damp

[Paulboy]

I have a damp wall in a small downstairs room where the boiler is situated, there was a leak at one time on part of the wall but the other wall that is the outer wall is damp, ive hacked of some the plaster and it came of really easy, i could tell the plaster wasnt completely dry. I have the line of two blue bricks as the damp proof course. on the outside of the house i have an concrete path which runs right up the edge of the wall, now,this could be an issue but seems to slope away from the house however.

I am wondering what to do next. as i am in process of renovating the house shall i just leave this wall with the plaster of the bottom of it and let it dry out?(for a month or two), i dont want to get any treatment on wall as ive heard this is a waste of money and its got the blue bricks in it

 

[ColJack]

firstly check your gutters, the may be blocked / broken making rain pour over the edge and down the wall instead..

then check under the floors for leaking pipes..

have you recently had any cavity insulation done?

noticed any cracks in the render ( if it is rendered ) ?

 

[Paulboy]

there was some useless old guttering , this has been removed a while bk, it was cavity insulated a few yrs ago with the wool material, no leaking pipes and not rendered

 

[Paulboy]

sorry i also meant to say there was a a faulty drain which was cracked below the surface and this was leaking in the soil around the area of the damp wall. I have since remolved this drain bit and sealed it. So of course this where the damp problem has come from. I have removed a brick from the inside wall and the base of the cavity is damp as is the insulation.

So what should my next step be?. Just leave it for the rest of the summer to dry out and leave the brick out to get some air in?? to dry it it, am also thinking i should remove some of thre soil/concrete next to the outside wall (the bricks that are below the blue brick level)

 

[Paulboy]

anyone lol?

 

[^woody^]

If you have sorted the cause, then put a dehumidifier in the room to dry it out. otherwise it could potentially take months and months to dry.

I can't see any value in removing soil, it will not speed up the drying time