We've had a problem with damp in our kitchen cupboards since we moved in. Only against one of the external walls.
This is a single story outshoot from a sandstone building (I would say extension, but all the houses have them so I suspect they were built with them) The outshoot is brick and lime mortar.
When we moved in there was sand and cement roughcasting on the external wall which had come away from the brick in places. I suspected that water was getting trapped behind this.
The roughcasting was sound on the other walls.
Last year we had someone come and strip the walls and re-render in thermocromex, which should be breathable, although he used a sand and cement scratchcoat, which he assured me wouldn't stop the wall breathing.
In between stripping the old roughcasting and applying new render it rained, alot (Scotland, summer).
The problem still seems to be there, the cupboards are smelly, it is worse on a hot day with the sun on that wall.
I got a cheap humidity meter and left in the cupboards overnight and was reading around 80% I also did the same under the cupboards also 80%
I Managed to remove a cupboard and the plaster underneath was soft, like clay in places. It seemed localised to the cupboard that I removed fortunately. So I stripped off as much plaster as I could. The plaster at the edges of where I could reach to strip it off is feeling dry (pic)
On the outside of the wall there is a patio against the wall, at the same level as the internal floor (pic). This raised patio is only against the damp wall the other wall has a lower patio against it. There is also a cast iron drainpipe going into the patio with a blocked off T at ground level (pic)
I have only just stripped the plaster, so I'm hoping that the wall will dry out, and the damp will go away, but I wanted to ask if there was anything I could do to help eradicate the problem?
We don't want to rip out the kitchen as it is only a few years ole and removing any other cupboards would probably damage the worktop.
some questions:
1) Will the sand and cement scratch coat really be breathable? I guess it was scratched down to the brick, but probably still not ideal. View attachment 143329
2) Could the wall still be damp from last years rain and previous dampness and simply just hasn't dried yet?
2) Can I just leave the wall bare (as it will be be behind the cupboard) or do I need to cover it?
3) Should I cut a trench at the join of the patio and wall to fill with gravel to aid drainage?
3b) If so I imagine the wall will be exposed, what to do with the wall below the gravel level
4) Is there any tanking or treatment that I might put on the inside to help?
5) I've assumed the damp is coming from the outside, could it be condensation trapped in the plaster?
6) Any other advice?
Thanks,
Pete
This is a single story outshoot from a sandstone building (I would say extension, but all the houses have them so I suspect they were built with them) The outshoot is brick and lime mortar.
When we moved in there was sand and cement roughcasting on the external wall which had come away from the brick in places. I suspected that water was getting trapped behind this.
The roughcasting was sound on the other walls.
Last year we had someone come and strip the walls and re-render in thermocromex, which should be breathable, although he used a sand and cement scratchcoat, which he assured me wouldn't stop the wall breathing.
In between stripping the old roughcasting and applying new render it rained, alot (Scotland, summer).
The problem still seems to be there, the cupboards are smelly, it is worse on a hot day with the sun on that wall.
I got a cheap humidity meter and left in the cupboards overnight and was reading around 80% I also did the same under the cupboards also 80%
I Managed to remove a cupboard and the plaster underneath was soft, like clay in places. It seemed localised to the cupboard that I removed fortunately. So I stripped off as much plaster as I could. The plaster at the edges of where I could reach to strip it off is feeling dry (pic)
On the outside of the wall there is a patio against the wall, at the same level as the internal floor (pic). This raised patio is only against the damp wall the other wall has a lower patio against it. There is also a cast iron drainpipe going into the patio with a blocked off T at ground level (pic)
I have only just stripped the plaster, so I'm hoping that the wall will dry out, and the damp will go away, but I wanted to ask if there was anything I could do to help eradicate the problem?
We don't want to rip out the kitchen as it is only a few years ole and removing any other cupboards would probably damage the worktop.
some questions:
1) Will the sand and cement scratch coat really be breathable? I guess it was scratched down to the brick, but probably still not ideal. View attachment 143329
2) Could the wall still be damp from last years rain and previous dampness and simply just hasn't dried yet?
2) Can I just leave the wall bare (as it will be be behind the cupboard) or do I need to cover it?
3) Should I cut a trench at the join of the patio and wall to fill with gravel to aid drainage?
3b) If so I imagine the wall will be exposed, what to do with the wall below the gravel level
4) Is there any tanking or treatment that I might put on the inside to help?
5) I've assumed the damp is coming from the outside, could it be condensation trapped in the plaster?
6) Any other advice?
Thanks,
Pete