Replastering and damp - advice really appreciated! Damp can be a major issue in the home. Find answers to questions or post your own here.

[miss-hambo]

Hello,

I really hope a kind person can offer advice.

I have damp patches (small and isolated) along the bottom of the wall of the living room.

I am pretty certain that it is due to the level of the path outside - meaning there is only a 3cm gap between the path the the DPC, so perhaps it is splash from rain coming through to the inside...

My friends have some time off work next week - and have offered to come and plaster my living room for me; if i get the replastering done before i can get the path taken out (also to be done as soon as possible) then will i have problems later on with the new plaster?

Should i take extra precautions and put a plaster membrane in behind the plaster?

Or do i have to take out the path, and wait for the small patches to totally dry before any plastering can be done? - i would prefer not to do this, because i don't think my friends wisl have this opportunity again for a long long time.

I should also point out the house does not currently have central heating - something else i shall hopefully have installed within the next 3 months.

Any advice is really really appreciated.

[simonwar]

If you do not resolve your damp problem before you replaster you cannot complain if the problem re-occurs - which its bound to - unless the damp is not coming from where you believe it is.

Plastering will not resolve the problem just look pretty for a few weeks. I am not up to speed on damp proofing before plastering, sounds like another poor attempt at masking a problem, so I would stay clear of this.

Water splashes alone will not cause this sort of problem.

You may need to get a professional, don't worry any builder would be able to look at this scenario and tell you straight away whats happening.

Check the brickwork under the DPC, is it saturated, i.e. is it wet all of the time?

Is there any run-off from the pathway, is it running away from the house.

A classic problem with damp, is ventilation, check to see if any air bricks are blocked with render, i.e. bricks that look like grilles, they are very important in controlling moisture in brickwork, (if you can see any).

Have you had very heavy rainfall and simply experiencing brick dry out, weeks after, or have you had a re-curring damp problem for many months?

Do you know if your house is a timber frame or are the walls two courses of bricks?

Few, there is an endless amount of scenarios... get on the phone and call a builder out, he will charge you nothing to take a quick look.

It may be a really simple issue.

Plastering is expensive and messy, don't go through the pain of replastering, painting and cleaning up without getting someone to take a look at the damp first.

S.