Stud wall joining brick wal

[Siclark]

Our builder has just finished a refurbishment project and in one of the rooms an old door way in a brick wall was filled in with stud work, insulated and plasterboarded. The whole wall was then skimmed and painted.
We now have a darker stripe in the paint where the join is. The decorator has tried repainting using the emulsion and also with oil based primer and still appears. I am guessing it's damp or condensation related related possibly due to temperature differences? The builder is as a loss as to what to do.
Does anyone have any suggestions that hopefully don't involve replastering but if it does I want to know before paying the outstanding balance.
Thanks

 

[Newboy]

How long between the wall being plastered and painted?

 

[Siclark]

A few weeks I think. It was plastered and painter 6 months ago and the painter has had several atempts at sanding and repainting, the last using oil based paint a month ago. The dark stripe was visible as soon as the paint dried.

 

[ree]

You possibly have a condition known as "grinning thro" - its due, as you suggest, "to temperature differences" between the solid wall and the outline of the frame in the wall. The upper framing surface area will often collect dust particles and show more pronounced.

Grinning sometimes appears on wall surfaces after chimney breast removals. I've seen it where blocks were used instead of studwork to fill openings in a solid wall - same result: a shadowy outline at the joins.

I dont think either the builder or the painter is to blame - its just the luck of the draw ambient temperatures.

 

[Siclark]

Cheers. Interestingly though it doesn't occur the other side of that wall which was plastered by same person at same time and painted same colour. It also only goes up part of the join.

 

[ree]

Yeah, different temps on the other side.

The last time i noticed this effect was on a wall where it took 3 or 4 yrs to present.

There are, of course, other possibilities - give it 6 months say, and then come back?

Mind you, this is all supposition on my part based on various job experiences - what the science is i dont know?

 

[stuart45]

Ideally you should use the same materials for a wall if possible, so you could argue it's the builders fault.

 

[Siclark]

Ideally you should use the same materials for a wall if possible, so you could argue it's the builders fault.

Sadly it was me that blocked up the door at the wife's insistence to save some money before the builder started, but he never mentioned that it could cause a problem. Any chance that it is due to residual damp, and might eventually dry out, we have only been living in the house the last 2 months?

 

[ree]

Why do you keep mentioning "residual damp"?

As usual, it seems that there is more to the initial post than first meets the eye? Perhaps you can describe the surroundings to the blocked doorway and why damp or condensation would be an issue?

Is damp an issue in other areas of the house - is condensation an issue on either side of the doorway?

 

[^woody^]

I would normally say that it's pattern staining due to the different materials with different thermal properties, but the shape of that stain suggests that it is dampness - not condensation dampness, but dampness coming through the wall.

 

[Siclark]

ree - no other damp issues or condensation issues in the house and the door was in the corner so the stripe is the left hand side as you look at it. The other side of that wall is fine. I just meant as lots of work done and not been lived in for long but guess over summer should have dryed out anyway.

Woody- when you say coming through the wall, from where?

 

[^woody^]

Woody- when you say coming through the wall, from where?

Sorry I thought you'd blocked up an external door, but obviously not.

There should not be any condensation issues if the room on the other side is not an external area or unheated room, even then condensation would tend to show around the complete opening or new framework, than just one place.

That image shows two dark lines with a drier area between them. What do these correspond to in the door opening - ie where is the timber and the edge of the [masonry] door opening? What materials were used to infill the opening, and was the timber treated or untreated. really, you just need to think about whether there is anything done differently on that side of the opening than the other side of the opening in that same room.

 

[Siclark]

Untitled

• Siclark
• 15 Feb 2015
• 1

Yes, just interior wall. Both rooms heated and the other room is fine.
The frame was built pretty tight to the wall and filled with insulation and same done on left / right of the frame as well as on both faces. Will try and check what the timber was but think was the same 4x2 the builder was using for all the new stud walls he was putting up.
Below is picture of the wall after the plasterboard was put on. Was pretty flush to the masonry and see the drawings on the board or where the timber was there doesn't appear to be much of a gap. Unfortunately I don't remember the exact measurements. One thing i now see is the old light switch. Could the wiring been removed and filled with filler that is sucking up moisture from somewhere? Hard to see exactly was on old pic.

 

[ree]

Have you been under the suspended floor (are both floors suspended?), and examined the wall below the blocked door area for damp bricks or joists?

Its a long shot but moisture could be creeping up the masonry jamb where the door frame butts up. Thing is, if that were the case damp would also show on the solid wall surfaces esp. behind skirting.

Treated timber would presumably show all round the blocked opening?