Rising damp? Damp can be a major issue in the home. Find answers to questions or post your own here.

[Dougiedamp]

Hi
My first time posting on these forums and I'm looking forward to expert input.
Two or three years ago we had our house re-roughcast. When the guys were finishing they covered what had been brick painted with something that looked like tar with a render to match the base coat of the msin roughcast. Since then I've sometimes had the feeling that an internal cupboard has been very cold and slightly musty smelling. Just recently though, after the heavy wind and rain there is a dicolouration and a damp feel on the internal wall and a definite staining on the outside wall.
My main question is, as the lower render bridges the damp course, is water being drawn up from the soaking wet grounnd and then into the house.
Any opinion or advice will be gratefully received.
Cheers

Dougie.

[Perry525]

First of all you need to go outside and check the outside wall.
Does the roughcast span the dpc?
When they rendered the wall did they finish with a decent sized bell and drip – to help stop water running down the wall and entering the wall above the dpc.
Where is the bell in relation to the dpc?
Is the ground surface lower than the dpc by more than 6 inches?
If the ground is closer than nine inches then I would suggest you lower it.
We have had some awful rain over the past months, some of it has been very heavy and wind blow.
This type of rain can bounce on the ground and make the wall above the dpc wet.
Buy a damp meter, check the wall where you suspect damp and in other places to compare.
A wall cupboard whatever can become damp due to lack of warm air circulating in a room.
A wall can become damp if you have changed the way you use the room or indeed heat or ventilate the room or place furniture in a room.