Leak in next door affecting inner wall

olibrofiz

I bought a damp meter to test caravans I'm thinking of buying, and thought I'd test the walls in my house. All fine except for one wall which went to the maximum the tester thingy could go to. On the other side of this wall is the neighbours shower.

Any idea where I go from here (apart from speak to the neighbour)?

Should I contact my insurance co?

Thanks

pararct

olibrofiz wrote: »

I bought a damp meter to test caravans I'm thinking of buying, and thought I'd test the walls in my house. All fine except for one wall which went to the maximum the tester thingy could go to. On the other side of this wall is the neighbours shower.

Any idea where I go from here (apart from speak to the neighbour)?

Should I contact my insurance co?

Thanks

Why would you contact your insurance company at this stage? At the moment you don't even know if you have a problem.

These meters are known for spurious readings and will indicate damp even if there is some condensation on the inner wall.

In fact I wouldn't trust one at all unless there was other evidence of damp penetrating the wall.
Is the wall on the ground or first floor? What sort of house do you live in? Was it built at the same time as the one next door?
The fact your neighbours shower is directly opposite is almost certainly a red herring, there will be at least 1 cavity and probably 2 between your inside wall and their tiled or cladded shower. Damp has a hell of a problem crossing cavities unless they are clogged up with debris.

This would depend on the age of the property and if in fact the cavities have 'silted up'. Do you live near a sandy beach for example?
Unless you have any other evidence there is damp in the wall I wouldn't worry about it.

G_M

Agree with the above. Plus what is the wall made of?

These meters do NOT measure damp. They measure electrical conductivity between the two prongs.

They are designed for wood. Now, if wood is dry it does not conduct electricity therefore no reading. If wood is damp, it will conduct electricity and show a reading.

But if the wall in question is made of a substance (plaster + who knows what) that itself conducts electricity, it may well show a reading even if bone dry!

AskJeff

Does the room smell musty? Is there mould? Is the wallpaper peeling? Can you actually see damp?

Having said all that, you may be right, there may be damp, and it may be from next door's shower.

Chat to the neighbours?

Or it may be a different source? Is this an upstairs room? What condition is the roof? Is there a roof valley between the two properties above this wall? If so, the lead flashing (or similar) may be damaged, allowing water to enter and make the wall beneath damp....

olibrofiz

Thanks for your post - I asked about insurance co as I'm not sure what procedure to follow.

To answer your points:
House is mid terrace, old, both built at the same time, it's a downstairs wall. As far as I know old terraced houses don't have cavity walls (?)
It's a fully tiled area with a shower, put in approx 3 years ago by the neighbour (who works in an office).
The wall paint, on my side, is peeling off, and the plaster underneath is bright red.
The meter reading waist height and up the wall in that area (& all over my house) is low. At the bottom 2 foot of the wall in that area the meter reading is at the max.
I don't live in a sandy area.

Any ideas anyone. Hate to think I'm worrying about nothing

G_M

Chat to neighbours....

olibrofiz

G_M wrote: »

Chat to neighbours....

Have done, little complicated, just wanted to know where I stand really.

I know there would be no point trying to get it rectified from my side if the problem is the other side - LL not keen to fork out ££££

BTW am on my 4th terraced house, so pretty sure I can recognise damp

pararct

Does the wall feel damp where the reading is registering?
If you approach the neighbour he will no doubt want to look at your side, can you demonstrate it is definitely damp?

If the answer is yes then that is your next step to see what your neighbour has to say. If he disputes the cause or the damp then its difficult to see where you can go with it unless the damp is serious and or is affecting your or any other occupant of your properties health where you could get environmental health involved.

FWIW, I also own a terraced house built in 1890 and this has cavity walls. I know as I live within 300 metres of a sandy beach and had to have one of the cavities cleaned out of sand which was causing a damp problem.

dorset_nurse

I would think carefully before contacting your insurers- once you notify them of an issue or even ask questions about a claim, they will hold it on file and you may find your renewal costs more in the following year.
I agree with above- approach the neighbour and let them investigate as no doubt they will worry about damage to their own property and seek to rectify the issue.
They may have to claim on their insurance for the damage caused to yours if it is proven that their shower is causing damp in your property.

teneighty

A damp meter can be an excellent tool to help diagnose damp but only if used correctly. It will, as others have said, give you the electical conductivity in the wall plaster, so if you test all around the room and the only patch where you get high readings is the corner adjacent to next doors shower then you can be pretty sure it is damp. If you get high readings all over then it is more likely condensation or contaminated wall plaster etc. From what you've posted I suspect you have already established this.

I would start with the most obvious source of the damp which is of course the shower. Ask the neighbour to check the sealant around the shower tray/bath first then check for signs of leaking pipes, waste,trap and possibly the tile grouting. If all of those things are perfect then you will have to start looking at the less obvious sources, rising damp, roof leak, plumbing leak on your side etc. etc.

Good Luck