Problem Internal Wall

[IvanDobsky]

Hi everyone. I'm new here so hope this is the right section to post my question. The pictures below are of one of my kitchen walls - it looks awful and I'm not sure how to tackle it or what be causing it. There is a terribly musty smell behind the floor cupboards on this wall and everything metal put into it rusts .
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Untitled

• IvanDobsky
• 26 Jun 2008
• 1

Untitled

• IvanDobsky
• 26 Jun 2008
• 1

Untitled

• IvanDobsky
• 26 Jun 2008
• 1

 

[Burnerman]

Obviously a nasty damp problem......Outside wall? Check for blocked air bricks, faulty pointing, roof/ gutter problems, porous brick or the land piled too high - above the DPC level. Also look for blocked / leaking down pipes. Inside wall? Is there a shower or some other appliance leaking on the other side? Could your room be soaking water upwards from an earth floor - up the sleeper walls?
Either way, study the surrounding area very carefully looking for water ingress. Once you find it, the damaged plaster will have to come off as it can't be saved successfully. Cheers John

 

[Symptoms]

Ivan - 'blown' plaster probably caused by dampness. Check for leaking pipework (including on the other side of the wall - rainwater downpipes/gutters) and fix the leak. Your wall appears to be decorated with a gloss paint - this seals the walls and will prevent the moisture in the wall from evaporating and so make the situation worse. The fix is to cut-out the blown plaster, let the wall dry out and then patch plaster, but I'd also get rid of the gloss paint (paint stripper & scraping!!). Decorate the walls with an emulsion not gloss. If these walls can be seen it may be a good idea to cut the plaster away between the skirtings and to a horizontal line above the damaged area and get a pro in to plaster.

 

[IvanDobsky]

Thanks guys, it's a party wall with next door (1910 terraced house). I'll nip next door and ask them if they've got a leak.

 

[roughcaster]

It looks as though someone's maybe patched it before with gypsum plaster, which is one of the worst plasters to use if there is/was damp present. It also draws efloressence/salts out of the brickwork, and as the guys were saying, the gloss paint is holding everything underneath it...... After sorting out any leak/damp problem,I would take "all" that rotten plaster off the whole area, clean down/prepare the brickwork and scratch coat it with a 4 to 1 mix (plastering sand /cement) with a waterproofer added to the water, and then let the s/coat dry out for a few days.You could then either plaster it out flush, or bring it out with render/multi finish.

Roughcaster.