Help - damp in bedroom. What do I do now?

miss_sixties22

We have had a lot of rain recently and the upstairs bedroom has always had some issues. Recently a small damp area has occured at the corner ceiling. However, it's far worse at the bottom. The corner skirting and wallpaper is blackening (up to about 50 cms). I have wiped what I can but don't know what to do next/who to contact. Why is it at the bottom and not the top? Could it be a guttering/wall problem? Does it need damp-proofing?

Adding to that, we're about to put our house on the market so it is worth fixing it ourselves (a surveyor or anyone can easily spot it by moving the furniture) or just hope they don't notice/if they do accept a lower offer?

Any advice is much appreciated.

DirectDebacle

Sounds very much like a roof/gutter/fascia related problem and is probably a relatively simple fix. Worse at the bottom probably because the water is finding its way down the wall cavity and collecting at bedroom floor level.

If it is spotted by a prospective buyer they may well reduce any offer by substantially more than the cost of fixing it (provided it is a simple fix). Something you should sort out anyway. Longer it is left the greater the damage and it could be many months before the house receives an offer or is sold.

miss_sixties22

Thanks for the reply.

How do I know if it's a guttering problem? Should I get my friend who fitted the guttering/fascias, etc (he does it for a living) round to check (e.g. maybe empty out the gutter) or should I get someone more experienced in damp?

If it is a simply guttering problem can I do anything to the interior walls to make them look better?

phill99

I disagree. I thinks its more likely to be condensation.

Is the room insulated? Is the room on an external corner? Have you got cavity wall insulation?Is your heating turned off in the bedroom? Do you open the window and keep the door shut after you have used the bath or shower?

miss_sixties22

I don't know if the room is insulated (e.g. cavity wall) but it's only just over 30 years old. The corner is an external wall, the heating is on in there and almost always (apart from that really bad snow we had), the windows are always slightly open. I will make sure that the bathroom door is always closed now after a shower/bath.

Should I put furniture in front of it or should I be airing the corner?

phill99

If it is about 30 years old, it will have Cavity Walls, but probably not Caviyu Wall Inulation unless it been installed after the original construction.

Black mould behind furniture is typical of a condensation: the air just sits there and doesn't move around, so you get a build up of black spore.

You need to deal with the cause of the moisture in the atmos - get an extractor fan fitted in the bathroom, shut the bathroom door etc. Also, deffo think about Cavity wall Insulation. There are a lot of grants available for it at the moment, so it won't cost a lot and will be a major factor in aleviating this problem.

luke_kay

if its condensation you would have wet windows every morning prob a leak running down the wall.

phill99

luke_kay wrote: »

if its condensation you would have wet windows every morning prob a leak running down the wall.

No you wouldn't. Air stagnating behind furniture in the coldest part of the room will lead to condensation on the walls.

If there is a 'leak running down the wall', then the whole of the wall will be wet, not just the top and bottom. Plus there needs to be a source of a leak, which the OP hasn't commented on.

iamcornholio

Water penetration from roof or external wall will leave brown/yellow stains

Condensation will have black mould spotting

miss_sixties22

Thanks for everyones help. I emailed a local company who deals with damp and he said it sounded like condensation but will pop around next week to have a look.

One more question. I know I need to bleach the area thoroughly and I will then spray it with a can of anti-fungal spray which i should still have from when I did the bathroom. Should I remove the wallpaper first and then clean and spray? How long would you recommend to leave it before replacing that piece of wallpaper?

Thanks again.