Internal plastering question

[phil1963]

I live in a house built in 1884 and the walls are NOT cavity style and are two bricks thick. EIGHT feet off the ground in the kitchen a 18 ins x 18 ins patch of damp appeared after some heavy rain (It is NOT rising damp!!). Three builders have been round and inspected the pointing outside and all have said that despite the outside wall having been painted over, the pointing is not the source of the damp. The last builder reckoned that the previous owners when they decorated the kitchen about ten years ago, took off the beading, battens and boards that were stuck to the INSIDE of the wall onto which the wallpaper etc. was stuck and just plastered directly onto the bare brick wall. This was then covered with lining paper and painted with emulsion. Thus after the recent hard rain, the rain has been absorbed by the plaster and left me with a bit damp patch. 1) Is this a logical thought by the builder and 2) How do I cure it?

 

[dextrous]

Am a bit confused by this. If the external brickwork a pointing is sound, how is water ingressing to the inner surface?

Second, are they suggesting that the walls originally had timber cladding, or timber studword with plaster and lath on top of this? If so, I've never come across this arrangement on solid external walls - plaster is always applied directly to brickwork.

 

[noseall]

I take it there are no leaky downpipes or gutters locally?

 

[phil1963]

Hmm, I am confused as none of the three builders who have attended seem to think that the pointing has allowed water in. So I am confused having taken their advice as to how the water is getting in. The plasterboard that I mentioned has I was told been stuck to the INSIDE of the room originally and had been taken off and new plaster applied straight onto the brickwork (is a dry line wall a good idea??). In short I need to find the source of the leak (floorboards above and the ceiling are bone dry) yet nobody in the trade seems to share my belief that the pointing or even the bricks are the source of this damp.

Confused!

 

[spongey]

dont get a builder to look at it, get a specialist damp proof company to look at it for you.

they will have many years experience of this type of problem and it is very difficult to diagnose without seeing the problem itself.

if the patch appears after heavy rainfall then it suggests to me that the is water ingress somewhere, whether that be penetrating (through the wall) rising (from the bottom) or falling (from above).

ring a pro company, they will check the mortar beds, the roof and the levels of moisture in your room, i have seen condensation cause the problem of what you are describing, it is a patch to high for rising with no signs of falling and no way it can be penetrating.

the reason being is (and this is an explanation by a damp proof specialist) that when it rains the levels of moisture in a room go up, and get attracted to cold zones (usually in window revels, top and bottom corners etc, but in some cases anywhere on a wall that is cold) these are yellowy in colour and dry out pretty quickly but when it rains again it comes back.

if it is condensation then it is caused by poor air flow.

but i re-iterate get a pro damp proof company to inspect it.

 

[Micilin]

To check for condensatiion or damp in a cheap stylee.

Dry the area thoroughly, with a cloth. put a square of tinfoil over it, fixing it in place with tapea round the edges so that it is sealed.

When you remove the tinfoil after a few weeks,or after rain or whatever condtions cause the problem - if there is moisture on the inside(wall side) of the tinfoil , then there is ingress of water , if there is moisture on the other side, then it is condensation in the room.

 

[phil1963]

Many thanks for the above two bits of advice - cheers.