Wet patches onext wall

[billmccan]

Hi All, Can anyone give me advice on this problem, I had a leaking roof ,I renewed the ridge capping and repointed the chimney with lime mortar this was done 5 weeks ago and after the heavy rain we had i've checked in the attic and found it to be dry as to before the repairs the wall would be all wet. My next project is to decorate the bedroom,which has 4 damp patches,1 directly below where the attic wall was damp one slightly below and to the right of this and the other two are to the right of the second one just above an old fire place,should this old fire place have a air vent to let air circulate up the flue ?. Sorry to waffle on but can any members give me an idea of why I have this problem and how I can solve them.
The walls are solid with lathe and plaster.
Cheers Billmccan

 

[roughcaster]

The damp patches will probably be caused by debris, dust etc that has fallen over the years, and got jammed in the gap between the solid wall and the wooden lath. Similar to the damp patch above the old fireplace. It is always advisable to install an air vent to a disused fireplace, to let the air flow up the old chimney, but quite often, i've found that dampness above an old fireplace is caused, again, by falling debris jamming and building up over the years, on top of the old timber batten/lintel area, above the old fireplace (behind the wooden lath), causing damp patches on the surface of the plaster, above the old mantlepiece level.

 

[billmccan]

Hi Roughcaster and many thanks for your quick reply.I have been in the loft and have pushed draining rods between the lath and the wall and managed to move some debris. Is the only solution to take the plaster off the lath and clear any debris from behind the lath ?

 

[roughcaster]

Removing the old plaster would be the ultimate Bill if it's really bad. It's a drastic measure, but it'll do the trick. What i've done in the past to old lath and plaster walls that had damp problems, is to remove all the plaster, then remove 3 or 4 laths at the bottom of the wall, as well as 2 or 3 laths above the old fireplace, and then go over the whole lath area of wall, cleaning/poking out the debris, which will all fall down to the bottom, where you can remove it,, same above the fireplace. Any bigger bits that get jammed, just remove the odd piece of lath and clear it. When you have it all clear, nail back on the laths, just for support. After that, buy a large sheet of heavy duty polythene, big enough to cover the whole wall. Cut it to size, and staple/tack it to the uprights supporting the lath, then screw on a few sheets of 12.5mm foil backed plasterboard, using 35mm drywall screws. Your wall will then be "permanently" damp free, with a nice flow of air behind the lath. The newly boarded wall, will just need taping at the joints, then it's ready to decorate. Always check though, for any other sources of damp penetration, ie, bad pointing, damaged brick/stonework, broken guttering, etc. The method above works perfect, and the beauty of it is,, you can do most of the work yourself. You might need to employ a taper/plasterer, (unless "you" can tape), but for the small job it is, it wont be much. You might also need an electrician if there are sockets etc in the wall. Don't forget to put in a small plastic air vent, and make a small hole in the plasterboard/polythene before you fit the vent.

 

[JohnD]

. You might need to employ a taper/plasterer,

Are they good at plastering, then?

 

[roughcaster]

. You might need to employ a taper/plasterer,

Are they good at plastering, then?

That's a picture of a "Tapir" John,, they don't do plastering, i'm told they're better at tiling!!

 

[stuart45]

That's a dead ringer for a spread I know.

 

[hotrod]

Me too, although they are better behaved than spreads. Their personal hygiene is also vastly superior.

 

[JohnD]

better looking too.