What is damp on internal walls if not rising damp?

Okydoky25

We are in a Semi detached house. Victorian. There are damp patches pretty much on every wall down stairs. Some low down others 3ft up the wall. Some patches in the hallway in the centre of the house. This problem does not seem to get better or worse because of weather etc.

We have had a builder out who says it is not rising damp but at the same time can't pin point the cause. Under the floor boards are bone dry. We have a DPC. Air bricks all clear. Anyone with any ideas or similar experience?

Is there anyway we can dry out the walls or cover them so we can decorate or is this wishful thinking?

DRP

Okydoky25 wrote: »

We are in a Semi detached house. Victorian. There are damp patches pretty much on every wall down stairs. Some low down others 3ft up the wall. Some patches in the hallway in the centre of the house. This problem does not seem to get better or worse because of weather etc.

We have had a builder out who says it is not rising damp but at the same time can't pin point the cause. Under the floor boards are bone dry. We have a DPC. Air bricks all clear. Anyone with any ideas or similar experience?

Is there anyway we can dry out the walls or cover them so we can decorate or is this wishful thinking?

condensation?

why does he rule out rising damp?

bristol_pilot

You could replaster, but it is important to eliminate the cause of damp first. There are only 3 kinds of damp - rising damp, penetrating damp and condensation. Penetrating damp is usually localised, so it's not that. Condensation is very common - do you dry your laundry inside the property? Rising damp is rare, but what you describe does sound like it. Do you know why the builder says it isn't? Second opinion, maybe.

ariba10

I would put money on it being condensation.

Do you have it all the year round?

wallbash

There is a number of well respected people who write that there is no such thing as rising damp .

Another vote for condensation.

Gordon_Hose

wallbash wrote: »

There is a number of well respected people who write that there is no such thing as rising damp .

Another vote for condensation.

As I have said before in this section; I've had an independent damp surveyor and two builders tell me that rising damp definitely exists, but it's not as common as damp companies would like us to believe.

DRP

What do you mean by 'damp patches'?

Blistering paint?
Visible moisture?
Dark patches on paint or paper?
Actual mould growth ?

wallbash

http://www.askjeff.co.uk/rising-damp/

Just a different view.

We have had a builder out who says it is not rising damp but at the same time can't pin point the cause. Under the floor boards are bone dry. We have a DPC. Air bricks all clear. Anyone with any ideas or similar experience?

The only person who has actually looked at the problem

spannerzone

I get some moisture on my walls on the ground floor and in my case it seems to be ventilation/condensation. I'm probably going to get a Nuaire Drimaster to fit in the loft and hopefully cure the problem, after a friend fitted one and cured damp issues (mould behind cupboards etc) £315 from Amazon for the heated version.

Doozergirl

wallbash wrote: »

http://www.askjeff.co.uk/rising-damp/

Just a different view.



The only person who has actually looked at the problem

He does say it's rare. Not non-existant. I have seen it once and was so shocked that I thought the cure was demolition. There was something seriously wrong with the way the house had been built. There was a clear tide of wet along and entire wall and full blown mushrooms growing out of it! :eek:

Doozergirl

Condensation settles on cold spots on walls. Cold spots can be created by objects hammered in to the walls on the outside, so bridging through the wall, a lack of insulation or condensation can even appear when something that doesn't breathe is painted onto a wall. So, patches of gloss paint under the emulsion.