Help with damp issue

[Carl Price]

We have recently moved into a house, we seem to be getting an issue with dampness on one of the outside walls of our bay window.
the wall isn't always wet but it flares up, especially when it's cold outside. One minute it's wet and one minute it's dry. We have had a company that offers DPC look at it and straight away was told it was rising damp and we need the whole house injected at a considerable cost. We do have another surveyor coming for a second opinion, I wondered if anyone has any info they can share on what this could be looking at the pictures. Gutters etc are also getting looked at. Many thanks

 

[motorbiking]

outside wall pics?

 

[Carl Price]

Thanks, the porch (the White wall is where it seems to be the worst on the other side)

 

[jeds]

I'll bet you a tenner it isn't 'rising' damp.

First off, my advice is immediately shred the advice from the bloke that quoted to inject the whole house.

Unfortunately, these things are not always easy to pinpoint and the normal process is to work through the possible causes. To begin with, that's a solid, uninsulated wall and may be suffering from simple condensation. That could be due to internal moisture vapour, or salty plaster, or it could be a combination of the two. I would start with measuring both - moisture vapour and salts - and take it from there. If possible, also find somebody that can properly measure the moisture in the masonry wall, which really means a carbide test. You will need somebody independent that understands moisture in houses. i.e. a chartered surveyor. It will cost you but potentially save you thousands in unnecessary 'damp proofing' works.

 

[motorbiking]

9" solid walls are always prone to cold/damp. Welcome to your 1920/30s home. The best option is to systematically insulate the external walls stripping back to plaster and then adding new plasterboard on PIR insulation. But it looks like you might be getting some water tracking in on the join between the bay and house wall.

You need to go over it carefully and look for cracks which might allow water in.

 

[Carl Price]

Thanks for the info, we have an independent surveyor coming over next week so hopefully, he knows what he is doing! seems weird that it's only happening on one side of the bay window. Also no sign of this in the summer months. I'll check for cracks etc but on Sunday it wasn't raining and the wall all of a sudden got wet to the touch. There were a few of us at that end of the room for an hour or so eating so maybe that affected the walls.

 

[jeds]

One section of a wall may be cooler than another due to orientation and the background construction. A colder wall means higher possibility of condensation. Higher possibility of condensation, over a long period of time, will contaminate the plaster making it more susceptible to moisture absorption. The net result is a patch of dampness in one place but not another.

 

[JohnD]

Do not allow anyone who sells silicone injections into your home.

 

[^woody^]

Looks like condensation dampness, and seems like it too if it's occurring when the outside temps drop.

Think about what you are doing to create excess humidity - heating use patterns and ventilating.

Make sure this "independent surveyor" has no vested interest in selling a damp treatment service/product that he may recommend in his survey, or recommending a firm that does

 

[ic1927]

If it's a condensation issue, and it looks like it is, I'd use wallrock thermal lining paper on those walls, can be over painted or papered over, that will sort it out.