Damp within internal chimney/wall - Please help! Damp can be a major issue in the home. Find answers to questions or post your own here.

[charlied]

Hello,
I have recently had my kitchen plastered and painted and now damp patches have appeared within the chimney breast and in a similar area on an internal wall.

I have dug out the floor of the chimney breast and found that the soil floor is very damp, so am assuming that it is rising up the brickwork.

My problem is how I can fix it since I know that with rising damp, you should try and stop the cause which in this case will be very difficult to do.

I am not able to get beneath the other bit of wall to see what is causing the problem there, but I assume it will be the same...

Is it worth me injecting a damp-proof cream into the fireplace bit? Any ideas for the other bit of wall??

Any help would be great since this room has had problem after problem and I am desperate to get it finished!!!

Thank you.

[rosebery]

"I have recently had my kitchen plastered and painted and now damp patches have appeared within the chimney breast and in a similar area on an internal wall."

Fully plastered (bonding then topcoat) or just a skim?

How long did you leve it to dry out before painting?

Where on the wall relative to floor and ceiling?

Are you certain that its damp and not a dark mark on the plaster showing through the paint?

"I have dug out the floor of the chimney breast and found that the soil floor is very damp, so am assuming that it is rising up the brickwork."

Again where on the wall - if its high up and damp is causing it its more likely to be coming down the chimney rather than rising up.

"My problem is how I can fix it since I know that with rising damp, you should try and stop the cause which in this case will be very difficult to do.

I am not able to get beneath the other bit of wall to see what is causing the problem there, but I assume it will be the same...

Is it worth me injecting a damp-proof cream into the fireplace bit? Any ideas for the other bit of wall??

Any help would be great since this room has had problem after problem and I am desperate to get it finished!!!"

No answer for you yet on hese 4 paragraphs because you are assuming its rising damp which it may well not be.

Please try to answer above questions and we can take it from there.

Cheers

[charlied]

I have attached a photo which explains the problem a lot better

[img]http://www.flickr.com/photos/44271033@N02/4070169652[/img]

You can clearly see the damp patches in the chimney and on the side (party) wall where the floor is solid rather than suspended. Inside the chimney is bonded and skimmed and the side wall is just skimmed. I didn't notice the problem before although it was picked up as damp in a survey three years ago. It was originally dry lined within the chimney and papered elsewhere.

In the back of the chimney you can clearly see the brick pattern, and it looks like it is the mortar causing the problem. The damp so far is only a few bricks high.

I have dug out the back of the fireplace as it was cracked, and the soil underneath was very damp. I haven't done the same along the side as I was hoping to keep the original tiles.

I don't have a clue what to do so any advice would be appreciated! Thoughts so far have included injecting the wall, re-pointing the wall under the plaster, sealing the wall.

[sksieski]

Unfortunately I am not writing to say I have the answer.

I have a very similar problem.

We have a house built around 1840, the walls are around a brick and half thick.

We seem to have a damp moldy patch inside by the chimney... it is getting worse and it does seem that some work has been done recetly, we have been in the hour 2 and hlf years...

We have no way of knowing it is coming up from the floor as the floor has carpet down with lament underneath and then Parque underneath that as far as I know..

the Damp is starting about 6 inches above the floor, but where the chimney meets the raised tile floor for the fire.

I have looked outside and there is definitely some green mould on the chimney stackpaint, inspite of the brick work being paint with Weathershield.


Can any one help or offer some advice as it is starting smell....