Hoping someone could help. i have a problem with damp on my living room wall about 8ft high. I have been wrongly advsed as to the route of the problem. Firstly i had the wall dug out and replastered but the damp came back. I then re-sealed surrounding windows and of late i had the roof re-felted and drains replaced but the problem is as bad as ever. I notice on the exterior wall that there was some kind of vent and i believe that this has simply been filled with cement. Is it possible that this could be the route of the damp. The exterior wall is red brick. Any help or advice greatfully received!

On 6/7/2012 12:51 PM, paul22 wrote:
Hoping someone could help. i have a problem with damp on my living room
wall about 8ft high. I have been wrongly advsed as to the route of the
problem. Firstly i had the wall dug out and replastered but the damp
came back. I then re-sealed surrounding windows and of late i had the
roof re-felted and drains replaced but the problem is as bad as ever. I
notice on the exterior wall that there was some kind of vent and i
believe that this has simply been filled with cement. Is it possible
that this could be the route of the damp. The exterior wall is red
brick. Any help or advice greatfully received!





where does the vent come out on the roof, and does it have a cap on it?

On Jun 7, 3:51*pm, paul22 wrote:
Hoping someone could help. i have a problem with damp on my living room
wall about 8ft high. I have been wrongly advsed as to the route of the
problem. Firstly i had the wall dug out and replastered but the damp
came back. I then re-sealed surrounding windows and of late i had the
roof re-felted and drains replaced but the problem is as bad as ever. I
notice on the exterior wall that there was some kind of vent and i
believe that this has simply been filled with cement. Is it possible
that this could be the route of the damp. The exterior wall is red
brick. Any help or advice greatfully received!

--
paul22

Maybe there's a language issue here, so let me ask some questions...

"i have a problem with damp on my living room wall about 8ft high"

Do you mean a "damp spot", as in the wall is wet?

"i had the wall dug out and replastered but the damp came back."

By "dug out" do you mean stripped back to the studs? If so, what was
observed while the wall was open?

By "replastered" do you really mean that they used plaster and not
drywall?

"I then re-sealed surrounding windows and of late i had the roof
re-felted and drains replaced"

How did you "re-seal surrounding windows" and where are they located
with respect to the damp (spot?)?

What do you mean by you "had the roof re-felted"?

Felt paper is typically under the shingles and you can't just replace
the felt.

What do you mean by you had the "drains replaced"? Do you mean the
gutters and downspouts?

"on the exterior wall there was some kind of vent and i believe
that this has simply been filled with cement"

Where is this "vent" in relation to the damp (spot?)?

Why was it filled with cement?

On Jun 7, 3:30*pm, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Jun 7, 3:51*pm, paul22 wrote:

Hoping someone could help. i have a problem with damp on my living room
wall about 8ft high. I have been wrongly advsed as to the route of the
problem. Firstly i had the wall dug out and replastered but the damp
came back. I then re-sealed surrounding windows and of late i had the
roof re-felted and drains replaced but the problem is as bad as ever. I
notice on the exterior wall that there was some kind of vent and i
believe that this has simply been filled with cement. Is it possible
that this could be the route of the damp. The exterior wall is red
brick. Any help or advice greatfully received!

--
paul22

Maybe there's a language issue here, so let me ask some questions...

"i have a problem with damp on my living room wall about 8ft high"

Do you mean a "damp spot", as in the wall is wet?

"i had the wall dug out and replastered but the damp came back."

By "dug out" do you mean stripped back to the studs? If so, what was
observed while the wall was open?

By "replastered" do you really mean that they used plaster and not
drywall?

"I then re-sealed surrounding windows and of late i had the roof
re-felted and drains replaced"

How did you "re-seal surrounding windows" and where are they located
with respect to the damp (spot?)?

What do you mean by you "had the roof re-felted"?

Felt paper is typically under the shingles and you can't just replace
the felt.

What do you mean by you had the "drains replaced"? *Do you mean the
gutters and downspouts?

