Hello,

I've got a damp patch, half way up an internal wall. It's only small - maybe
6 inches by 4 inches.
On the other side of the wall, I also have a small damp patch in a similar
position.
If I paint it, it just bubbles up. What is the best way of treating this?
No idea why it is appearing in this particular position - I am in an old
Victorian two up two down, and this wall was originally the external wall,
before the extension was built for the kitchen / bathroom.

cheers for any help.

"Will" wrote in message
...
Hello,

I've got a damp patch, half way up an internal wall. It's only small -
maybe 6 inches by 4 inches.
On the other side of the wall, I also have a small damp patch in a similar
position.
If I paint it, it just bubbles up. What is the best way of treating this?
No idea why it is appearing in this particular position - I am in an old
Victorian two up two down, and this wall was originally the external wall,
before the extension was built for the kitchen / bathroom.

cheers for any help.

First thing to find out is where the damp is coming from.

Is there a pipe buried in the wall that is leaking?

As it was originally the external wall is it 9" solid brick or is there a
cavity?

If it is a cavity wall it is possible that something is bridging this cavity
and collecting moisture, though where the moisture is coming from is another
matter, maybe a leak into the top of the wall?

Tony

Tony

"TMC" wrote in message
...


First thing to find out is where the damp is coming from.

Is there a pipe buried in the wall that is leaking?

As it was originally the external wall is it 9" solid brick or is there a
cavity?

If it is a cavity wall it is possible that something is bridging this
cavity and collecting moisture, though where the moisture is coming from
is another matter, maybe a leak into the top of the wall?

Tony

Tony




Hi,

thanks for your reply.

yes, I guess that's the difficulty. The damp patch is directly next to the
door frame (into the kitchen), about 3 feet up from the floor.
The walls appear to be solid. I'm not aware of a cavity of any kind. It
would be a pretty unusual place for a pipe I think.
A leak at the top of the wall might be a good shout though, as part of the
drain pipe looks like it's collapsed, and it might be possible that water
from that could be running onto the wall. I had discounted that before, as I
damp patch was in an unusual position.

cheers,

The message
from "TMC" contains these words:

First thing to find out is where the damp is coming from.

Is there a pipe buried in the wall that is leaking?

As it was originally the external wall is it 9" solid brick or is there a
cavity?

If it is a cavity wall it is possible that something is bridging this
cavity
and collecting moisture, though where the moisture is coming from is
another
matter, maybe a leak into the top of the wall?

The damp has to come from somewhere and as it is only a small patch on
both sides of the wall it isn't condensation. Ergo it must be coming
down from somewhere above within the wall. It is quite possible for
water to find its way through voids within the wall and pool at the
point where its flow is restricted or barred but as it would take the
line of least resistance the source doesn't have to be directly above
the damp patch.

If it is rain water then in times of drought the patch should dry out or
at least get dryer. However it could be a pipe that passes through the
wall somewhere above that is leaking into the wall.

If you have defective guttering/downpipes that should be fixed as a
matter of course regardless of whether it is causing your present
problem. Obviously it would be a boon if fixing the drainage fixed the
problem but the defective pointing would need attention too.

--
Roger Chapman

On Jun 5, 3:51 pm, "Will" wrote:
"TMC" wrote in message

...

thanks for your reply.Top posting removed

yes, I guess that's the difficulty. The damp patch is directly next to the
door frame (into the kitchen), about 3 feet up from the floor.
The walls appear to be solid. I'm not aware of a cavity of any kind. It
would be a pretty unusual place for a pipe I think.
A leak at the top of the wall might be a good shout though, as part of the
drain pipe looks like it's collapsed, and it might be possible that water
from that could be running onto the wall. I had discounted that before, as I
damp patch was in an unusual position.

It is a leak from the new bathroom flowing down the line of least
resistance. Probably a tap or shower/bath outlet weeping. It has
descended the frame and hit the wooden wedge that was used to fix the
frame.

From there it has been directed into the wall and is oozing past the
wooden wedge and into the masonry. Just find and fix the leak and it
should dry out no problem in this weather.

"Roger" wrote in message
k...
The message
from "TMC" contains these words:

The damp has to come from somewhere and as it is only a small patch on
both sides of the wall it isn't condensation. Ergo it must be coming
down from somewhere above within the wall. It is quite possible for
water to find its way through voids within the wall and pool at the
point where its flow is restricted or barred but as it would take the
line of least resistance the source doesn't have to be directly above
the damp patch.

If it is rain water then in times of drought the patch should dry out or
at least get dryer. However it could be a pipe that passes through the
wall somewhere above that is leaking into the wall.

If you have defective guttering/downpipes that should be fixed as a
matter of course regardless of whether it is causing your present
problem. Obviously it would be a boon if fixing the drainage fixed the
problem but the defective pointing would need attention too.

--
Roger Chapman


thanks, I think this is probably spot on. I just found the survey I got done
on the house about 8 years ago, and the back wall (the one with the damp) is
a 10.5" cavity wall, so it might be that the water from the faulty guttering
is dripping down into the cavity (given that it's directly above it). I
guess what threw me was where the damp patch was - half way up the wall -
but as you say, it's flow is probably restricted at that point, so that's
whats causing the problem.

cheers,

On Jun 5, 9:24 pm, "Will" wrote:
"Roger" wrote in message

k...



The message
from "TMC" contains these words:

The damp has to come from somewhere and as it is only a small patch on
both sides of the wall it isn't condensation. Ergo it must be coming
down from somewhere above within the wall. It is quite possible for
water to find its way through voids within the wall and pool at the
point where its flow is restricted or barred but as it would take the
line of least resistance the source doesn't have to be directly above
the damp patch.

If it is rain water then in times of drought the patch should dry out or
at least get dryer. However it could be a pipe that passes through the
wall somewhere above that is leaking into the wall.

If you have defective guttering/downpipes that should be fixed as a
matter of course regardless of whether it is causing your present
problem. Obviously it would be a boon if fixing the drainage fixed the
problem but the defective pointing would need attention too.

I think this is probably spot on. I just found the survey I got done
on the house about 8 years ago, and the back wall (the one with the damp) is
a 10.5" cavity wall, so it might be that the water from the faulty guttering
is dripping down into the cavity (given that it's directly above it). I
guess what threw me was where the damp patch was - half way up the wall -
but as you say, it's flow is probably restricted at that point, so that's
what's causing the problem.

It is damp on both sides of the cavity?

Are you an idiot?

To start with, if it is coming in in the rainy weather it will dry out
considerably when it's dry but when wet it will be wet as hell.

What could be constricting the cavity long enough to stop the rain
dropping past it on the inside or staying long enough to cause quite a
large damp patch?

If it is a small damp patch that is present in dry or wet spells it is
coming from a leaking pipe or connection.
http://groups.google.com/group/uk.d-...2dcabbab2c38df

It is damp on both sides of the cavity?

Are you an idiot?

To start with, if it is coming in in the rainy weather it will dry out
considerably when it's dry but when wet it will be wet as hell.

What could be constricting the cavity long enough to stop the rain
dropping past it on the inside or staying long enough to cause quite a
large damp patch?

If it is a small damp patch that is present in dry or wet spells it is
coming from a leaking pipe or connection.
http://groups.google.com/group/uk.d-...2dcabbab2c38df


There are no leaking pipes anywhere near the wall.
The bathroom is attached to the kitchen on the ground floor, so it can't be
leaking, as you suggested.

I think it was the broken down pipe, as it is directly above the wall with
the damp patch.
It was a fixed a few weeks ago, so hopefully the patch will now dry out.