*UPDATE* Damp Floor

Annemos

Please excuse me if this is an absolutely daft suggestion in your particular case. 

Does the water main actually run under your house? So from the stop tap (c word) thing outside in the pavement, under the house and then coming up under the kitchen sink. 

Can you just check there is not a slow water main leak somewhere under the concrete? If you have a water meter you can check that out. 

(I had that happen with some peeling paint just above the skirting board and also the skirting board started to separate away from the wall, too. And there was also a thin vertical crack in the plaster. My boiler pressure was not dropping... but I suddenly got the annual water bill and nearly died of shock!) 

Anoneemoose

Annemos said:

Please excuse me if this is an absolutely daft suggestion in your particular case. 

Does the water main actually run under your house? So from the stop tap (c word) thing outside in the pavement, under the house and then coming up under the kitchen sink. 

Can you just check there is not a slow water main leak somewhere under the concrete? If you have a water meter you can check that out. 

(I had that happen with some peeling paint just above the skirting board and also the skirting board started to separate away from the wall, too. And there was also a thin vertical crack in the plaster. My boiler pressure was not dropping... but I suddenly got the annual water bill and nearly died of shock!) 

It’s funny you should say that, we were just saying our water bill was high in comparison with other similar households not too long ago but I thought it was just because I’m at home all the time and using the loo lots due to illness. My husband checked - in that we turned everything off and nothing changed on the meter as far as he could tell. 

I’ll certainly keep it in mind though. I don’t know if it’s relevant but would the mains pipe be in that direction or is it not that simple to tell? I’ve added to the earlier picture. The arrow points to where our water meter is outside on the pavement in front of our garden. There’s also a manhole cover in the front garden in the path of that arrow if that makes sense? 

The red line next to the K for kitchen is the sink with dishwasher next to it and the small red spot is where the stop ‘clock’ is. 

Annemos

Everything that uses water has to be switched off.

If its an old meter, then if you switch the stop-c off in the kitchen and there is an "ouside" leak, then you will still see the mechanical dial turning around (a bit like a clock.) 

But with the new smart meters, there is a flashing PLUS sign on my meter. (On the bottom right. It flashes a PLUS sign when water is flowing through.) 

In fact the old dial was much easier to see. I really have to look hard at this smart meter to catch the flashing!

I was told that water mains usually go in a straight line under a property, from the water main's outside stop-c to the inside stop-c. 


In my case, my stop c is actually where your kitchen sink is.  So my water main went under the bungalow in a straight line from under your kitchen sink to where your arrow is. And where the left starting point is of your arrow, that was where my only sign of the damp was. (The skirting board slight shift and the paint blistering.)

(I am just a homeowner so I don't know how water would flow if there is a leak in your main.... could it travel that far to where your damp is? I was also told that water will travel until it finds its lowest level.)

The odd thing with my place is that I am on gravelly clay. There was never any other sign of the water coming up, so it must have largely drained away underground. I am on a hill! (It was a BIG water loss.... 3 times annual usage! Was not completely sure when it had happened. It was possible we had caught it after about 3 months.) 

ComicGeek

I've marked up above where the likely under floor pipework would be for that layout. I would double check the radiator conections in the kitchen and lounge to make sure that they really don't run under the floor. 

Alternatively, could there be a historic buried heating pipe below the floor? As the under floor pipework is below a drain point it can be difficult to drain the pipe completely, so could be some standing water that is now coming through. 

It just looks so much like a small water leak below the floor.

Anoneemoose

ComicGeek said:

I've marked up above where the likely under floor pipework would be for that layout. I would double check the radiator conections in the kitchen and lounge to make sure that they really don't run under the floor. 

Alternatively, could there be a historic buried heating pipe below the floor? As the under floor pipework is below a drain point it can be difficult to drain the pipe completely, so could be some standing water that is now coming through. 

It just looks so much like a small water leak below the floor.

Thank you. Now you’ve put that in, it certainly seems very possible. There’s also a pipe that runs on the opposite side of the wall to a vertical radiator in the hall. (Blue line in hall). The only thing I forgot to put in is we actually have a pantry in the kitchen and the radiator is on the wall of that. Pantry is blue square, with rad shown as thin, black line. I also know there’s a pipe that goes up the pantry to the bathroom above..the corner of the wall in the pantry is sometimes warm..possibly just when the heating is on. 

I just hope whatever it is, it’s behind the skirting board and it’s easy to access!!

Eldi_Dos

Have you left the cushioned flooring pulled back and has it dried out to any extent?

Wonder if any pipes are running from boxed area in dining room to kitchen behind skirting board and a draught is getting under there and causing condensation,which is pooling under cushion floor.

I think the suggestion to take skirting off at boxed area is where I would start from.

Anoneemoose

Eldi_Dos said:

Have you left the cushioned flooring pulled back and has it dried out to any extent?

Wonder if any pipes are running from boxed area in dining room to kitchen behind skirting board and a draught is getting under there and causing condensation,which is pooling under cushion floor.

I think the suggestion to take skirting off at boxed area is where I would start from.

We’ve not left it pulled back yet but we plan to. I might see if my husband can do it tonight actually and then that will give us chance to see what happens and then we’ll get the skirting off at the weekend. We’ve had loads going on so it’s kind of been out of sight ish, out of mind. 

Thanks for your input. Everything is helpful and appreciated.

Anoneemoose

Hi again. Just posting by way of a small update. We haven’t taken the skirts off yet as we’ve had a lot going on (very close family member on EOL care). We have, however, had most of the floor back and we think that the water is soaking up through this concrete section as it hasn’t had any form of damp proof membrane/‘stuff’ applied to it. 

We’ve asked my father in law who lived here from birth (two years after it was built) and he remembers a solid fireplace there but with only an electric fire in it, hence no need for chimney etc. He also doesn’t think there have ever been any pipes there.

So what we’re thinking is the rest of the floor has got some kind of covering over it (I thought bitumen but it’s brown so something similar), which apparently acted as a damp proof membrane back when the house was built, however there isn’t any of that where this hearth would have been and because there’s no damp protection there, that’s what’s causing the problem. The rest of the floor (including where pipes run) is as it should be with no issues at all. 

We’ll still be taking the skirts off as renovating anyway but I’m hoping it’s just a case of sealing it somehow with a modern version of what’s covering the rest!! 

Mr.Generous

Yeah I'd try that - chip out a couple of inches depth, treat where you can with any kind of water seal brushed on, mix up a strong sand cement mix and add plenty of waterproofer to the mix and fill it back smooth. I've repared concrete floors by just adding waterproofer to the mix in situations like this and its done the trick. You have to think its taken years and years to get like it is now with no waterproofer in the mix, so it can't be drawing too much.

Anoneemoose

Mr.Generous said:

Yeah I'd try that - chip out a couple of inches depth, treat where you can with any kind of water seal brushed on, mix up a strong sand cement mix and add plenty of waterproofer to the mix and fill it back smooth. I've repared concrete floors by just adding waterproofer to the mix in situations like this and its done the trick. You have to think its taken years and years to get like it is now with no waterproofer in the mix, so it can't be drawing too much.

Thanks so much. That’s very helpful. If I can be cheeky and ask another question, I’d be very grateful if you could advise. The ‘stuff’ (sorry, I don’t know what’s it’s called) that’s all over the rest of the floor that’s acting as a damp proof protector is rather uneven and we were hoping to put some kind of levelling compound on top of before we get a better floor. I don’t suppose you know if that would be possible and if so, what would be suitable to use? 

No worries if it’s not your department!