"on the exterior wall there was some kind of vent and i believe
that this has simply been filled with cement"

Where is this "vent" in relation to the damp (spot?)?

Why was it filled with cement?

And what is this vent venting from? Is there some appliance or home
system this vent is to be venting? What appliance or home system, if
so?

On Jun 7, 4:30*pm, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Jun 7, 3:51*pm, paul22 wrote:

Hoping someone could help. i have a problem with damp on my living room
wall about 8ft high. I have been wrongly advsed as to the route of the
problem. Firstly i had the wall dug out and replastered but the damp
came back. I then re-sealed surrounding windows and of late i had the
roof re-felted and drains replaced but the problem is as bad as ever. I
notice on the exterior wall that there was some kind of vent and i
believe that this has simply been filled with cement. Is it possible
that this could be the route of the damp. The exterior wall is red
brick. Any help or advice greatfully received!

--
paul22

Maybe there's a language issue here, so let me ask some questions...

"i have a problem with damp on my living room wall about 8ft high"

Do you mean a "damp spot", as in the wall is wet?

"i had the wall dug out and replastered but the damp came back."

By "dug out" do you mean stripped back to the studs? If so, what was
observed while the wall was open?

By "replastered" do you really mean that they used plaster and not
drywall?

"I then re-sealed surrounding windows and of late i had the roof
re-felted and drains replaced"

How did you "re-seal surrounding windows" and where are they located
with respect to the damp (spot?)?

What do you mean by you "had the roof re-felted"?

Felt paper is typically under the shingles and you can't just replace
the felt.

What do you mean by you had the "drains replaced"? *Do you mean the
gutters and downspouts?

"on the exterior wall there was some kind of vent and i believe
that this has simply been filled with cement"

Where is this "vent" in relation to the damp (spot?)?

Why was it filled with cement?

And add to the list what kind of construction
this is, from outside to inside, number of stories, type of roof, etc.

DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Jun 7, 3:51 pm, paul22 wrote:
Hoping someone could help. i have a problem with damp on my living
room wall about 8ft high. I have been wrongly advsed as to the route
of the problem. Firstly i had the wall dug out and replastered but
the damp came back. I then re-sealed surrounding windows and of late
i had the roof re-felted and drains replaced but the problem is as
bad as ever. I notice on the exterior wall that there was some kind
of vent and i believe that this has simply been filled with cement.
Is it possible that this could be the route of the damp. The
exterior wall is red brick. Any help or advice greatfully received!

--
paul22

Maybe there's a language issue here, so let me ask some questions...

"i have a problem with damp on my living room wall about 8ft high"

Do you mean a "damp spot", as in the wall is wet?

"i had the wall dug out and replastered but the damp came back."

By "dug out" do you mean stripped back to the studs? If so, what was
observed while the wall was open?

By "replastered" do you really mean that they used plaster and not
drywall?

"I then re-sealed surrounding windows and of late i had the roof
re-felted and drains replaced"

How did you "re-seal surrounding windows" and where are they located
with respect to the damp (spot?)?

What do you mean by you "had the roof re-felted"?

Felt paper is typically under the shingles and you can't just replace
the felt.

What do you mean by you had the "drains replaced"? Do you mean the
gutters and downspouts?

"on the exterior wall there was some kind of vent and i believe
that this has simply been filled with cement"

Where is this "vent" in relation to the damp (spot?)?

Why was it filled with cement?

Is this a classic case of two countries separated by a common language?

On Jun 7, 8:51*pm, paul22 wrote:
Hoping someone could help. i have a problem with damp on my living room
wall about 8ft high. I have been wrongly advsed as to the route of the
problem. Firstly i had the wall dug out and replastered but the damp
came back. I then re-sealed surrounding windows and of late i had the
roof re-felted and drains replaced but the problem is as bad as ever. I
notice on the exterior wall that there was some kind of vent and i
believe that this has simply been filled with cement. Is it possible
that this could be the route of the damp. The exterior wall is red
brick. Any help or advice greatfully received!

--
paul22

You don't say the wall construction.
No-one can say what's wrong without that knowledge.
If it is a masonary wall, the cavity may be filled and so "bridging".

