Wet patch on kitchen wall

[Dedekind]

Hello

We bought our house about 6 months ago. A building survey was done in which a form of damp was found on the wall of the kitchen -- this is an outside wall. I am attaching a picture taken by the surveyor around 8 months ago. I will upload new pictures later today since the damp seems to have advanced.

Surveyor does not mention rising damp. Two builders came around for other works and I asked them their opinion. One of them said it's probably a leak in some pipe (there are two downpipes outside as well as what seems to be a drain; there also two radiator pipes running through the inside, you can see them in the picture where they are turned green by the copper getting damp).

The other one which I really trust says it's probably rising damp. He is the one we will use for our redecoration downstairs which includes a full kitchen refurbishment. We plan to do this next summer or maybe a bit later. He said the problem can wait until then, if it was 5 years he would fix this now but no sense in doing something if it's only 1 or at most 2 years down the line.

Should I follow his advice? I am a bit concerned that the damp seems to have expanded from 6 months ago -- the ugly woodchip wallpaper has broken a bit more, it's more bloated, seems to have very little bubbles and the plaster has deteriorated more (it was already blown before). There is no water inside or seen on the wall.

I don't want to spend lots of money if that's what it takes to fix it, as Id rather do it when doing the kitchen, but if it's very urgent then probably will need to.. usually how long does this take to cause real issues? (Like dry rot or health issues)

Thanks https://imgur.com/a/ByeGrAa

 

[Dedekind]

Some more pics here

https://imgur.com/a/zMe5nQz

 

[JohnD]

Hmmmm, severe damp localised around old pipes that contain water.

What's your first thought?

I know what mine is.

Have you got a water meter?

Is this damp seen in other parts of the house where there are no pipes and drains?

Post some photos of the outside, please. Show the whole wall, including gutters, downpipes and drains, and mark where the watery patch is.

 

[Dedekind]

Thanks tomorrow will go out and take some pics of the outside wall.

I know it definitely needs to be sorted out, just wondering whether it's worth (or absolutely necessary) to do now or it can wait for the kitchen refurbishment.

 

[JohnD]

If it happens to be a leaking pipe, the sooner you mend it, the better.

Hack off that wet paper and plaster so you can see the shape of the wet patch.

Is the floor concrete or wood?

In the surveyor's pic it looks like there is a wet patch reaching up to at least head height. Is that right?

 

[Dedekind]

I'd say head height is a bit too much but it does get high.

https://imgur.com/a/Ero4Dpy

First pic there the little cracks on top are over a meter high.

The floor is wood as far as I know.

 

[JohnD]

Take up some floorboards, clean out the wet rubble, let the air dry out the floor a bit, and look to see how wet it is, over what area.

Joists will rot if damp.

Has the wet got worse over the past few days of heavy rain?

I see no reason to suspect rising damp.

That wet wall will take about a year to dry after you have found and repaired the cause. Hacking off the wet plaster will help. And that horrible woodchip paper which was doubtless applied to hide something nasty.

 

[Dedekind]

Not particularly worse, no. It is rather slow as it has changed very gradually from that first surveyors pic until today.

Also that green pipe is just going to one of the radiators and coming back; central heating was turned off for the past few months so if it's a leak I don't think it's coming from that pipe. It could be something outside, will take photos tomorrow in day light to show here.

 

[Dedekind]

Sorry forgot to answer, there are no other signs of dampness in the house at all.

That part is just below the bathroom, surveyor thought it could be leaking from there. But we did a new bathroom back in May with all new plumbing so I'm not sure it could be that

 

[JohnD]

Thought not.

Ignore your "rising damp" enthusiast. He is an idiot.

 

[Dedekind]

Take up some floorboards, clean out the wet rubble, let the air dry out the floor a bit, and look to see how wet it is, over what area.

Joists will rot if damp.

Has the wet got worse over the past few days of heavy rain?

I see no reason to suspect rising damp.

That wet wall will take about a year to dry after you have found and repaired the cause. Hacking off the wet plaster will help. And that horrible woodchip paper which was doubtless applied to hide something nasty.

To be fair this room was last decorated probably 50 years ago at least..

 

[JohnD]

Have you got a water meter?

 

[Dedekind]

Have you got a water meter?

You mean a meter from the water company?

I do, they took readings when we moved in in April, it showed water not used for long time, consistent with the fact that the previous owner passed away 2 years ago.

After that they took a reading on July and it didn't raise any flags, in fact the usage was a bit less than what they expected I think.

 

[JohnD]

Take a careful look at it with a torch. see the glass window. In the middle of it may be an air bubble. If it is moving or turning, water is passing through. If it is immobile, not. This is much more accurate than looking at the number display.

If the water had been turned off while the house was empty, this could explain the damp getting worse since you bought it.

 

[^woody^]

What's on the other side of the wall, and what's the condition of the external wall and eaves above and ground below?