Musty smell in hallway, advice please.

fantasyvsreality

@coffeehound Yes, when it rains hard there is a puddle of water that creeps under the gate. What would that mean? 

stuart45

You probably need the floorboards lifting to check the condition of the timbers and see if there's any ponding on the oversite. 

rob7475

It might be worth temporarily covering that airbrick that's just above the path to see if it helps matters. If it does, you may be able to relocate the airbrick to somewhere where it won't be affected by water bouncing back off the path.

fantasyvsreality

@rob7475, that's a great suggestion. Thank you.

fantasyvsreality

Damp specialist came, and could find no reason for the smell. He used a device to check all the internal walls, carpet, cupboards in kitchen and bathroom. Everything very low in terms of moisture content. He said air bricks and damp proof course are sufficient. So who knows? It cost £100 for his survey and he didn't try to shaft me with any remedial treatments so I have to assume all is well and the smell is just something that will hopefully clear in time? I did have a radiator leak so maybe that just hasn't properly dried out as getting a plumber to come replace the radiator has been impossible. Got home this evening and even with a stinking cold it was there I could still smell the smell. It does smell more like wet concrete than an earthy smell. Hey ho. Let's see how it goes when the warmer weather arrives. Thanks all for your advice. 

Mutton_Geoff

fantasyvsreality said:

Damp specialist came, and could find no reason for the smell. He used a device to check all the internal walls, carpet, cupboards in kitchen and bathroom. Everything very low in terms of moisture content. He said air bricks and damp proof course are sufficient. So who knows? It cost £100 for his survey and he didn't try to shaft me with any remedial treatments so I have to assume all is well and the smell is just something that will hopefully clear in time? I did have a radiator leak so maybe that just hasn't properly dried out as getting a plumber to come replace the radiator has been impossible. Got home this evening and even with a stinking cold it was there I could still smell the smell. It does smell more like wet concrete than an earthy smell. Hey ho. Let's see how it goes when the warmer weather arrives. Thanks all for your advice. 

The device he used is probably the one's they use for checking logs. As mentioned before, get a proper builder to sort the path out and narrow it so it's not breaching the dpc. It's poor advice to cover air vents up as well, this forum seems to be full of armchair experts these days.

stuart45

Damp brickwork, timber floors and a musty smell are signs of possible dry rot.
The National Trust used to employ a Labrador to sniff out areas of dry rot, as it has a musty smell. Timber doesn't need to be as damp for the spores to germinate as with wet rot. 

markin

fantasyvsreality said:

Damp specialist came, and could find no reason for the smell. He used a device to check all the internal walls, carpet, cupboards in kitchen and bathroom. Everything very low in terms of moisture content. He said air bricks and damp proof course are sufficient. So who knows? It cost £100 for his survey and he didn't try to shaft me with any remedial treatments so I have to assume all is well and the smell is just something that will hopefully clear in time? I did have a radiator leak so maybe that just hasn't properly dried out as getting a plumber to come replace the radiator has been impossible. Got home this evening and even with a stinking cold it was there I could still smell the smell. It does smell more like wet concrete than an earthy smell. Hey ho. Let's see how it goes when the warmer weather arrives. Thanks all for your advice. 

So no lifting of carpets to test the boards and joists?

fantasyvsreality

@markin @Mutton_Geoff @stuart45 I agree that the carpet needs to come up in the hallway. I am going to get a builder in to have a look. The damp guy did want to lift the carpet but my partner was with him at that point (as I had to leave for work) and my partner (who doesn't live with me) wasn't sure if that would be okay. The damp guy seemed to feel confident that he wouldn't find issue under there and left. 

Mutton_Geoff

fantasyvsreality said:

@markin @Mutton_Geoff @stuart45 I agree that the carpet needs to come up in the hallway. I am going to get a builder in to have a look. The damp guy did want to lift the carpet but my partner was with him at that point (as I had to leave for work) and my partner (who doesn't live with me) wasn't sure if that would be okay. The damp guy seemed to feel confident that he wouldn't find issue under there and left. 

Thanks for the update. For "damp surveyor" please always read "salesman".