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MY mother has a very small kitchen ( originally the coal shed of the house) and suffers from a lot of condensation or damp??? The walls ,especially whilst cooking, can sommetimes be dripping with moisture. The cupboards are smelly and glasses/ plates that are clean can start to smell when stored in them. One of the walls in the kitchen is a single brick wall and that is where most of her kitchen units are based. There are no visible signs of damp on the kitchen walls .The problem is she is hoping to refit her kitchen and does not want to spend decent money and then find she has the same problem. The floor is a concrete floor .The door and window will be changed to new double glazed ones. She does not know how to rectify the problem or which way to turn. She has found a kitchen fitter and kitchen units but unfortunately the kitchen fitter does not know anything about damp /condensation . All he is interested in is fitting the kitchen and getting paid!!!! How do you suggest she go about sorting this problem out. She is a pensioner and we would appreciate your answers please.

Hi,

Sounds like a bad condensation problem. If there is loads of moisture on the walls and this is turning into black mould then i would suggest having an air vent or extractor fan put in to get rid of the moisture. You can get anti mould or anti condensation paints also. There is lots of info on the net all about condensation and ways to cope with it and try and prevent it.

There may be rising damp if the walls are plastered all the way down to the concrete floor as this will bridge the damp proof course and suck moisture up the wall. If this isnt the case then you may not have rising damp and the walls could just be wet due to the condensation.

:D

Hi,

Condensation problems occur in spaces with less than adequate
ventilation. I would look to get a unit installed which can regulate
automatically the levels of condensation present. In terms of damp,
this can only be established a cause after the condensation has been
dealt with. If you are in a situation where you need to deal with damp
before the kitchen goes in I would mechanically fix a dimpled sheet
membrane to the wall to isolate the cold damp wall from the internal
kitchen unit. This will also assist in isolating the damp wall for risk
of condensation.

Hope this helps

Warren Muschialli