10 months of DAMP problems. See Photos. Please help!

[JoceAndChris]

Well I would like to respond to this if no-one else will- miserable lot!

Dampadoodle, I'm really pleased you could point the finger at the shoddy sealant and that you are currently free from damp- that's great!

How is your wooden worktop getting along? I also want to put one in the kitchen.

And to get back to the key point, understanding that damp cannot be sealed away is the crux of this forum and should be thrust down the public's throats far far more than it is: especially when you consider the millions of people who live in old houses who've never even heard of the word "breathability".

Just think what happens to your laundry when you forget to take it out of the machine, in only 3 days, sometimes, mouldy and stinking, and that's what's happening to millions of homes all over the UK for far greater time spans.

Is there a Lime Marketing Board? We need one!

 

[Jon Maine]

A pleasing story, no inappropriate chemicals used just common sense.

 

[Dampadoodle]

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to give an update yet another year further on from my last post.

Everything is still good and the there is no sign of the damp at all.

The only remaining issue is a tiny bit of bonding that was left that still doesn't want to be painted over without the paint peeling off, but as this is behind the bin then it doesn't matter. In fact when I see it I smile as it reminds me how much of the 'orrible stuff we got rid of.

As for the previous question about the wooden worksurface that I neglected to answer the last time - it is great!I love the texture and feeling it brings to the kitchen. Yes it expands and contracts with the seasons but thats no big problem. One word of advice - don't use mitre joints unless you are sure the wood has been completely seasoned to prevent too much shrinkage.

Please - if you have damp problems find the source, fix it and then let everything breathe!

Thanks again to those kind people who helped me out in the battle!

All the best,

Dampadoodle

 

[Penners]

if you have damp problems find the source, fix it and then let everything breathe!

Well done, Dampadoodle. You've just recited the first of PPUK's ten commandments. :wink:

 

[Flyfisher]

Absolutely. And thanks for the updates; it's always good to read about how things work out, especially when it's good news. It also helps to be able to point new members to such stories to reinforce the advice given out.

 

[Dampadoodle]

Hi again,

It's update time. We have now moved out of the property that had all this damp in the kitchen and we are letting it out. On moving out in October 2011 there were still no further problems with damp - occasionally the corner cupboard would smell a tiny bit musty but this was rare and I suppose to be expected as it was an area that was hard to ventilate.

I will return in the spring to install more airbricks to increase the airflow under the suspended floor but that is it.

Now then, the real news is the place we have moved to. Ever a glutton for punishment this is a Victorian Semi which has a nice, damp basement!! Over the coming few months I will be tackling this and providing photos as before, so watch this space!

Kind regards,

Doodle

 

[Zebra]

Just read this entire thread, what a good story, and goes to show the theory (of letting things breathe) in action!

 

[Hazel85]

Hello,

We have had a damp problem in our house (1860s) which we are in the process of sorting. I would suggest to take all your pink plaster which I think looks like gypsium plaster off! This is rubbish for old houses as it traps moisture and doesn't let your bricks breathe. We have just done this in our front room. Also make sure there is enough ventilation under the floorboards and in the kitchen and bathroom. This helps to reduce the humidity and therefore helps reduce condensation. Our walls are beginning to dry out but we will probably replaster in lime next year. We are leaving it so long so we give the wall a chance to dry out. I'm not an expert but I have done quite a bit of research into damp since we moved into our house and what we are doing seems to help. You just need to be patient with the drying out process, especially if you have really thick walls like we have!
I hope this helps.
Hazel

 

[Dampadoodle]

Another update: The solution we put in place - i.e. good ol' ventilation - to our lovely old flat is still working. No problems with the damp that we had before apart from one little area of peeling paint due to the presence of that horrible mortar.

Now, one of the other flats in the block in SW London has a damp problem in their kitchen and want an expert to go and give them some advice. I want to help them out by arranging someone to visit but clearly if I search for "Damp Experts" in google I get a bunch of cowboys. Can anyone give me some advice as to who I can call to visit who will be sympathetic to the needs of the house and doesn't just want to sell injected DPCs?

Thanks

Ddoodle

 

[Zebra]

This is a tricky one, as if you were to arrange a damp surveyor/expert to go to visit your neighbour, you would have no control over what the expert might say, nor would we have any control over what an expert might say if we were to recommend one to you! Sometimes even experts purporting to be lovers of old houses, will suggest methods that we might not agree with, and sometimes the best solution is a kind of a homespun trial and error, based on an understanding of the theory. Can't you be their "expert," now that you've had a success with yours? Can't you explain all the theory behind breathability, the rubber glove analogy etc, and get them interested in finding their own solution, without recourse to a "damp expert?" Or point them in the direction of Period Property...
Not easy, I know. I have a good friend who has bought a (listed) timber frame cottage, older than mine, which is suffering from cement render and unsympathetic extensions, walls are bulging and I fear a rotten sole plate. I've tried to explain all I've learned, and get him to talk to his CO and to look on here, but he's not popped up yet as far as I know.. (you're not here, are you JonnyM?)

Edit: just found out my friend is currently doing the Marathon des Sables. A six-day, 156 mile ultramarathon in the Sahara desert. Madman. No wonder he's not thinking about his cement render.

 

[Dampadoodle]

Good idea...but i dont live close and the owner is elderly and, even though i will go and offer advice, i will have to rely on tradesmen to actually DO anything. Ill keep thinking.

My friend did marathon des sables. It hurts. A lot. He's clearly a nutter.

 

[Zebra]

Interesting. Do you think there's something about owners of old properties that makes them more likely to have friends who do the Marathon des Sables? Perhaps we're all slightly nuts, but reassure ourselves by having friends who are really nutty.

 

[LadyArowana]

Edit: just found out my friend is currently doing the Marathon des Sables. A six-day, 156 mile ultramarathon in the Sahara desert. Madman. No wonder he's not thinking about his cement render.

Actually it might be good for him to have something to focus on other than heat/ sand/ sore feet etc. I find one of the main problems with excercise is that it gets boring, particularly doing cardio. I'm sure sports like tennis are better because there is a social aspect, but unfortunately I am completely un co-ordinated. A posse of American ladies "power walks" in the Botanical Gardens, but they scare me, one false move and I would be sat upon and squashed, which leads me to think "power walking" isn't all that useful.

I don't have a friend that has done or is doing the Marathon des Sables, maybe it's me that's "nutty friend", what a worrying thought.

 

[Penners]

Do you think there's something about owners of old properties that makes them more likely to have friends who do the Marathon des Sables?

I thought about doing the London Marathon once. But I changed my mind and walked to the pub instead.

 

[88v8]

Another update: The solution we put in place - i.e. good ol' ventilation - to our lovely old flat is still working. No problems with the damp that we had before apart from one little area of peeling paint due to the presence of that horrible mortar.

Thankyou for taking the trouble to update. So many threads just fade out.

Sorry can't help with your friend.

Ivor