Thanks for the replies. Yes theres perhaps a language issue here. The roof was re-felted professionally as was the windows re-sealed and guttering and down pipe replaced. The damp is seen clearly in the interior wall, although the 'vent area' can be seen from the exterior. Not so sure why the vent was there in any case. the damp area is a little lower the vent area. When the wall was replastered only the damp area was attended to and this was on the internal wall and not the exterior

On Jun 8, 2:51*am, paul22 wrote:
Thanks for the replies. Yes theres perhaps a language issue here. The
roof was re-felted professionally as was the windows re-sealed and
guttering and down pipe replaced. The damp is seen clearly in the
interior wall, although the 'vent area' can be seen from the exterior.
Not so sure why the vent was there in any case. the damp area is a
little lower the vent area. When the wall was replastered only the damp
area was attended to and this was on the internal wall and not the
exterior

--
paul22

When you say refelted, do you mean the entire upper layer of roofing
shingles and the sublayer of tarpaper were removed and bother new
tarpaper and new final roofing shingles were put down? Your choice of
words is not what is commonly used in the western hemisphere where
most of us live.

On Jun 8, 2:51*am, paul22 wrote:
Thanks for the replies. Yes theres perhaps a language issue here. The
roof was re-felted professionally as was the windows re-sealed and
guttering and down pipe replaced. The damp is seen clearly in the
interior wall, although the 'vent area' can be seen from the exterior.
Not so sure why the vent was there in any case. the damp area is a
little lower the vent area. When the wall was replastered only the damp
area was attended to and this was on the internal wall and not the
exterior

--
paul22

By interior wall do you mean the inside of an outside wall? Interior
wall usually means a wall between two rooms, not a wall that is
exposed to the outside world on one side. That would be the interior
side of an outside wall.

On Jun 8, 2:51*am, paul22 wrote:
Thanks for the replies. Yes theres perhaps a language issue here. The
roof was re-felted professionally as was the windows re-sealed and
guttering and down pipe replaced. The damp is seen clearly in the
interior wall, although the 'vent area' can be seen from the exterior.
Not so sure why the vent was there in any case. the damp area is a
little lower the vent area. When the wall was replastered only the damp
area was attended to and this was on the internal wall and not the
exterior

--
paul22

Hiow about a couple of photos of the damp area and the outside wall
where the repairs were done???

On Jun 8, 3:51*am, paul22 wrote:
Thanks for the replies. Yes theres perhaps a language issue here. The
roof was re-felted professionally as was the windows re-sealed and
guttering and down pipe replaced. The damp is seen clearly in the
interior wall, although the 'vent area' can be seen from the exterior.
Not so sure why the vent was there in any case. the damp area is a
little lower the vent area. When the wall was replastered only the damp
area was attended to and this was on the internal wall and not the
exterior

--
paul22

We still don't know what you mean by "The damp".

Where most of us live, we would use the term "the damp area" or "the
damp spot" to mean a area or spot that is damp. We would never say
"the damp" as if a "damp" is an actually thing. Damp describes
something, it isn't a something.

With that said, the definition of damp means moist or slightly wet. Is
this "damp" you speak of an actual wet spot on a wall?

We also don't know what you mean by "the roof was re-felted". No one
that I know has a roof that can be "re-felted" unless all roofing
material is removed down to the sheathing (the wood that is attached
to the rafters). Do you mean that the building was re-roofed recently?
I have never heard the term "re-felted" used in conjunction with a
roofing job.

You said that the wall was replastered. I assume that this was done to
repair "the damp". I asked this before, and I'll ask it again:

What was seen when the old plaster was removed? No reputable repair
person would simply remove a section of a "damp" wall and replace it
without doing some kind of investigation as to why the wall was damp.
Did they simply cut out the damp area and replace it based on the
assumption that the wall was creating it's own moisture?

There is too much information either missing or misunderstood in your
description that it's impossible for us to help you at this point.

