Weird white mould and crumbling plaster

[s79]

Hi all

We have a small store/pantry situated under the stairs. As you can see from picture 1 inside the pantry the plaster has crumbled off and has a quite gross looking white powdery mould

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98549025@N05/9236040227/

On the living room side it seems to have bulged outwards (or its crumbled and the wallpaper is holding)
Picture 2 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/98549025@N05/9236036929/

Im actually getting worried that the white growth is actually quite dangerous in terms of mould :/ and that i should have resolved this sooner!! There could also be a smell coming from it too.

To be honest the main reason i looked at it is because i need to decorate the living room and pantry and obviously i need this resolved before i paint/re-wallpaper

So what should I do about the initial mould and then what do i need to to enable me to re-decoreate the pantry and the living room? Is it simply a case of re-plastering?

Is it damp?

 

[dann09]

Perhaps you would post a few more pics with views of larger areas? Pull back w/paper and carpet for pics. They are probably causing the smell.

You appear to have rising damp, and the white crystals are from natural ground chemicals, mostly sulphates. They are harmless.

There appears to be a wood lath in pic 1 on the left. Not good in damp conditions - what is it, a packing piece for a door frame?

The odds are that you will have to do a little bricklaying, given the state of the masonry in pic 1.

 

[s79]

Many thanks for your reply Dann09.

I've posted two more pics, the first shows the inside of the pantry from further out, and yes i think that little bit of wood is related to the door frame (in white to the left)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98549025@N05/9242418320/

The second pic is the living room wall again, but i daren't take off wallpaper at the moment as i can tell its holding up a load of crumbled plaster!
But I couldn't see much of the white powder mould from the little bit o could see through the gap.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98549025@N05/9236036929/in/set-72157634538886645

 

[dann09]

Your second pic is a repetition - the idea is to give us, the viewers, an idea of the general area.

Does your pantry step down?
Was the pantry originally an entrance to cellar steps?

You should clear out all chattels and roll back the carpets, or lift them clear.
The skirting board should be removed, also remove wall paper and plaster to a height of 1m - it has to come off - next knock off plaster in the pantry up to the door frame, and then take more pics.

There are no easy, painless ways of dealing with what you have - but your choice.

 

[s79]

Sorry for the delay, finally took off the wallpaper on the living room side and took some pics!!

Here's what it looked like after the initial loose plaster came off

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98549025@N05/9267787917/

Here is what it looks like from a distance:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98549025@N05/9267789345/in/set-72157634538886645

And as you can see looks very similar to the pantry side of the wall, with the white mould, and crumbled plaster, although there is not as much crumbling as the pantry side. (For info that hole in the plaster is approx 22cm across).

The plaster behind the wallpaper definitely felt a little damp/moist to touch.

There is also a peice of wood in it (near the bottom of the pic) not sure of its purpose?