Buying a house with bad damp?

FreeBear

Unicorn_cottage said:

@FreeBear PPUK?

The Period Property forum - A great source of information relating to older properties. Some very knowledgeable people over there who can provide sound advice on tackling damp and conserving old buildings.

greatcrested

Unicorn_cottage said:

@FreeBear PPUK?

Freebear provided the link!

Unicorn_cottage

@greatcrested - am a bit distracted at the moment as have been fighting off covid and other family members are sick with it - sorry!

Unicorn_cottage

FreeBear said:

Unicorn_cottage said:

@FreeBear PPUK?

The Period Property forum - A great source of information relating to older properties. Some very knowledgeable people over there who can provide sound advice on tackling damp and conserving old buildings.

Fab thanks. Will have a good look at this - love a good helpful forum.

squishypengu

Martinaboven said:

We need to see pictures could be easy fix like new roof as roof not been maintained could be leaking pipe or no heating which is an easy fix

Thanks @Martinaboven apologies for the stupid question but if it were a simple fix like this, once the house was being heated again would it be likely to dry out and eradicate the smell? My nightmare is being stick in a stinky damp house, don’t wish to relive my student days of everything I own smelling of damp!

greatcrested

The photo only really shows some signs of damp on the ceiling. And the disolouration suggests historic staining that has dried out. What is above? A bathroom by any chance?

But you originally said that a) there was a strong smell of damp and b) it was against the gable walls in both rooms.

It's therefore impossible to diagnose just rom that photo.

Yes, it might simply be lack of heaing and condensation on the coldest external wall, that will dry out and resolve once the house is heated/lived in.

There again, it might be any number of other causes - the chimney (as per Freebear's video), roof or guttering problems, external ground levels, ongoing pipe leaks, or whatever.

We can only really speculate.

Martinaboven

From the photos the other walls look in good conditions. It seem to affect the wall where the fireplace is. Is the fireplace opened if so maybe weather has affected that area and because the fireplace hasn't been used.
The same would when I had my old fireplace removed it was opened from top so if I went hoilday it would smell but when I used the fireplace it would clear the smell. If it was damp else where I would be more worried.

Martinaboven

If it closed it could be ventilation 

Signs of chimney damp

Common symptoms of chimney damp are similar to regular damp but will be isolated solely around the fireplace or chimney breast. Signs include:

• Yellow or brown marks on the walls
• Damp patches that come and go as the weather changes
• Flaking paint
• Rising damp tidemark

These signs can be evident, downstairs around the breast, in the above room and the attic.

Visual chimney damp problems are usually easy to identify, however finding the cause of the damp is often more difficult.

squishypengu

Martinaboven said:

From the photos the other walls look in good conditions. It seem to affect the wall where the fireplace is. Is the fireplace opened if so maybe weather has affected that area and because the fireplace hasn't been used.
The same would when I had my old fireplace removed it was opened from top so if I went hoilday it would smell but when I used the fireplace it would clear the smell. If it was damp else where I would be more worried.

Thanks so much for all this info, as far as I know the chimneys are blocked up so maybe an issue to do with this - perhaps it’s not blocked up properly or there’s gaps somewhere letting water in. It was very rainy the day we were viewing which could have been making it worse also. But thanks so much for this info I will definitely do more research about the possibility of damp in the chimney!

Smithy5000

You can check the foundation levels around the rooms that are suffering from the damp, if theyre higher the the dpc l (if there's any) then the walls will need to be tanked to stop the water ingress into the property. Check for any blocked outlets around the property, leaking gutters... Anything that may cause water the seep down the property