Plaster repair damp problem

[tireetim]

A while ago I repaired the plaster on a wall where a leak had caused damage. I went back to brick on the damaged area and put a sand and cement backing then pva and skimmed with two coats of multi. This was my first attempt at plastering so it's far from perfect but I was happy enough after a bit of filling and sanding. After a few weeks of drying I painted with a mist coat then 2 coats of non vinyl emulsion. Today I have been stripping wallpaper from another wall in the same room which filled the room with steam and it seems the moisture is being sucked into my plastered wall. Looks like into the lime plaster directly above and to the side of my repair. Can anybody advise me why this is and what I should do. Is it salts in the old plaster sucking moisture in ?
Original repairs :

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• tireetim
• 14 Nov 2013
• 2

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• tireetim
• 14 Nov 2013
• 2

Damp plaster :

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• tireetim
• 9 Jan 2014
• 1

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• tireetim
• 9 Jan 2014
• 1

I had noticed a very slight damp patch before today but the steam has made it 1000 times worse.
As a first attempt I half expected to have to pull it all off and start again anyway but if I have to do that I don't want the same thing to happen next time.

Thanks if you can help !

 

[tireetim]

Can anybody help?

 

[roughcaster]

Hard to say exactly what's causing the damp/water ingress Tim apart from asking what it the outside of the wall finished with,, pointed brickwork, roughcast, render.??

 

[tireetim]

It's a cavity wall with pebbledash on the outside. I originally thought it was coming in from the outside until I started wallpaper stripping and the damp patches got really bad. There are a couple of old cast iron drain pipe brackets that could be letting water in I guess but it doesn't seem to get worse after rain, it just seems like the wall is sucking in moisture from the air but I could be wrong.

 

[Mark321]

From what you describe, it seems that the new "damp" is being caused by condensation. Particularly if it has got considerably worse since you started with the steamer.

Is there any ventilation in the room, trickle vents in the dg units for example? Modern living and internal condensation is responsible for many problems inside our homes. Water vapour will always condense on the coldest surface and with dg units this will often be external walls near a cold bridge such as lintels etc.

Methodical trials should enable you to get to the bottom of the problem and hopefully fix satisfactorily.

Good luck.

 

[roughcaster]

What Mark says makes sense. Hopefuly, things will dry out.