Exposing Brick Walls and Damp

highrisklowreturn

Hi all

Was looking advice.

I've got damp in my kitchen and in parts of my living room. I was wondering if anyone had ever just thought "sod it" and cut all the plaster loose and went back to basics and left the exposed brick? Part of me wood like to do this as I don't want to pay people to stick in damp proofing for just part of my house then have to replaster everything and don't want to incur costs on this.

So instead was just thinking of having the brick out like decades ago would have been popular. Can this be stylish?

BigAl94

The damp will still be there and lead to dry rot

Artytarty

I'm guessing you are a bloke?!
It will look awful because there will be salt deposits on the brick from the damp.
The problem wont go away and the damp may reach wood in the floor joists leading to wet then dry rot. major headache! Sorry!

BigAl94

Artytarty wrote: »

I'm guessing you are a bloke?!
It will look awful because there will be salt deposits on the brick from the damp.
The problem wont go away and the damp may reach wood in the floor joists leading to wet then dry rot. major headache! Sorry!

I meant dry rot (many don't understand the name is misleading as it takes damp conditions to thrive) - much more serious than wet rot which is localised to the area of wetness whereas dry rot will spread viciously through timbers and masonry and cause serious and costly damage.

http://www.rentokil.co.uk/residential-customers/property-care/faq/rot-questions/index.html#q1

Artytarty

Big Al, we cross posted!
I meant dry rot too!I know how awful dry rot is, spreads through the mortar etc, evil stuff.

A.L.D.A

If you don't mind living in a damp, cold house, with mould and fungus then the idea is wonderful. The sort of house where your bed feels damp when you get in and your cloths go mouldy. In days of old they often put the main rooms in stately homes on the 1st floor. The 'basement' was the damp proof course. But I once repaired one of these buildings and we ran into 'dry rot' right in the middle of the dining room (listed). The damp was not coming up or down the walls, the only explanation that made sense was the dampness in the air in the basement below.

Is it just the walls that are damp? In my experience the ground floor also often does not have a damp proof membrane.

highrisklowreturn

It's the far end of my kitchen, on ground floor, at back of the house. Plaster is starting to bulge, wall is discolouring. Further to this there is a large patch of damp now in living room behind a book case, causing the same discolouring and bulging; and a smaller bit now in hallway. It does my head in absolutely. Even a friend said my living room felt very humid coming into. Don't want to leave all my windows open just because of this - worried some "opportunist" will come in when I'm at work. I had a dehumidifier but no longer bother putting it on as it hasn't stopped the damp - although it may have slowed it.

Thanks for your advice.

A.L.D.A

Is the ground outside higher or lower that the floor level in the rooms where the damp is?

What type of heating do you have?

How long have you lived in the house? has it suddenly got worse?

BatCat

You don't have a raised bed or anything next to the exterior wall? You can get small box dehumidifiers for a pound that suck up extra moisture as a temporary solution.

highrisklowreturn

A.L.D.A wrote: »

Is the ground outside higher or lower that the floor level in the rooms where the damp is?

What type of heating do you have?

How long have you lived in the house? has it suddenly got worse?

I think the ground in my yard is lower, got oil heating and have been in the house almost a year now. I noticed it when I first moved in but just thought the paint hadn't been applied as thoroughly on that part of the wall :mad:

It's strange as I say as part is in the far corner of the kitchen then part of the living room - the wall over the coal hole - has got it too. Really really frustrating.

A.L.D.A

The places you describe sound like the coldest walls.

Very difficult to say without having seen it, but it sound like some of it is just condensation. You are getting black mould? (I assume) in behind cupboards where there is no air circulating and also on the colder sections of the outside walls. Typically it shows up at the cold outside corners or over the coal store! If it is rising damp there tends to be more damage, tends to look like plaster blistering off in curves. Typically this will go no higher than a few feet. If there are areas like this or damp sections of the ground floor then you are adding to the moisture in the air and you get more condensation.

Is any of this occurring in the outside corners of bedrooms or in bedroom cupboards?

However for there to be condensation the must be moisture, lack of ventilation and cold surfaces for the condensation to to form on. You need to make sure there are fans in bathrooms and kitchens and some ventilation in the rest of the house.

If you are getting the curved blistering of the plaster along the ground floor walls in all probability you need a damp proof course.

If it is just that black mould and damp patches appearing all over the place then it is more likely condensation and not enough ventilation.

I would be inclined to hire an industrial dehumidifier for a few weeks. If the building has been well sealed and inadequately ventilated you may well have a lot of moisture trapped into the fabric.

One other point, you sometimes get odd patches of damp in older buildings because the sand used was from the seaside and the salt in that sand takes in moisture.

Sounds like you live in a typical Victorian house?