Wood cladding over slightly damp walls

[snout7]

I am currently unemployed but making use of myself decorating my mother in laws house as she is not able to because of age.

she lives in an old cottage in tamworth and whilst stripping down the walls i noticed what seems to be rising damp. Its not bad, but am worried about cladding over the top of it as i want the cladding to last.

apparently when she worked she had a pet dog, and whilst working she would leave the back door open ALL the time allowing the dog to go outside, and this was in all sorts of weather, i can only assume that this was the cause of the damp issues as i cannot see where the damp has come from.

Now the dog has passed on she want her room cladded, which might be easier than papering over the slight damp. any ideas how best to go about this? what should i treat the walls with, what i should treat the wood with?

i have cladded some the room where there was no damp with no more nails, and then undercoating and painting the wood, but i feel that no more nails might not hold the cladding on the other walls, i have some damp seal but will that do the trick?

the walls are only slightly damp to the touch, slight crumbling of plaster in very small areas, i am not sure fixing batons will work as i want to hold the cladding slugh with the skirting board

any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance

 

[JohnD]

where is this damp?

 

[pinenot]

Unless the damp walls are fixed, I fear your on a hiding to nothing. If the damp is simply settled on the wall surface, dehumidify it and scrape off any loose surfaces prior to doing any other works, would be my suggestion...pinenot

 

[Burnerman]

I must agree with the above..... often enough, in some old properties, a lot of the ground floor was clad just to hide that very problem! Usually it was about 4' from the floor.
John

 

[snout7]

where is this damp?

thats just it, i am not sure where the damp is coming from so dont know how to fix it

i assume that it is condensation damp because its not bad and there is very little ventillation

 

[JohnD]

It it, for example, in a strip starting at the floor and six inches above? Is it up by the ceiling, in the corners? Is it on the external walls but not the internal walls? Is it underneath a window or next to a door? Is it close to a sink or a radiator? Is it on a wall that has a downpipe outside, or dripping gutter above? Is there a solid floor, and is it wet?

Does anyone drape wet washing around? How is the room ventilated?

Read this
//www.diynot.com/wiki/building:condensation_in_houses

 

[snout7]

in one area there is a patch which seems to be some sort of chimney breast but no fireplace just like a vent. it is damp around that area in parts mostly just above the skirting and the edges of the breast where the metal edging is showing

another area is 2 foot up from the floor, no external as far as i can see, ventillation is poor. cannot see any water damage, no washing, no radiator near

no downpipe leakage, floor is wooden no visible signs of damage

 

[Burnerman]

If there has been a chimney breast, and presumably a hearth at the same time, you can guarantee that the hearth goes straight down to the ground, and therefore to arrest rising damp can be very difficult indeed.
At the end of the day, it could be best to allow that wall to breathe as air can circulate around it.
Toolstations 55818 is a super damp detector, just to really let you know whats happening.
John