I have a middle floor flat in a block of six,on a gable end the kitchen was
decorated about 8 months ago.we now have signs of damp for about 4 foot along
the wall rising from the skirting showing black marks but not damp to the
touch also down the side of a tall kitchen unit which sits about a half inch
of the wall.Any help would be appreciated.

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I think I would look at your ventilation. Gable end walls are notorious for being cold especially if it faces into the prevailing weather direction. Since your kitchen is against this wall and is a major source of moisture as a result of cooking the likelihood your damp/black mould is a result of condensation. The cure is keep the room warmer and ventilate when cooking, if you do not have a ventilator than open a window. To remove existing black mould bleach does quite a good job.

Richard

On 13/01/2019 19:12, Tricky Dicky wrote:
I think I would look at your ventilation. Gable end walls are notorious for being cold especially if it faces into the prevailing weather direction. Since your kitchen is against this wall and is a major source of moisture as a result of cooking the likelihood your damp/black mould is a result of condensation. The cure is keep the room warmer and ventilate when cooking, if you do not have a ventilator than open a window. To remove existing black mould bleach does quite a good job.

Richard

+1 in spades.

Although of course it is always worth looking for possible penetrating
damp problems from the outside, leaking gutters or downpipes, cracked
rendering etc.

On Sunday, 13 January 2019 17:14:05 UTC, Alan wrote:
I have a middle floor flat in a block of six,on a gable end the kitchen was
decorated about 8 months ago.we now have signs of damp for about 4 foot along
the wall rising from the skirting showing black marks but not damp to the
touch also down the side of a tall kitchen unit which sits about a half inch
of the wall.Any help would be appreciated.

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/Damp


NT

On Sunday, 13 January 2019 19:12:19 UTC, Tricky Dicky wrote:
I think I would look at your ventilation. Gable end walls are notorious for being cold especially if it faces into the prevailing weather direction. Since your kitchen is against this wall and is a major source of moisture as a result of cooking the likelihood your damp/black mould is a result of condensation. The cure is keep the room warmer and ventilate when cooking, if you do not have a ventilator than open a window. To remove existing black mould bleach does quite a good job.

Richard

Yes, definitely first thing to look at before looking for leaks etc.
You probably need a cooker extract hood (piping the damp air outside and with arrangements to let "replacement" air back in.)

Black mould is hard to get rid of when established. Lots of bleach!

In article ,
Tricky Dicky writes:
I think I would look at your ventilation. Gable end walls are notorious for
being cold especially if it faces into the prevailing weather direction. S
ince your kitchen is against this wall and is a major source of moisture as
a result of cooking the likelihood your damp/black mould is a result of co
ndensation. The cure is keep the room warmer and ventilate when cooking, if
you do not have a ventilator than open a window. To remove existing black
mould bleach does quite a good job.

You can't put cupboards against external walls unless the walls are
well insulated. Otherwise, the cupboards end up forming the insulation,
meaning the wall behind will be below the dew point, and condensation
is inevitable. Wardrobes are the worst case, because the contents often
form a better insulation than anything in the wall, meaning it will be
cold at the back and condensation and damp clothes is inevitable.

You might investigate if cavity wall insulation can be installed.
Alternatively, internal or external wall insulation might be an option.

If it's one unit/cupboard, you could remove it and put a thin insulation
board behind it. The insulation board needs to be sealed to the wall
all the way around and have a non-permeable inner surface (and edges) at
least. However, I would think carefully before fitting a sheet of PIR
in a kitchen, particularly behind anything like an oven. It will make
any fire in the kitchen lethal in the whole house because it gives off
cyanide when heated in a fire.

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Andrew Gabriel
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