On Friday, June 8, 2012 3:51:13 AM UTC-4, paul22 wrote:
Thanks for the replies. Yes theres perhaps a language issue here. The
roof was re-felted professionally as was the windows re-sealed and
guttering and down pipe replaced. The damp is seen clearly in the
interior wall, although the 'vent area' can be seen from the exterior.
Not so sure why the vent was there in any case. the damp area is a
little lower the vent area. When the wall was replastered only the damp
area was attended to and this was on the internal wall and not the
exterior

The point of clarifying is to EXPAND on what you said, not repeat it verbatim.

We "dumb Americans" don't know know "damp" as a noun.
We don't know "felted" as a verb, and we haven't used felt as a weatherproofing material since the 1950's.

On Jun 8, 3:51*am, paul22 wrote:
Thanks for the replies. Yes theres perhaps a language issue here. The
roof was re-felted professionally as was the windows re-sealed and
guttering and down pipe replaced. The damp is seen clearly in the
interior wall, although the 'vent area' can be seen from the exterior.
Not so sure why the vent was there in any case. the damp area is a
little lower the vent area. When the wall was replastered only the damp
area was attended to and this was on the internal wall and not the
exterior

--
paul22

There are a number of concrete and brick sealer products. Clear
sealers you can spray on. Get on of those and then wait for a period
of dry weather. A week of so should do it. Then apply the sealer to
the concrete patch and the surrounding bricks. See if that helps.

On Jun 8, 2:55*pm, wrote:
On Friday, June 8, 2012 3:51:13 AM UTC-4, paul22 wrote:
Thanks for the replies. Yes theres perhaps a language issue here. The
roof was re-felted professionally as was the windows re-sealed and
guttering and down pipe replaced. The damp is seen clearly in the
interior wall, although the 'vent area' can be seen from the exterior.
Not so sure why the vent was there in any case. the damp area is a
little lower the vent area. When the wall was replastered only the damp
area was attended to and this was on the internal wall and not the
exterior

The point of clarifying is to EXPAND on what you said, not repeat it verbatim.

We "dumb Americans" don't know know "damp" as a noun.

Sure we do! ;-)

http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne/damp.php

We don't know "felted" as a verb, and we haven't used felt as a weatherproofing material since the 1950's.

On Jun 8, 3:51*am, paul22 wrote:
Thanks for the replies. Yes theres perhaps a language issue here. The
roof was re-felted professionally as was the windows re-sealed and
guttering and down pipe replaced. The damp is seen clearly in the
interior wall, although the 'vent area' can be seen from the exterior.
Not so sure why the vent was there in any case. the damp area is a
little lower the vent area. When the wall was replastered only the damp
area was attended to and this was on the internal wall and not the
exterior

--
paul22

So you have attempted to repair a water problem by doing
totally unneeded work and are baffled to find that you are
still having water problems ?

The Roof: You would have known if the roof was making the
wall wet, as the ceiling under said roof would have been
"damp" as well...

Windows: You would have seen traces of water leaking in
around and below the windows if they were the source of
the "damp"...

The sealed up "vent" hole: How high up on the wall is that
located ? If it were the cause the "damp" would only be
located in areas of the wall directly below that opening and
its later patch...

Now let's address your actual problem...

You have an exterior wall which is clad in red brick (yet
you don't mention anything about examining the outside
of this wall at all) where you had to have some of the
interior of that wall removed and repaired because it
was "damp"...

What is going on with the outside of this wall ? Are there
water issues present ? Does the brick cladding continue
below the grade level of the soil or do they rest on a concrete
brick ledge above grade ? Many bricks are porous and will
wick up water -- what sort of moisture barrier is present in
your walls construction ?

You need to have someone who actually has a clue of
what they are doing inspect your red brick wall paying
close attention to where the grade level is in relation to
the bricks, also, the mortar or "pointing" between the
bricks and if it has been damaged in any way...

How about doing some investigation of the conditions
effecting the wall from the outside, as the moisture
usually comes inside from outside as you would have
had "damp" on all the walls if it was an indoor humidity
problem with your house in general...