Found an inside wall to be wet!

abbas5001

Hi all,

I've found that an internal wall is wet in my house. It's a room a we a rarely use but there are two radiators in it that turn on whenever the run of our central heating is on. I touched the wallpaper and it was wet, wet enough that I had a few drops of water on my hands as well as getting my hand moist.

The wall is external in that it's at the edge of the house and doesn't connect to anything but it's wet only from the bottom to about a third of the way up.

I know nothing of diy to be honest, what could this be? We've never had any problems. Who do I even contact to try and fix this?thanks

Doozergirl

Downstairs or upstairs?

Look outside the house for evidence of where water may get in. Take some photos of that wall if you are unsure and report back here.

abbas5001

Doozergirl wrote: »

Downstairs or upstairs?

Look outside the house for evidence of where water may get in. Take some photos of that wall if you are unsure and report back here.

It is downstairs. I will take photos and report back. Thanks so much

phil24_7

Could be a multitude of reasons so photo's would definitely help.

Has anything changed inside or around the outside of your house in the last 9 months or so?

nickcc

Is fresh air circulating in that room or is it closed up. You will get condensation if you don't ventilate the room.

FreeBear

abbas5001 wrote: »

I know nothing of diy to be honest, what could this be? We've never had any problems. Who do I even contact to try and fix this?thanks

You could contact one of the many companies out there advertising "free" damp surveys - They will probably diagnose a failed damp-proof course causing rising damp and recommend an expensive remedy. Please don't go down that route - It will cost you a small fortune and probably won't fix the route cause of the problem.

always_sunny

FreeBear wrote: »

You could contact one of the many companies out there advertising "free" damp surveys - They will probably diagnose a failed damp-proof course causing rising damp and recommend an expensive remedy. Please don't go down that route - It will cost you a small fortune and probably won't fix the route cause of the problem.

You're right, seems like they are all pushing for this rising damp and wanting to damp-proof everywhere! Most of the time the issue is condensation due to poor ventilation.
I am really surprised (now) how older British homes are not designed to ventilate properly.

Doozergirl

always_sunny wrote: »

You're right, seems like they are all pushing for this rising damp and wanting to damp-proof everywhere! Most of the time the issue is condensation due to poor ventilation.
I am really surprised (now) how older British homes are not designed to ventilate properly.

It is *warmth* and ventilation that is required.

Older British homes are exceptionally leaky. We do have a habit of stopping window draughts with double glazing and sealing up chimney breasts and that can be a problem but a house also has to be warm to prevent condensation. Insulation plays a massive part.

Niv

always_sunny wrote: »

You're right, seems like they are all pushing for this rising damp and wanting to damp-proof everywhere! Most of the time the issue is condensation due to poor ventilation.
I am really surprised (now) how older British homes are not designed to ventilate properly.

When built 'older' British homes ventilated perfectly well. The problem is people putting in double glazing, blocking vent bricks and sealing chimneys!

abbas5001

I have identified the cause of the problem. It's a gas fire that when switched on is causing the wall to be wet. We had heavy rain last night and the walls were dry this morning so we had the heater on yesterday for a few hours (as I said that room rarely gets used but we were having work done in the house so that was the only free room to sit in).

So I put the fire on today and within about 2 hours the walls were wet again so I presume there must be a leak or something

tonyh66

abbas5001 wrote: »

I have identified the cause of the problem. It's a gas fire that when switched on is causing the wall to be wet. We had heavy rain last night and the walls were dry this morning so we had the heater on yesterday for a few hours (as I said that room rarely gets used but we were having work done in the house so that was the only free room to sit in).

So I put the fire on today and within about 2 hours the walls were wet again so I presume there must be a leak or something

gas fires don't leak water.