]

can't see it. Might be filefactory. Any chance of using photobucket?

 

[Merrimak]

hows this mate? not too well up on this file sharing lark!


this is the area that was covered by the fitted wardrobe, all the other walls are fine!


http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o258/merrimak/DSC00304.jpg

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o258/merrimak/DSC00303.jpg

 

[JohnD]

yes, I can see that. Doesn't look bad to me.

Have you looked under the floor?

Is the room now well ventilated?

What's on the other side of the wall?

What's the wall made of? Red brick and lime mortar? It looks rather dark.

p.s. you could try outlining the damp patches with a pencil to see if they get bigger or smaller over time.

 

[Merrimak]

gonna pull some floorboards up at weekend and have a look down there

also going to unblock fire place and put a grill in

other side of the wall is the hallway

the walls are red brick lined with mortar, the dark that you can see is what i can only describe as caked on mouldy substance which is bone dry!

cheers for your time mate, will post again at weekend when had a look underneath floor