Damp at the base of removed fireplace breast
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I'm suspicious that it's happened right under a radiator with plastic pipes that are concealed and I'm struggling to see any pipe inserts on the end of the pipes that disappear into the wall.
Without pipe inserts the pipe is at the risk of collapse which then causes a leak
Op was the rad there when you moved in and what kind of central heating do you have?
When damp starts drying out and you haven't done anything except cap some rad pipes that's the first place I would be looking.
Op how can you be certain the pipes weren't leaking when they are buried in a wall?
Without pipe inserts the pipe is at the risk of collapse which then causes a leak
Op was the rad there when you moved in and what kind of central heating do you have?
When damp starts drying out and you haven't done anything except cap some rad pipes that's the first place I would be looking.
Op how can you be certain the pipes weren't leaking when they are buried in a wall?
I accidentally broke them when i war investigating. I patched them until i replace them. I'm using pipe insterts so those capped.
I'm certain the source is not those because the radiator was not always there. When we bought the house the damp was there. It was attributed to the non capped chimney. Then chimney was capped, we thought the problem was solved and then put the rad and plastered. Further, the damp was coming from the base of the wall, lower than where the pipes whilst are. the area around the pipes is dry. Had always been.
I'm certain the source is not those because the radiator was not always there. When we bought the house the damp was there. It was attributed to the non capped chimney. Then chimney was capped, we thought the problem was solved and then put the rad and plastered. Further, the damp was coming from the base of the wall, lower than where the pipes whilst are. the area around the pipes is dry. Had always been.
What do you mean? To not do it?
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Can you give us a time frame.
When you moved in, when the chimney was capped , when you plastered the wall and fitted the rad.
Was the damp gone and just reappeared a month ago?
Was the pipework pressure tested especially as it's concealed?
Were pipe inserts used when the rad was installed?
When you moved in, when the chimney was capped , when you plastered the wall and fitted the rad.
Was the damp gone and just reappeared a month ago?
Was the pipework pressure tested especially as it's concealed?
Were pipe inserts used when the rad was installed?
Just an update on my progress. I've started injecting dryrods - see photo of product- along the wall.
My aim is to create a barrier just one brick up from the floor. If you see the second photo, I'll cover the regions where damp was found.
I created a second injection line at the floor level within the excavated area to be on the safe side
My aim is to create a barrier just one brick up from the floor. If you see the second photo, I'll cover the regions where damp was found.
I created a second injection line at the floor level within the excavated area to be on the safe side
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Once i finish with the dry rod injections I'll add a water resistant membrane inside the excavated, to stop humidity from coming up. I'll not do more excavation as i want to avoid damaging more my laminate. I know bobasd suggested to remove all earth from the hearth and he's right but i hope i can get away with it with no more disruption. Hopefully what i did is good enough...
Majority of damp originates at high level and falls thru the brickwork till it hits the dpm then leaches out the easiest route.
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High level leak and the water is pooling at the bottom of your hearth?
Water always takes the easiest route down as you know
Like foxhole says the majority of damp is high level and not rising damp
Water always takes the easiest route down as you know
Like foxhole says the majority of damp is high level and not rising damp
I'm not following, why high level? I'm confused.
I think it's just clay in my area which is like a sponge. heavy rain has saturated the whole area, underground water level is very high. Once i reached the level of the outside ground it started bringing in water like a sponge.
That's my theory at least
I think it's just clay in my area which is like a sponge. heavy rain has saturated the whole area, underground water level is very high. Once i reached the level of the outside ground it started bringing in water like a sponge.
That's my theory at least
Hi There. Looking at the issue i would cut down where the hearth bricks meet the wall. The wall lower down will be coping with the damp but is soaking up thru the hearth bricks. Fill the hole with gravel as you are doing and cap off with concrete. Make sure the concrete is not touching the wall. Put a piece of dpc there. Top this off with ashalt floor compound. When putting skirting back on dont plaster down to floor level behind them so you have an air gap
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Basically from what you have been saying you have had no problems with damp from when you installed the rad and plastered and painted until about a month ago when you noticed damp patches appearing
However the hearth has been there the whole time and has been undisturbed , now if the hearth was causing rising damp you would have had an almost constant damp problem.
Like foxhole I'm also of the opinion that the damp is more than likely caused by something high level and more often than not it is a leaky pipe that has caused the issue either hot/cold feeds or rad pipes or waste pipes
I personally always like to eliminate the simple to fix things first before I move into more complicated things such as renewing a sub floor and dpm
However the hearth has been there the whole time and has been undisturbed , now if the hearth was causing rising damp you would have had an almost constant damp problem.
Like foxhole I'm also of the opinion that the damp is more than likely caused by something high level and more often than not it is a leaky pipe that has caused the issue either hot/cold feeds or rad pipes or waste pipes
I personally always like to eliminate the simple to fix things first before I move into more complicated things such as renewing a sub floor and dpm
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