Efflorescence in Garage?

[philt89]

Hi all,

I've not got photos at the moment but I have some minerally deposits on the surface of two rows of bricks in my garage. One row I believe is where my DPC is and the higher row is where my neighbours garage floor is roughly. I've been told it is probably efflorescence, but it has a bluey green substance on it, which initially I thought was mould but it doesn't smell like mould, could this just be a colouration of the minerals coming through? It also doesn't feel damp to the touch but...

One concern is that I have a dividing stud wall in the garage that was plastered, the plaster butts up against the wall in question and I can see damp rings appearing where the plaster meets these two rows of bricks. Am I best to chip the plaster away from that area to stop anything spreading? It's just a home brewery/man cave not a proper conversion.

Secondly I want to damp proof and insulate the problem wall, it's a very cold wall and I've noticed that anything I put near it will get covered in mould if it's not bone dry. If I was to cover it over with a vapour barrier Celotex insulation am I just covering the issue and risking problems further down the line? Is there anything else I can do? Does it need a DPC injecting into the bricks?

Cheers

 

[blup]

Probably damp from bridging from floor or next door. Nothing wrong with a stud wall to insulate just use fixings that wont transfer damp and use membrane under floor studs.

Blup

 

[JohnD]

One concern is that I have a dividing stud wall in the garage that was plastered, the plaster butts up against the wall in question and I can see damp rings appearing where the plaster meets these two rows of bricks. Am I best to chip the plaster away from that area to stop anything spreading?

Yes

Plaster can bridge a DPC and encourage damp to spread by capillary action more than it would in clean brickwork

Does it need a DPC injecting into the bricks?

No.

Do not allow anyone who sells chemical injections into your home.

 

[philt89]

Thanks both for the advice, will crack on as planned