penetrating damp fixed but plaster stays damp?

[pxs871]

Hi,

I've a damp issue I thought would be fixed but doesn't seem to have worked - any advice appreciated!!

we've a victorian flat (so lime cement used in the brickwork) that has been painted on the exterior and the paint not maintained well in places i.e. the exterior paint is flaky in places and has some cracks.

The living room has a damp patch on the exterior facing wall,photo below
in roughly the same area as where some of this flaky paint is on the outside. So, on the exterior, I pulled some of the flaky paint off and the wall was a bit damp underneath. This suggests to me water was trapped between the paint 'skin' and the wall. I looked this up and found victorian flats with lime mortar are meant to be 'breathable' rather than have the brickwork painted with modern paints (which can seal water out, but equally seal it in if moisture gets behind the paint). Unfortunately what's done by a previous owner is done, and I didn't want to get the whole thing sandblasted, etc.

So - I removed most of the loose exterior paint, let it dry out for a few days in hot weather, then had the exterior rendered with lime, and painted with limewash.

The outside looks great and I don't see how any water could now get into the wall. However the damp patch inside the living room hasn't improved. If anything, it's got worse since this was done (6 weeks ago), even though we've had a de-humidifier on for several days.

Any suggestions what I've done wrong or how I can dry out the wall?

Thanks very much,

Peter

Untitled

• pxs871
• 6 Jul 2014
• 1

 

[Flyboytim]

You are not in the garden are you?!!

I'd turn off the dehumidifier, and point a fan at the wall. Dehumidifiers are great in very humid enclosed rooms, like after flooding, but not very good for a damp patch on an exterior wall.

6 weeks is no time for a solid wall to dry out - it may take the rest of summer and then some. If it gets to October, and some damp patches reappear with colder weather, keep the fan going - it will even out the temperature differences when dampness is evaporating - but it will dry eventually.